South Carolina Jury Awards $4.4 Million in Birth Injury

ROCK HILL, S.C., Feb. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- A York County jury on Friday awarded $4.4 million to the parents of a child who suffered a brain injury at birth. The award was against Piedmont Hospital.

The jury said the hospital was at fault when it assigned a nurse trainee to monitor a woman, who arrived three days before her scheduled induction with nausea and vomiting. The nurse misread fetal heart monitoring data showing the baby was in dire distress and needed emergency intervention, according to the plaintiffs.

The baby was born with severe brain injury due to oxygen deprivation and later developed Cerebral Palsy. She died of complications from cerebral palsy, exactly one year, to the day, of the verdict.

"When medical professionals fail to meet reasonable standards of care they need to be held accountable, and the jury agreed with that," said Ken Suggs, of Janet, Jenner & Suggs, Columbia, S.C., attorney for the couple.

Family Receives $11.4 for Son's Cerebral Palsy in Wisconsin

WISCONSIN — According to the LaCrosse Tribune, a Crawford County jury has awarded approx. $11.4 million to the family of a boy who suffered brain injuries during his birth. He now suffers from cerebral palsy and requires constant care. The article, Family receives $11.4 million in medical malpractice lawsuit, states the outcome of the case as follows:

" The jury awarded the Jelineks $310,369 for past medical and health care expenses; $5 million for future care; $387,000 for Laine’s loss of earning capacity; $3.25 million for Laine’s past and future pain, suffering and disability; and $2.5 million for the parents’ loss of society and companionship."

For more information read the full article at: Wisconsin Malpractice $11.4.

Seattle: Jury Awards $4.25 Million in Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit

Seattle, WA — The Seattle Times writes of a medical malpractice trial where the jury awarded $4.25 million to the family of a girl whose birth injuries include brain damage and cerebral palsy.

"Evergreen Hospital must pay the family of a Maple Valley girl about $4.25 million after the hospital's negligence during her delivery caused cerebral palsy and severe brain damage, a King County Superior Court jury ruled Thursday."

See the full article: $4.25M awarded to family of girl with brain damage.

Seattle's KOMO News carries this report on the same trial... Jury: Hospital to blame for girl's brain damage

Birth Damage Brings $22.6 Million in Ohio

A Hamilton County, Ohio jury found a physician and her doctors group negligent in the case of a baby who was stuck in the birth canal for 13 and 1/2 hours during delivery. According to a report in the Cincinnati Enquirer,

"In addition to being a big baby in a small canal, the baby's injuries also were caused because medical workers ... continued to give the mother drugs to make the uterus contract, hoping to expel the baby. The result was a uterus contracting on the baby's stuck head, causing brain damage.

For more details, read the full article here.

Illinois: Jury Awards $2.34M for Birth Injury

Lake County, Illinois — A jury awards $2.35 million to a boy injured at birth. According to the Lake County News Sun, the boy suffered "severe nerve damage causing permanent disability while at Vista Medical Center East in 2004." The jury found that the doctor "was responsible for pulling too hard on the boy's head and neck when his shoulder became stuck on the mother's pubic bone." The boy will require physical and occupational therapy for his lifetime. Read entire article: Boy gets $2.35M for birth injury.