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.

Wisconsin: Malpractice Lawsuit Settles for $6 Million

WISCONSIN — The Juneau County Star Times reports of a medical malpractice case involving birth injuries and cerebral palsy for $6 million.

"A Juneau County Circuit Court judge last week approved a $6 million settlement in a medical malpractice case that had been scheduled for trial this month.

According to court documents, the civil suit filed ... alleged ... severe and permanent injuries as a result of negligence during labor and delivery."

See the news article here: Wisconsin cerebral palsy lawsuit

Ohio Jury Awards $13.9M in Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit

WARREN, OHIO - According to a report on the Tribune Chronicle website, a Trumbull County jury deliberated for about a day and a half before finding a doctor liable for $13.9 million in medical malpractice suit regarding a young girl's birth injuries leading to cerebral palsy. The article reports thtat the suit claimed the "failure to perform a Cesarean section led to Haley's fetus not receiving sufficient oxygen, causing brain injury and ultimately her cerebral palsy."

The award is the biggest malpractice award in the history of Trumbull County, according to Tribune Chronicle files. (The previous high was $8.5 million award for a boy who died of bacterial meningitis.) See the TribToday for the full article here: Cerebral Palsy Verdict.

Illinois: Cerebral Palsy Award is $29 Million

An Illinois judge ruled in favor of claims against federal physicians that negligence during a baby's birth resulted in his permanent brain damage causing spastic quadriplegic with cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy related claims continue to bring large settlements. According to our source, the Chicago Sun Times article,

"Had the federal government's doctors followed the standard of care and provided the antibiotics to [the mother] or [the infant] at the appropriate times, [he] would have been a normal baby boy," said one of the family's attorneys, David J. Pritchard."

Also according to the Sun Times report:

"Lawyers for the plaintiff brought the case in federal court under the Federal Tort Claims Act. The law lets individuals sue the federal government, but it requires the case be tried by a judge."

Read the full article here.

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.

Trial To Focus on Botox Use for Treatment of Cerebral Pasly in Children

The Los Angeles Times carries this article: Orange County trial will focus on Botox's safety in children's cerebral palsy treatments, detailing a lawsuit filed against Allergan Inc. maker of Botox for alleged overdose of a girl being treated with the injections.

According to the article,

"Approved in the United States specifically to treat frown lines, crossed eyes and other conditions, Botox yields $1.3 billion in annual sales. But the drug can be legally prescribed at doctors' discretion for a variety of other purposes, including cerebral palsy. It is also specifically approved for cerebral palsy in many other countries. Its use for that condition alone contributed $47 million to Allergan's bottom line in 2007."

To read the full article, click on: Botox and Cerebral Palsy.

Another article can be found on DrugWatch.com, titled: Mother Blames Botox for Daughter’s Death, Manufacturer Faces First Lawsuit.

$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

$12 Million Settlement for Birth Injury in Illinois

ROCKFORD, Ill. — According to a Business Wire release, the family of a brain-damaged boy, severely injured during birth, settled its medical malpractice lawsuit against St. Anthony Medical Center in Rockford for $12 million. The settlement is the largest of any personal injury case in Winnebago County.

The child, now 4 years old, has spastic quadriparesis, a form of cerebral palsy. He remains dependent on a ventilator and requires around-the-clock care. According to the lawsuit, hospital staff failed to recognize that baby was positioned for a breech delivery, failed to recognize signs of fetal distress and failed to deliver him by Caesarian section in a timely way. As a result, he did not receive sufficient oxygen during delivery and suffered massive brain damage.

“A failure to communicate accurate information and take appropriate action doomed this child’s future,” said the family's attorney. “The nursing staff assumed – but failed to verify – the fetal presentation. Given the wrong information, [the doctor] accelerated the labor and the child suffered catastrophic injuries.” See more details here...

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.

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.

Illinois: Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit Settles for $6.5 Million

According to The Beacon News, a $6.5 million settlement has been reached "on behalf of a 7-year-old Aurora, IL, boy who allegedly suffered a brain injury at birth at Provena Mercy Medical Center."

Plaintiffs attorneys claim the attending obstetrician and delivery nurse, "failed to respond to the baby’s low heart rate and reduced oxygen flow caused by the drug Pitocin."

To read more on this case, go to the Beacon News article: Aurora family gets $6.5 million in brain injury case.

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.

Market Turmoil Impacts Virginia Birth Injury Fund

The Richmond Times Dispatch reports that the recent market turmoil has resulted in a $35 million drop in value of the state's Birth-related Neurological Injury Compensation Fund, which has gone from $186 million to $166.5 million according to the article as of Wednesday last week.

"The Richmond-based birth-injury program provides lifetime medical payments to eligible children who can be shown to have suffered oxygen loss at birth and are left with severe lifelong injuries, in most cases cerebral palsy."

"The program was envisioned as an alternative to medical malpractice suits against obstetricians and hospitals involved in the births of disabled children."

The drop in value is on top of a long-term projected shortfall. To read more, click on this link: Birth injury fund.

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

Special Needs Trusts Explained

From the St. Louis Post Dispatch, is an article by Jerri Stroud that explains the ins and outs of the "special needs trust," which helps provide for special needs children in the event that something happens to the parent or guardian.

Some highlights of the article, Special needs trusts helps provide for disabled children, includes:

• Can allow a disabled person to continue receiving government benefits while benefitting from an inheritance or proceeds from a lawsuit.
• Provides money to cover needs other than health care, education or maintenance of support for the disabled person.
• Can be set up to take effect upon the death of a parent.
• Can be funded with insurance, inherited money or gifts made by a living donor.

For more information, see the entire article on STLtoday.com.

California: Cerebral Palsy Settlement for 2 1/2 Year Old Boy Establishes $4 Million Annuity That Will Pay $15,000/mo.

The Visalia Times Delta reports that Sierra View District Hospital in Porterville, CA, has agreed to pay $4 million to a 2 1/2-year-old boy in a malpractice-case settlement, attorneys for both sides said Wednesday.

The $4 million would be used to purchase an annuity that would pay the boy $15,000 per month to start, said Dr. Bruce Fagel, a physician-attorney who regularly represents families of children injured at birth. That sum would rise 3 percent a year, paying the boy $45 million "over his life expectancy...."

For more details on the birth injury and settement, see the full article here. See another report in the Fresno Bee.

Cooling Blanket Reduces Brain Damage at Birth (Neonatal Therapeutic Hypothermia)

Medical News Today reports on neonatal therapeutic hypothermia protocol at Children's Hospital in Boston in press release from Cincinnati Sub-Zero: Minimizing Neurological Damage From Infant At-Birth Trauma With Moderate Whole-Body Cooling - Children's Hospital Boston.

Approximately one in every 1,000 babies suffers from hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), a loss of oxygen at birth. Clinical studies indicate therapeutic hypothermia, including whole-body cooling begun within six hours after birth, reduces brain injury associated with the hypoxic- ischemic exposure, minimizing or avoiding consequences that might otherwise include cerebral palsy or severe cognitive and visual impairments. Depending on the severity of hypoxia-ischemia, up to 50% of babies may sustain neurological damage or death without the therapy.

Following nationwide trials involving 500 infants, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) concluded in 2005 that not using therapeutic hypothermia for treating HIE resulted in greater neurological damage. Physicians at Children's Hospital Boston instituted a protocol beginning in July 2007. Using the CSZ Blanketrol® II Hypo-Hyperthermia System with CSZ cooling/warming blankets, physicians cool an infant's F) for 72 hours before rewarming to normal body temperature.

WCVB-TV Channel 5 in Boston recently broadcast a story about the successful use of the technique in a series called Miracle of Mia. The videos document the story of Mia Ordway, newborn daughter Glenn Ordway, "one of only 11 babies to have used the cooling blanket since Children's Hospital got it last summer. Now 4 months old, she's thriving." See the video here.

Brain Damage Lawsuit Settled for $15.35M in Illinois

Chicago Tribune reports on May 20, 2008:

"AURORA, Ill. - An Aurora mother has settled a malpractice lawsuit for $15.35 million with a hospital and doctor after her son suffered brain damage at birth six years ago."

Read full article here: Aurora mother settles malpractice lawsuit for $15.35...

Cerebral Palsy Lawsuits No Slam Dunk

This week in Tennessee, The Daily News Journal reported on a medical negligence civil lawsuit where after 24 days of trial, 37 witnesses, a Jury finds no medical negligence in a $40 million lawsuit filed for child who suffers from severe brain damage, cerebral palsy, developmental delay and seizures.

"We are gratified of the jury's decision," said C.J. Gideon, lead attorney who represented Ellington and Murfreesboro Medical Clinic. "It was clearly the right decision. The proof was overwhelming that Dr. Ellington did precisely what she was supposed to do and that she did not injure this child."

Read news article for more details... Also, another article at The Murfreesboro Post...

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.

Hospitals, Experts Collaborate To Eliminate Preventable Birth Injuries

WASHINGTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Premier healthcare alliance today announced a 21-month national collaborative designed to achieve the consistent delivery of evidence-based care with the goal of eliminating preventable birth-related injuries and deaths.

The Premier Perinatal Safety Initiative is comprised of 16 of the country's leading hospitals, representing 12 states, in which approximately 115,000 babies will be delivered over the course of the collaborative. The initiative seeks to significantly lower the incidence of certain infrequent though serious injuries that could result in birth asphyxia, cerebral palsy or permanent neurologic disability.

“Infants in the United States experience close to three birth injuries for every 1,000 births, many of which are preventable, and the U.S. ranks near the bottom of industrialized nations in infant mortality,” said Congresswoman Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., co-founder and co-chair, Congressional Caucus on Infant Health and Safety. “We are hopeful that this study will help identify best practices and help share them across all hospitals so as to reduce harm to infants and mothers.”

Read the entire announcement: Leading Hospitals, Healthcare Experts Collaborate to Eliminate Preventable Birth Injuries...

Air Force Pays $5M for Childbirth Malpractice

The Air Force has paid a civilian employee $5 million for severe brain damage suffered by his baby during childbirth at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Okinawa, Japan.

Factors in the case: a ruptured uterus depriving baby of oxygen for a prolonged time. The child now suffers from spastic cerebral palsy and blindness and requires a feeding tube. According to Patrick Malone, the family’s attorney, the claim was brought "under the Military Claims Act alleging that a nurse midwife ... was grossly negligent and guilty of malpractice for trying to manage a complex and high-risk delivery without calling in an obstetrician." Full article cite.

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.

Cerebral Palsy Settlement Is $1.35M in Virginia

The Associated Press reports that a Virginia couple has settled a lawsuit with the University of Virginia Medical Center for $1.35 million in a case stemming from the September 2001 birth of child who has cerebral palsy and brain damage from being asphyxiated at birth.

Read article here.... - - - (VT Birth injury attorney)