February 15, 2010

Jury Awards $23.2 Million in Cerebral Palsy Birth Injury Case

A jury recently found a medical clinic and hospital negligent and awarded $23.2 million to the family of Kylie Rodgers, a two-year-old victim of medical malpractice. Kylie suffers from numerous permanent conditions resulting from her traumatic birth in June of 2007, which will require treatment for the rest of her life, including spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy, cortical impairment, neurological difficulties, and seizures.

Although it may sound large, verdict amounts such as this are not uncommon in birth injury cases, especially those involving a serious, permanent injury such as cerebral palsy, because the award has to pay for the lifetime of medical care that the injured babies require. In fact, $1.7 million of the verdict in this case was awarded just to pay for the healthcare expenses that Kylie already incurred in the first two years of her life.

Click the following link to read more about Kylie and this birth injury verdict.

November 9, 2009

$25 Million Verdict Awarded for Botched Birth in Cook County Medical Malpractice Trial

A $25 million jury verdict was recently awarded in a Cook County medical malpractice trial to a Chicago boy who suffers from cerebral palsy resulting from his botched birth eight years ago. Payton White was deprived of oxygen during his birth at Northwestern Memorial Hospital back in August of 2001. This caused severe brain damage which in turn led to him developing cerebral palsy. The verdict ensures that Payton will receive the extensive care and treatment that he is likely to require throughout his life.

Click on the following link for more information about this Cook County cerebral palsy verdict.

November 2, 2009

Family Awarded $893,684 in Birth Injury Lawsuit

A family was awarded nearly $900,000 in a birth injury lawsuit against a hospital and two doctors. The family accused the doctors and hospital of negligence in the handling of the woman’s labor and delivery, which caused a permanent shoulder injury to their son. The jury awarded the family $893,684 after the seven-day trial including $110,000 for future loss of earning capacity. The birth injury lawsuit alleged that the doctors should have known that the baby would likely weigh more than 10 pounds at delivery. As a result of this inaction, the baby’s shoulder got stuck behind his mother’s pubic bone after his head was delivered. This prevented his body from easily following his head during delivery. The birth complication caused injury to the nerves in the baby’s shoulder when his nerves were stretched. He has suffered permanent injuries, pain and suffering, disability and expenses as a result of the limited strength, dexterity and motion in his shoulder. To read more about the birth injury trial, please click the link.

October 9, 2009

Jury Awards Family $43 M in Birth Injury Trial

A jury recently awarded $43 million to a 25-year-old woman who suffers from cerebral palsy as a result of a hospital’s negligence during birth. According to an article on WTEN New 10’s website, the hospital staff failed to properly resuscitate the newborn during delivery. This critical medical error caused the plaintiff to suffer cerebral palsy, a lifelong disorder that affects movement. The family settled out of court 19 year ago with the doctor who performed the delivery; however the case against the hospital has been active since 1991. To read the full coverage of this birth injury verdict, click on the link.

September 15, 2009

First Paxil Birth Defect Lawsuit is Set to Begin

The first Paxil lawsuit against GlaxoSmithKline over alleged birth defects caused by the antidepressant is scheduled for trial to begin today in Philadelphia. This is one of approximately 600 similar claims involving heart defects and other injuries suffered by babies born to woman who used Paxil. The birth injury lawsuit claims that the use of Paxil resulted in life-threatening heart defects in her three-year-old son. Paxil is a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor prescribed to treat depression. It is one of the most common drugs prescribed in the Untied States. The plaintiffs claimed that GlaxoSmithKline knew about the potential for Paxil to cause birth defects, but hid data and failed to warn users of the potential birth defect side effects. The FDA released an alert in 2005 that studies showed that the drug could increase the risk of heart defects in infants when taken during the first three months of pregnancy. It then required the company to update Paxil label warnings to include the risk of birth defects. The company says there is no conclusive evidence that Paxil causes birth defects, and intend to argue that the injury suffered by the plaintiff’s son was not caused by the use of Paxil. The plaintiff’s son was born with holes in his heart that had to be addressed with multiple surgeries before he was six months old, which the birth defect lawsuit says is the result of the Paxil. To read more about the birth injury lawsuit, please click the link.