Hospital to pay multi-million settlement in birth injury lawsuit

A $17.5 million settlement was recently reached in a birth injury lawsuit.

The lawsuit alleged that negligence on the part of a hospital and obstetrician during labor and delivery led to a boy being disabled for life.

Jurors cleared the Ob/Gyn of liability, but found the hospital negligent and liable. Although jurors ordered the defendant to pay $18.27 million, the mother agreed to accept a slightly lower settlement amount in exchange for the hospital not appealing the verdict.

The lawsuit claimed that the mother presented at the hospital in 2007 for the delivery of her son, with no known injuries or conditions and no indication of a high-risk pregnancy. The doctor ordered that labor be induced with the commonly used medication Pitocin, and the obstetrician left standing orders for Pitocin to be administered.

According to the lawsuit, the mother experienced a certain contraction pattern for six hours, causing the baby’s brain to be deprived of oxygen. The lawsuit also claimed that the epidural was not turned off despite a doctor’s orders to do so, and that this resulted in the baby becoming lodged in the birth canal.

As a result of the birth injury, the child developed spastic quadriplegia, a form of cerebral palsy, and will require lifelong care, the suit claimed.

Paul Greenberg is a Chicago birth injury lawyer with Briskman Briskman & Greenberg. To learn more call 1.877.595.4878 or visit http://www.briskmanandbriskman.com/.

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