'I want her to be held accountable' | Midwife owes local mom $12M after birth injury

For Victoria Vasser, having her first child was a dream come true. But what happened while she was delivering Dylan was a nightmare. 

It was 2021 amid a raging pandemic. Hospital restrictions limited visitors during childbirth. Vasser was also startled by national statistics that show Black women had the highest rate of maternal mortality — nearly three times that of white women. 

So, she opted for a home birth with Sizzly Auer, a licensed midwife in Pasco County. Records show she owns Childbirth Options LLC and Birth God’s Way, Inc.

"You hear so many things about Black women in childbirth and all the difficulties that Black women face,” Vasser said. “I thought in that moment if I got someone…that was like me that I'll have someone that can be an advocate for me."

Vasser found Auer through a Google search when she was about 10 weeks pregnant. She said the first red flag was just before her first appointment. 

“I'm thinking that I'm going to a birthing center, but when I got there, it was…her home,” she said. 

What Vasser didn’t know was in 2015, the state fined Auer’s company $33,000 for operating as an unlicensed birth center. According to state records, Auer told an investigator, “She had looked into becoming a licensed birth center but could not afford the cost.”

More red flags would follow. 

During Dylan’s delivery in November 2021, his shoulder got stuck behind his mom’s public bone. So, while his head was out, his body did not follow. 

“Shoulder dystocia is a complication that can happen,” Lakieta Glass, a certified nurse midwife at Tampa General Hospital, said. “It’s a fairly common one to see.”

But Glass said what’s not common was what Vasser’s delivery video showed next. 

Instead of using one of several standard medical maneuvers to address shoulder dystocia, the video appears to show Auer pulling and twisting Dylan’s head. Court records say it happened with enough force to cause permanent damage. 

“The maneuvers don’t specifically call for us to pull on the baby’s head,” Glass said. “The maneuvers are specifically to other parts of the baby, which will include whether or not we can pull shoulders or arms, and it’s never really pulling it with a lot of force.”

During delivery, Dylan suffered a brachial plexus injury. His nerves had been avulsed – or ripped from his spine – from all the pulling.

"She made me feel like it was my fault,” Vasser said. “So, I would say I blame her the most because I feel like, 'Why would you make me feel like that?’ You had did something wrong. I didn't know you were wrong.'" 

The first doctor Dylan saw said he would never be able to use his right arm. 

“I cried so bad,” Vasser said. "I sat in that doctor’s office, and I cried because I didn’t know what else to do.”

Realizing she'd need to take swift action if Dylan were to have a chance at ever using his right arm, Vasser soon found a specialist at Shriners Hospital in Philadelphia who determined Dylan would need surgery. Taking the trip threatened her livelihood. 

"Dylan had to have surgery as soon as my maternity leave ended. I didn't have no more time to use at work," Vasser said. "I lost my job."

She also found out she was losing her home as they left for surgery. 

“There was an eviction notice on my door,” Vasser said.

Then, after Dylan’s lengthy surgery, Vasser had a new load to carry once a surgeon who saw the video suggested a lawsuit. 

Tampa attorney Olivia Kronenberg took Vasser’s case, and what the records revealed was astonishing. 

Midwives must renew their licenses through the Florida Department of Health every two years. DOH also requires midwives to carry professional liability insurance coverage. 

However, 10 Investigates combed through Auer’s licensing file and found that for years, she’s claimed an insurance exemption on her renewal application saying she does not practice in the state of Florida. 

This includes the year she delivered Dylan and many others posted on a now-deleted social media account for her company.

Claiming this exemption absolves Auer from state insurance requirements. So, in February, when an arbitrator awarded Vasser $12.2 million after Auer ignored the entire legal process, Vasser couldn’t collect a dime. 

“Honestly, I don't know if I ever will collect anything from the judgment because she doesn't have insurance,” Vasser said. 

A June email showed Auer writing to Vasser, “I never fought back with the attorney because I know you deserve something for his injury,” and that “my insurance was active but because I didn’t pay unfortunately they stopped coverage.” 

This is all while claiming to accept Medicaid. 

"I think that this is a matter that should be referred for Medicaid fraud investigation,” Kronenberg said. “Because this is a provider that is accepting Medicaid patients, is accepting money from the government." 

We spoke to Auer by phone, and she agreed to an interview. Yet, when we tried to visit the business address listed at her home, she said we were stressing her out — and that we were going to make her hurt another child. 

Vasser says she wants accountability. 

“Financially I want her to be held accountable,” she said. "I feel as though the state should have some type of accountability being that they renew her license every year." 

Getting answers from the state has been tough, though. After 10 Investigates found the Agency for Healthcare Administration fined Auer $33,000 in 2015 for running an unlicensed birth center, it’s unclear how she’s still able to operate. 10 Investigates has asked at least eight times since August if she ever paid those fines and what consequences she faces if she hasn’t. AHCA still has not given a clear answer. 

Vasser’s attorney has since filed a complaint with the Florida Department of Health. DOH said it could not confirm a pending investigation, but both Vasser and Kronenberg say DOH has reached out to investigate. 

“My hope coming out of a Department of Health investigation is that her license really be considered for revocation,” Kronenberg said. “I think that the brazenness with which she disregarded the legal system, the disrespect to her patients of not even having the decency to carry basic low-level coverage — that would be my hope." 

That hope is a feeling Vasser says she also shares as she navigates life after delivering Dylan. 

"Dylan means everything to me,” she said. “Dylan is my strength. Dylan is my motivation, my hope. Dylan is what keeps me going every single day."  

For more information on how to help Dylan, visit the GoFundMe page his mother set up for medical expenses.  

Emerald Morrow is an investigative reporter with 10 Tampa Bay. Like her on Facebook and follow her on Bluesky and X. You can also email her at emorrow@10tampabay.com.