The birth of a child is often the most joyous occasion in any New York parent’s life. Such an event should never be marred by preventable birth injuries, yet sadly, cases of negligent making serious errors still occur and can adversely affect a baby for the rest of his or her life. A recent medical malpractice case in another state Resulted in a sizable verdict recently.
A 6-year-old little girl’s spinal cord was injured during birth due to the delivering doctor’s negligence. According to reports, the infant had been in a position before birth known as footling breech. This is considered a complicated delivery, because it would involve the baby being delivered feet first, and it was alleged that the doctor did not have the education, qualifications or sufficient training to undertake the high-risk procedure. Despite this, he did so anyway, and apparently in what witnesses described as an aggressive manner, failing to adequately protect the baby’s neck and head.
As a result, the infant was paralyzed from mid-chest downwards. Brain scans and MRI results after birth reportedly showed significant birth trauma. Now, at age 6, the girl cannot walk or even stand on her own and attends therapy several days per week.
A jury found in the child’s favor, awarding her family $40 million, of which $10 million is for her pain and suffering. The remaining $30 million will be used toward the ongoing medical treatments she is expected to need for the rest of her life. Any parents in New York who similarly find themselves facing mounting medical expenses for a child who suffered birth injuries due to a doctor’s negligence may wish to explore their own options for pursuing just compensation with an experienced medical malpractice attorney.
Source: philly.com, “$40M to Delco girl with spinal injury in medical malpractice case”, Dan Spinelli, Jan. 25, 2018