Though no one expecting a baby wants to think about it, sometimes things go wrong during the birth of a child. Cerebral Palsy is one birth injury that could occur. While sometimes the symptoms are minor, other times they are quite serious. Caring for a child with cerebral palsy over the course of his or her lifetime can be expensive. For this reason, in situations where the negligence of another person is believed to be to blame for the birth injury, it is possible that the parents of the child could file a medical malpractice lawsuit against the mother’s health care providers.
Recently, the family of a boy born in 2010 succeeded in their quest to recover damages for their son’s cerebral palsy. Their son was born with severe brain damage, after the woman arrived at the hospital complaining of lower abdominal pain. She was 35 weeks along in the pregnancy.
In the lawsuit, the woman alleged that the individuals attending to her did not perform a cesarean section soon enough. In addition, they failed to recognize and respond to symptoms that indicated that she was suffering from a uterine rupture. This is despite the fact that throughout the woman’s pregnancy she had been closely monitored as a result of an earlier delivery that was difficult as well as miscarriages.
The lawsuit, which because of the boy being born at an army medical center, was filed in federal court, was recently resolved. The parties involved agreed to a settlement of $9 million. Of that amount the parents of the child will receive $5 million in a lump sum. The remainder will be distributed throughout the boy’s life. Since he requires care around the clock, his parents are likely relieved with the outcome.
Source: The San Francisco Gate, “Lawyers: $9M settlement for boy’s cerebral palsy,” Jennifer Sinco Kelleher, Jan. 29, 2014