Tony John Sabia

Berry Werth wrote a 370 page book called Damages.  This book is about the Sabia Malpractice case, the story of what happened to my son tony – and out family.

My wife Donna went into labor on April 1, 1984.  We were expecting healthy twin boys, Michael James Sabia was stillborn and Tony John Sabia (Little Tony) was barely clinging to life.  Little Tony was given only 24 hours to live.  But he did live and now is severely disabled, unable to feed himself, speak, or let us know his needs.  Something had gone very wrong.  the doctors had known the boys were growing in utero at different rates, but they never considered that this was a high risk pregnancy or delivery.

We always believed that we should take care of Tony at home, and at the beginning it put a severe strain on our family emotionally and financially.  I worked two jobs, day and night just to make ends meet, but still fell behind.  Finally two years after he was born we contacted a lawyer about filing a medical malpractice lawsuit against the doctor and the hospital.  We needed help!  I worked so much I missed my kids growing up, my family, my wife, and some things you can never get back.  Just think, a doctor lives with it 5 minutes, 5 days, 5 months, maybe even years, but a family… well it’s for life.

It took nearly seven years to resolve this lawsuit and during that time my family worked hard trying to make ends meet.  It didn’t work, we just sank deeper and deeper into debt.  I saw first hand the big institutions that wer were up against.  Knowing each of them would fight to protect their own turf.  Little Tony didn’t seem to matter to these people, not any of the doctors or the insurance companies.  Each postured and threatened in order to serve their own needs, and not the needs of my family.

At the beginning I wanted justice!  I wanted some kind of acknowledgement that the hospital, doctors, and nurses had screwed up.  Instead my family had to settle without that acknowledgement.  but financial settlement has eased our burden.  If any of those people involved, hospital, doctor, nurse, etc… had to walk in our shoes for one week they would understand that it isn’t about the money, it was about the survival for my family!  some of the institutions stated:  “Why should we pay, when he’s going to die anyway!”  Needless to say Little Tony has had 8 major surgeries in his life and has survived.  This does not include the numerous Emergency Room and hospitalizations he’s had during his life.  On April 1, 2005, tony will be 21 years old.  What a big difference from only 24 hours to live.