Florida Verdict of $19.2 Runs Up Against State's Liability Caps

A Florida jury has awarded $19.2 million to the family of a premature infant that "received a massive overdose of nutrients at Health Park Medical Center" according to a news article in the Fort Meyers News-Press. The article also cites Florida law that could keep that amount from being awarded — "the reason is a cap on liability called 'sovereign immunity,' which sets liability at $100,000 per victim or $200,000 per lawsuit." Click on Florida Medical Malpractice Verdict to read the full story.

This is the same case covered in our sister site Medical Malpractice News carrying this TV report from Channel 2 RSW Florida.

Florida Firm Achieves $38.75 Million Verdict in Birth Injury Case

Orlando, FL - (March 15, 2010) Morgan & Morgan, a personal injury law firm based in Orlando Florida, achieved a $38,750,000 in a case of medical negligence in a case claiming failure to perform a timely C-section resulting in a birth injury to the infant.

Information provided by the press release: Delayed C-sections, in cases where the standard of care dictates that the operation be performed, are serious acts of medical negligence that can result in irreversible injury to the baby, such as cerebral palsy and serious brain damage.

Cerebral Palsy, like many other birth injuries, are avoidable. If an unborn baby is not receiving enough oxygen, an abnormal heart rate will appear. This is known as “fetal distress,” and should be monitored by the doctor and healthcare professionals who are delivering the baby. This is done during early labor and following each contraction in late labor, by using a fetal stethoscope to check the heart rate approximately every fifteen minutes.

Fetal distress can often be corrected using three possible methods: 1) The mother can be turned on her left side, which may help increase the baby’s heart rate. 2) The amount of intravenous fluids given to the mother can be increased. 3) The mother can be given more oxygen. In the event that all other measures fail to correct the baby’s abnormal heart rate, the doctor must attempt to deliver the baby as quickly as possible. This may be done through cesarean section, the use of forceps, or a vacuum extractor. In the situation that led to this lawsuit, the doctor did not perform the necessary C-section in a timely manner.

$4 Million Verdict: Cerebral Palsy Caused by Failure to Monitor Fetal Heartbeat Says Maryland Jury

According to a report in the Maryland Daily Record, a Frederick County jury has awarded nearly "$4 million to a boy whose family claimed his cerebral palsy was caused by doctors’ failure to monitor the fetal heartbeat when his mother was in the hospital." See the full article: Frederick birth-injury verdict nears $4M

Publish Your Cerebral Palsy Birth Injury Settlements and Verdicts Here

Attorneys: If you have had a recent birth injury lawsuit resolved, you can submit your results and case information to our blog. Simply submit your information using our comment form and be sure to provide the name of your firm and web site name.

In Pennsylvania, Jury Awards $20.5 Million for Cerebral Palsy Birth

A Lackawanna County jury deliberated Monday for about four hours before deciding that a physician and Community Medical Center were negligent in their treatment of a woman, who gave birth to a baby boy who received sustaining injuries during birth. The boy has cerebral palsy and no use of his hands, is blind and mentally retarded.

According the Times Tribune report,

"The parents will receive $2 million of the award for health care expenses and related costs. The child, now 7, was awarded $18.5 million, which he would receive upon turning 18, for lost earning capacity, pain and suffering and medical expenses."

Additionally, the report states that the amount of the award "dwarfs any in recent history by juries in Northeast Pennsylvania."

To read the full article, click on cerebral palsy verdict.

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.

Cerebral Palsy Lawsuits Top Charts in Massachusetts

In Massachusetts for 2007, the largest verdict of the year is a medical malpractice case involving a delay in C-section apparently leading to the child's cerebral palsy. See this Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly report: Suffolk jury issues largest med-mal verdict of the year.

"In what appears to be the largest reported medical malpractice jury verdict of 2007, the jury found two doctors liable for the child’s condition, but a nurse defendant was found not negligent."

See also: Boston Herald's Doctors must pay $26.5M in baby malpractice case.

The largest medical malpractice verdict in Massachusetts remains a 2005 case also involving a baby's brain damage after a traumatic delivery resulting in cerebral palsy — $40 million.