A New Jersey judge overseeing a medical malpractice suit on behalf of a woman who suffered brain damage during childbirth has approved an $11.9 million settlement in the case.

Estefania Mesa receives a kiss from her daughter, Emma, age 4, in a rehabilitation hospital. Mesa cannot speak, move her body or care for herself after suffering cardiac arrest while giving birth to Emma. Courtesy photo Estefania Mesa receives a kiss from her daughter, Emma, 4, in a rehabilitation hospital. Mesa cannot speak, move her body or care for herself after suffering cardiac arrest while giving birth to Emma. Courtesy photo

The settlement was reached after the plaintiff's lawyer alleged there were systemic problems with the quality of care in the hospital, and he called one physician in the delivery room, Selvia Zaklama, "the anesthesiologist from hell."