When hospitals and their staff make preventable mistakes during labor and delivery, the consequences are often severe for the mother and child. The damages awards in resulting medical malpractice lawsuits are often very high. This was the case recently in Philadelphia when the mother of a child diagnosed with cerebral palsy was awarded a record-setting $183 million in damages.
Delayed C-Section
The mother in this case, Dajah Hagans, sued the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania after her boy was born with severe brain injuries and resulting cerebral palsy.
The baby is now five years old and has cerebral palsy because the staff at the hospital delayed performing a necessary cesarean section. Hagans was suffering from chorioamnionitis, which the staff knew. Chorioamnionitis is an infection in the membranes and amniotic fluid that surround the fetus.
The infection is known to put a baby at risk for a number of health issues, including cerebral palsy, neurological conditions, sepsis, respiratory distress, and even death.
Hagans and her lawyers argued that the staff should have taken the infection more seriously and ordered a C-section sooner. They stated that the baby would not have suffered severe brain damage if he had been delivered earlier. The hospital argued that the boy was already affected by the infection in utero and that delivering sooner would have made no difference.
Record Jury Award
The jury in Philadelphia disagreed with the hospital. It found that the staff members were negligent in the boy’s brain damage and cerebral palsy. They awarded a damages amount that is believed to be a record for the highest jury verdict for a medical malpractice case in Pennsylvania.
The amount was so high because Hagans’ child has serious disabilities as a result of his birth injuries. He needs lifelong medical care and support for his cerebral palsy and associated conditions.
The jury award includes $101 million for the costs of the boy’s expected lifetime care, $1.7 million for the fact that he will not be able to earn a living, and $80 million in other types of damages. These include the costs already incurred for his care, pain and suffering, and emotional trauma.
Birth Injuries and Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy is a common condition that causes disabilities in children. It is sometimes caused by negligence when medical practitioners fail to provide adequate care to a mother or baby. When this results in loss of oxygen to the baby’s brain, they suffer brain damage and varying degrees of lifelong disability.
Cerebral palsy can be mild or severe and everything in between. It causes motor disabilities and many associated conditions, from hearing loss to behavioral disorders. The costs associated with cerebral palsy are high, especially when a child will never be independent, as in this case.
If your child was born with brain damage or a disability, you could be eligible to seek damages. A cerebral palsy lawyer can review your case and determine if medical malpractice likely played a role.
