Almost any parent in Massachusetts will tell you that the birth of his or her child was one of the happiest moments in his or her life. There is nothing quite like the joy and contentment one can feel by holding his or her brand new baby. Unfortunately for some parents, this moment can be marred when their child is born with complications, especially if those complications could have been avoided.
This is the case for a couple whose baby was born in 2003 with severe brain injury and cerebral palsy. The girl, who will soon turn 10, requires a feeding tube for nutrition and a wheelchair to get around. When she is not in elementary school, she requires constant nursing care; something that is estimated to cost between a total of $5 million to $10 million over the course of her life.
The girl’s parents recently sued the hospital and the doctor they feel are responsible for their daughter’s condition. They were awarded $15 million for their medical malpractice suit. Although that number is great, the couple may see very little of it due to a medical malpractice cap of just over a million dollars in the state where they live. The couple’s lawyer plans to challenge the state law.
The little girl and her family will have to spend the rest of their lives paying for the negligence of medical staff during an elective fetal blood sampling procedure performed on the fetus during the mother’s pregnancy. They did the right thing by hiring a lawyer to fight for the compensation they deserved.
Source: Courier Press, “Evansville couple wins $15 million lawsuit against St. Mary’s Medical Center,” Mark Wilson, Aug. 26, 2013
