$39.7 Million with interest / $26.5 Million verdict: Failure to expedite delivery with cesarean section results in brain damage
$39.7 Million with interest / $26.5 Million verdict Settlement
Massachussetts
The minor plaintiff was born at Brigham & Women\'s Hospital on March 13, 1997. His mother had been admitted to the hospital the previous day for induction of labor due to worsening hypertension. Extensive fetal testing, including a biophysical profile the day before admission, had been completely normal. The fetal heart tracings were normal on admission. Over the next 24 hours, the fetal heart tracings showed increasingly worrisome signs. The plaintiff claimed that the defendants, who were residents on the 11 p.m.-7 a.m. shift, were neglient in failing to recognize that the baby was in distress and in failing to recommend a Cesarean section to the attending physician. The baby was delivered several hours later, at 2:30 p.m., by another attending physician, who ordered a forceps delivery for non-reassuring fetal heart tracings. The baby had Apgar scores of 6 and 7, and developed apnea and seizures in the neonatal intensive care nursery. A CT scan the day after birth showed extensive brain swelling. The plaintiff claimed that child’s cerebral palsy resulted from a hypoxic injury during labor; the defendants claimed that the hypoxic insult had occurred within the few days before the child’s mother was admitted to the hospital for induction of labor. The child, now 10 years old, suffers from severe cerebral palsy. He is legally blind, fed through a tube, cannot talk, and has minimal voluntary movements. He requires total care. After two and a half days of deliberation, the jury found the two residents liable to child, and exonerated the labor and delivery nurse who was on duty during the night shift. The jury awarded a total of $26.5 million, including $9.5 million for pain and suffering, $2 million for loss of earning capacity, and $15 million for future medical expenses. With interest, the award totals approximately $39.7 million.
