Just a few weeks ago, we talked about the $55 million dollar medical malpractice case that involved a baby and a mother that had to wait hours in a hospital before a C-section was performed. That wait caused the newborn to suffer debilitating disorders and brain damage that will affect him for the rest of his life.
Now, another eerily similar incident has occurred that left a now 9-year-old child with cerebral palsy. And it happened in the same state.
Maryland is again the location of this birth injury lawsuit, where the family of the 9-year-old boy just won a $21 million verdict in their medical malpractice lawsuit.
In 2002, their son was born prematurely. The family argued that, before the birth, their son had no oxygen in his mother's womb. As a result the doctor on hand should have performed an emergency C-section instead of allowing the resulting vaginal birth, which was prolonged and likely caused the boy's cerebral palsy.
As we have discussed before, medical malpractice suits usually have high compensatory awards which represent the egregious nature of the negligence shown by doctors or medical staff involved in the incident. But, these awards are usually capped or reduced upon appeal. In this case, Maryland law will cap the award, which was broken down into three parts -- $18 million for the 9-year-old's past, present and future medical costs; $2 million for lost wages the boy potentially could have earned; and $1 million for pain and suffering unrelated to economic factors.
Source: Baltimore Sun, "Jury awards Glen Burnie family $21 million in Harbor Hospital medical case," Kevin Rector, July 31, 2012
- Our firm handles similar situations to the one discussed in this post. If you would like to learn more about our practice, please visit our Pennsylvania medical malpractice page.
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