A jury awarded more than $2.5 million last week to a Simpson County couple who sued two Bowling Green ob-gyns for negligence after the couple lost their baby.

After a trial lasting a week, the jury found in favor Thursday of Amanda and Chris Thurman of Franklin in a civil case heard by Warren Circuit Judge John Grise.

The Thurmans brought a lawsuit in 2009 against Drs. Karen Lyons and Keith Hewitt and Hewitt, Davis, Fee and Lyons, the practice where they worked.

The suit revolved around Amanda Thurman’s third pregnancy. After a Jan. 19, 2009, visit for prenatal care with Hewitt and Lyons, blood was drawn from her and analyzed at a lab, where it was determined that her Rh-negative blood was in conflict with her baby’s O-positive blood type.

In the event of blood type incompatibility, the person with Rh-negative blood produces antibodies to fight off what is considered the invading O-positive blood, which can lead to complications during pregnancy.

The Thurmans claimed that the ob-gyns did not monitor her condition after the results of the January 2009 lab report and failed to perform subsequent blood draws in the months afterward that would have protected her baby.

On June 8, 2009, Amanda Thurman saw Lyons and Hewitt again, according to court documents, claiming she was not feeling well and the baby was not moving. An ultrasound performed June 15, 2009, showed evidence that Amanda Thurman’s baby was suffering from fetal hydrops, a condition that arose from Amanda Thurman’s high count of antibody titers that were created to fight off the invading O-positive blood.

Amanda Thurman underwent a cesarean section delivery of her baby, Blake, on June 16, 2009, at Baptist Hospital in Nashville. The baby did not survive.

“As a result of the lack of proper prenatal treatment in this pregnancy, it is unlikely that Mrs. Thurman will be able to deliver another viable fetus,” the Thurmans’ complaint states.

Lyons and Hewitt initially denied all allegations of negligence, arguing in their response that they acted appropriately and conformed with the standard of care expected of physicians faced with similar circumstances.

Court documents indicated that the doctors originally denied failing to meet the standard of care and claimed to be aware of the lab report outlining Amanda Thurman’s condition, but the doctors would eventually admit liability, claiming to have overlooked the lab report, according to Thurman’s attorney, Todd Thompson of Louisville.

The jury, of which Thompson said three members were health care professionals, found the doctors acted with reckless disregard for the safety of others and awarded $2,087,000 in compensatory damages for pain, suffering and the parents’ loss of their child. The jury also determined the doctors should pay $500,000 in punitive damages to the Thurmans.

“We thought it was a verdict we felt reflected the evidence,” Thompson said.

The family had initially requested $13,911,000 in damages, according to David Broderick of Bowling Green, who represented the ob-gyns.

Broderick said a written judgment from Grise on the verdict will determine the direction of potential appeals.

“We’re considering our options at this point,” Broderick said. “There will be some post-trial motions to be heard, and once we get the written trial order, then we’ll start weighing out which steps we’re going to take.”