Nellis sued over birth of baby with disabilities

Rachael Levy

Thursday, Feb. 29, 1996 | 11:59 a.m.

A Las Vegas couple has filed a malpractice lawsuit against Nellis Air Force Base, where they say two doctors caused disabling injuries to their daughter at the time of her birth.

Denny and Dyiann Tate blame their daughter's disabilities on mistakes allegedly made before and during the February 1993 birth.

Kimberly Tate suffers from brachial plexus palsy and Horner's syndrome, which causes her left arm to hang useless at her side and her eyelids to droop, the suit said.

"This kid's all screwed up because we believe the doctor was incompetent," the Tates' attorney, W. Randall Mainor, said Wednesday.

A Nellis spokeswoman declined comment, citing regulations that prohibit discussion of pending litigation.

The lawsuit was filed Tuesday in Las Vegas federal court. It follows a suit filed in January 1995 also alleging that mistakes were made during a birth at Nellis. In that instance, according to the suit, the child died.

The Tates are seeking $6 million in damages, having reached that amount based on the emotional loss and money needed to raise their daughter, who requires continuous therapy, Mainor said.

Mainor said he is targeting the medical practices of doctors Elizabeth Vanderburg and "Red" Alinsod, who are no longer stationed at Nellis. He claims to have found other women who suffered from complications while giving birth at the Nellis hospital.

In Dyiann Tate's case, the then 38-year-old woman allegedly had been diagnosed with macrosomia -- a condition where the baby is believed to be too large and heavy to pass through the birth canal.

Mainor questions whether Vanderburg, an Air Force captain specializing in obstetrics and gynecology, properly informed the delivering doctor, Alinsod, of the existing complication.

Rather than deliver the baby through a Caesarean section, Alinsod delivered the child naturally and caused the delivery to be "botched," the lawyer alleged.

"The child got stuck in the canal and when they're yanking to pull it out ... the injury occurred," Mainor said.

Since their baby was born, the Tates have left the Air Force, the attorney added.