Sadly, birth defects are sometimes unavoidable, even when Massachusetts moms do everything they can for a healthy pregnancy. Birth injuries, on the other hand, quite frequently are preventable, and there’s little worse than knowing a perfectly healthy baby was injured during birth due to a doctor’s careless mistake. A recent lawsuit in another state alleged just such medical malpractice.
According to the civil claim, the baby had been in a position known as footling breech before birth. It was alleged that, during the high-risk delivery, the doctor did not adequately protect the infant’s head and neck. In fact, it was asserted that the doctor lacked the sufficient experience, training or qualifications to even attempt such a complex and delicate procedure safely, yet he did so regardless, and in what witnesses reported to be an aggressive manner.
As result, the newborn was paralyzed from approximately the middle of her chest downward. A specialist from the Massachusetts General Hospital for Children testified that brain scans showed the baby had suffered trauma during her delivery, and physicians at another hospital backed up the statement, concluding from an MRI that her injuries were a result of birth trauma they deemed significant. The child, now 6 years old, is unable to stand on her own and undergoes therapy several times a week.
A jury clearly agreed that the birth injuries were the fault of the doctor, awarding over $40 million to the child’s family. Of that, $30 million will go toward her future medical expenses, which are expected to be excessive due to the extreme nature of her medical condition. This, sadly, is often the case for infants injured during birth. Anyone in Massachusetts whose child similarly suffered serious birth injuries due to a doctor’s negligence may wish to explore options for just compensation by consulting an experienced attorney in the North Adams area, particularly since a successfully litigated medical malpractice suit is typically the only means of securing the funds necessary to get injured children the care they need.
Source: philly.com, “$40M to Delco girl with spinal injury in medical malpractice case“, Dan Spinelli, Jan. 25, 2018
