One of the largest judgments ever, $53 million, was awarded earlier this year in a Cook County, Illinois courtroom. The lawsuit was focused on a 12-year-old child who suffered a serious injury during his birth that resulted in severe complications that manifested throughout his life.
$53 million is one of the largest awards ever given by a jury and, so far, it has stood up to post-trial challenges including a motion for mistrial. This post will go over the case to explore what resulted in this extraordinary verdict.
The plaintiff suffered a severe brain injury after he suffered 12 hours of fetal distress during delivery. The case centered around whether or not the doctors failed to identify the distress signs which resulted in the delay of ordering an emergency cesarean section.
The mother came to the hospital early in the morning, at 2:00 AM, and was stuck with student residents who failed to address the emergency. It took 11 hours for an issue to be identified and another hour before the C-Section was administered.
The boy was born with severe hypoxia (lack of oxygen) which resulted in cerebral palsy. The resulting medical complications require that he receive care 24 hours a day, as he is unable to feed, bathe, or clothe himself.
If your child or a loved one was injured while being born, then you may want to contact a lawyer. You may not appreciate the enormous expense that a severe birth injury can incur, but once you do, you will need the compensation that an attorney can help you get. A lawyer may be able to get you the compensation you need to ensure that your child receives all of the medical attention they need due to their injuries, including the effects of cerebral palsy. You don’t want to rely solely on insurance and government programs, most of them are insufficient to cover all possible expenses.
