A judge in Union County on May 21 approved a $1.7 million settlement in Aguasvivas v. Langer-Most, a medical malpractice suit claiming that an obstetrician-gynecologist and a midwife failed to notify a pregnant woman that she was carrying a fetus with Down syndrome.

Plaintiff Karla Solorzano underwent a second trimester ultrasound test on Sept. 24, 2014, at Trinitas Regional Medical Center in Elizabeth that was interpreted by defendant obstetrician-gynecologist Orly Langer-Most. The test showed the presence of a fetal “sandal gap,” an abnormally large space between the first and second toe that is found in 45 percent of babies born with Down syndrome, according to plaintiff lawyer Daryl Zaslow of Eichen Crutchlow Zaslow of Red Bank.

But the suit claimed Langer-Most did not tell Solorzano of the presence of a marker that is associated with Down syndrome. If Solorzano had been notified, she could have made an informed decision to pursue an amniocentesis, and had an amniocentesis been performed, it would have diagnosed Down syndrome and allowed Solorzano to terminate the pregnancy, Zaslow said. The suit claimed monetary and emotional damages.