Chicago Birth Injury Lawyer Blog

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.

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Posted In: Birth Injury Trial , Cerebral Palsy , Verdicts and Settlements

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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.

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Posted In: Birth Injury Trial , Cerebral Palsy , Lack of Oxygen to Fetus , Verdicts and Settlements

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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.

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Posted In: Birth Injury Trial , Shoulder Dystocia , Verdicts and Settlements

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A judge has approved a $6 million birth injury settlement against a hospital on behalf of a 4-year-old who suffered injuries during his birth. The boy has cerebral palsy due to the neurological injuries he suffered during his birth at the local medical center. The settlement is the largest-ever medical malpractice settlement against this hospital. The amount reflects the costs of lifetime medical and attendant or assistive-care for the injured child as well as his inability in the future to earn income. The mother had entered the hospital for a routine birth and the doctors ignored all signs of distress during the later hours of labor and did not recognize the problem until the birth. This type of birth injury should have never occurred. To read more about the birth injury settlement, please click the link.

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Posted In: Cerebral Palsy , Verdicts and Settlements

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A settlement totaling $77,418,670 was recently reached with St. John’s Riverside Hospital for the family of a three-year-old boy who developed cerebral palsy due to unnecessary delays during birth. The medical malpractice lawsuit alleged that the hospital, and the obstetrician/genecologist who delivered the baby, failed to perform an emergency c-section despite the presence of signs that indicated that the baby was suffering from oxygen deprivation. Instead, the doctor opted for a vaginal delivery, which was alleged to have been initiated almost an hour later.

Click on the following link for more information about this $77 Million cerebral palsy settlement.

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Posted In: C-Section Delay , Cerebral Palsy , Lack of Oxygen to Fetus , Medical Malpractice Lawsuit , Verdicts and Settlements

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A 4-year old boy who suffered severe brain damage from birth injuries at the University of California, Davis Medical Center has reached a $5.7 million settlement with the hospital. A medical malpractice lawsuit was filed on behalf of the child alleging that the hospital’s negligence caused the boy to develop cerebral palsy. Attorneys for the University of California Board of Regents have called this the largest medical malpractice settlement paid by the university.

Read the article in the Sacramento Bee for more information on this birth injury settlement.

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Posted In: Cerebral Palsy , Verdicts and Settlements

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A Florida appeals court ruling this month may significantly broaden the number of brain injuries covered by a “no fault” insurance fund for birth-related injuries. Attorneys for the fund, which is paid for by doctor and hospitals known as the Florida Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Association, or NICA, plan to ask the court of appeal to clarify the ruling. The presumption of the ruling is that medical malpractice claims should be covered under NICA and should also be applied to doctors and hospitals that are defendants in such cases. In its ruling, the court also said that neurological injuries that “manifest at a later date” can also be compensated by the fund which relies on annual assessments from doctors and hospitals as well as membership dues from obstetricians. The goal of the NICA was to lower the cost of medical malpractice insurance for those who deliver babies and providing compensation for a limited number of catastrophic injuries including death. These cases are not compensable through traditional litigation. Illinois should consider adopting a fund that helps victims of birth injuries. To read more about the change in birth injury compensation, please click the link.

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Posted In: Verdicts and Settlements

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Earlier this week, a jury returned a verdict awarding $4 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit for birth injuries found to have been caused by a delayed c-section.

The injured baby’s mother had been pregnant with twins, but one died in utero. A few weeks later, doctors discovered that the surviving twin was in distress and determined that an emergency c-section was necessary. The operation was delayed for several hours, however, and the baby ended up being born with permanent brain damage that led to cerebral palsy and mental retardation. The award should help to guarantee that the child receives the necessary treatment that she will require for the rest of her life.

Read more about this delayed c-section case here.

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Posted In: C-Section Delay , Cerebral Palsy , Medical Malpractice Lawsuit , Survivial Action , Verdicts and Settlements

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Last week, a jury returned a verdict of $6.4 million to a woman for brain damage that she suffered during pregnancy. The medical malpractice lawsuit alleged that the woman’s doctor failed to properly treat her for preeclampsia, a condition that can cause high blood pressure in pregnant women. The woman’s baby was born free of birth injuries but she suffered a brain bleed after her condition became severe.

Preeclampsia and other hypertensive disorders have been recognized as being responsible for 76,000 maternal and 500,000 infant deaths each year, worldwide.

Click here for more information on this failure to treat preeclampsia verdict.

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Posted In: Medical Malpractice Lawsuit , Survivial Action , Verdicts and Settlements

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Last Friday, a jury in a medical malpractice trial awarded $4.4 million to the parents of a child who suffered a severe brain injury at birth. Three days before her scheduled induction, the mother went to the hospital with nausea and vomiting. A fetal heart monitor showed that the baby was in dire stress and in need of an emergency c-section but a nurse misread the data. This delay lead to prolonged oxygen deprivation, causing her daughter to suffer severe brain damage and later develop cerebral palsy. She died a year ago, at the age of less than 4 and a half, of complications from the disorder.

Read more about this birth injury trial here.

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Posted In: C-Section Delay , Cerebral Palsy , Lack of Oxygen to Fetus , Medical Malpractice Lawsuit , Verdicts and Settlements , Wrongful Death

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The hospital that gave Dennis Quaid’s twins a lethal dose of Heparin has settled with the family for $750,000. The hospital gave the babies a 10,000-milliliter unit dose of Heparin, a blood thinner, made by the Baxter Healthcare Corp. instead of the prescribed 10 milliliters immediately after the twins were born. The twins struggled for their lives after the lethal overdose of Heparin almost killed them. Fortunately, the twins survived the overdose administered by the healthcare providers at the hospital. A petition filed in the court shows that the Quaids and the hospital have agreed on the parents’ damages, but can still pursue birth injury claims for their children. To read the full story, click here.

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Posted In: Medical Malpractice Lawsuit , Verdicts and Settlements

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A jury awarded a child with cerebral palsy $20.5 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit that was filed as a result of mistakes that occurred at the time of the child’s birth. The case involved the June 2001 birth of a boy who has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy. The family alleged that the disability was caused by damage to the brain during a four hour delay in his delivery. The medical malpractice lawsuit states that after the mother arrived at the Community Medical Center she was hooked up to a fetal monitoring system which demonstrated that the baby was in distress, yet the doctor did not arrive to deliver the child for approximately two hours, and even after his arrival, attempts were made to induce labor instead of doing an emergency caesarean section. Cerebral palsy is a motor disability which is caused by brain damage that can occur before, during or immediately after birth. The family successfully argued that the doctor and hospital’s failure to do an immediate c-section resulted in a lack of oxygen to the baby’s brain, which resulted in the permanent brain damage. Cerebral palsy is a motor disability which is caused by brain damage that can occur before, during or immediately after birth. The family was able to successfully argue that the doctor and hospital’s failure to do an immediate c-section resulted in a lack of oxygen to the baby’s brain, which resulted in the permanent brain damage. The boy is now 7 years old, requires 24 hour care, is unable to use his hands, is mentally retarded, blind and functions at the level of a 9 month old. The cerebral palsy malpractice lawsuit awarded the family $2 million for past expenses incurred by the parents and $18.5 million for the child’s pain and suffering, lost earning capacity and future medical expenses. To read the full story, click here.

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Posted In: C-Section Delay , Cerebral Palsy , Lack of Oxygen to Fetus , Verdicts and Settlements

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A jury has awarded $20.5 million in a medical malpractice suit to the family of a child with lasting medical problems caused by mistakes made at his birth. The judge stated that it was the largest award in a medical malpractice case in his 10 years on the bench. The jury found the doctor and hospital negligent in their treatment of the child's mother during the delivery.

A fetal monitoring system indicated that the baby was in distress so the hospital called the doctor but he did not show up for two hours. During this delay, the baby was deprived of oxygen. After the doctor arrived, rather than performing an emergency c-section, he decided to induce labor, which forced the baby to remain oxygen-deprived. When it finally became clear to the doctor that the baby had to be removed, it was too late. The delayed c-section was finally performed nearly four hours after the mother had arrived at the hospital, after the baby had already suffered permanent brain damage. The baby was born with cerebral palsy. He is almost completely blind, has no use of his hands, has severe mental retardation. The boy is now 7 but, because of his birth injury, he functions at the level of a 6 to 9-month old.

The family will receive $2 million health care expenses and related costs. The child was awarded $18.5 million, which he will receive upon turning 18, for lost earning capacity, pain and suffering and medical expenses. Almost all of the money will be used for his care, since he will require 24-hour care for the rest of his life.

To read the full story, click here.

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Posted In: Cerebral Palsy , Lack of Oxygen to Fetus , Medical Malpractice Lawsuit , Verdicts and Settlements

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A DeKalb County family received a $15.35 million settlement in a birth injury malpractice. This is the largest settlement ever recorded in DeKalb County and one of the largest birth injury settlements in Illinois history. The lawsuit alleged the Defendant physician negligently used a vacuum extractor during labor and delivery. Over the course of nearly one hour, the physician used the vacuum extractor 18 times without success. Another doctor was called in to perform an emergency C-section after the infant’s fetal heart tones showed distress. The child suffered severe brain injuries as a result of the physician’s negligence.

Plaintiffs further alleged that the Defendant hospital failed to exercise reasonable care in evaluating the physician’s competency to perform vacuum deliveries at their hospital. The physician had previously settled in another birth injury malpractice, which resulted in the death of a newborn. To read the full story, click here.

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Posted In: Medical Malpractice Lawsuit , Verdicts and Settlements

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A Wisconsin jury awarded $11.4 million to the parents of a child born with Cerebral Palsy, and found a nurse and midwife at Gunderson Lutheran Medical Center negligent in the child’s delivery, causing the brain damage. The lawsuit alleged that the baby was deprived of oxygen due to a delay in his delivery and that the mother was administered the drug Pitocin in frequent and increased dosages without a physician’s order, in violation of hospital policy, which caused additional stress to the fetus and an abnormal contraction pattern.

The child suffers from Cerebral Palsy and other permanent personal injuries. He is not expected to ever walk or talk and requires a feeding tube. The parents state that, while the jury award cannot give their child a normal life, it will help them to provide the therapy, treatment, and accommodations that their son will need throughout his life.
For the full story, click here.

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Posted In: Cerebral Palsy , Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE) , Lack of Oxygen to Fetus , Medical Malpractice Lawsuit , Verdicts and Settlements

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A jury found a hospital liable for medical malpractice and awarded $4.25 million to the family of a girl who, after a traumatic birth, was born with Cerebral Palsy and brain damage. The baby’s heart rate began to drop while the mother was lying in a hospital bed but the doctor had gone home for dinner. By the time another doctor arrived and performed an emergency Cesarean Section, the baby had been deprived of oxygen for 20 minutes.

The jury found that the hospital ignored signs of fetal distress, failed to notify a doctor in time to perform a timely emergency C-Section, and that this delay caused the child’s injuries.

The jury awarded compensation for past and future medical expenses, lost future earnings and pain and suffering.

For the full story, click here.

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Posted In: C-Section Delay , Cerebral Palsy , Fetus/Fetal Asphyxia , Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE) , Lack of Oxygen to Fetus , Verdicts and Settlements

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