Birth Injury Lawsuit Results in $2.6M Verdict for Plaintiff

A Mississippi woman alleged in her lawsuit that her doctor’s inaction led to her child’s brain injuries. Birth injury lawsuits are among the largest verdicts you’ll see. The parents are left to pay for the care of the child. The child may need 24-hour a day and 7-day a week care in a skilled facility where the staff is trained to deal with those who have severe brain damage. Worst of all, any potential for the child’s life has been stolen from them. The funds from a lawsuit of this kind are typically placed into a trust for the child and help to pay for the child’s health care needs over the course of their life.

What Happened? 

According to the lawsuit, a routine sonogram allegedly revealed that the child was severely growth-restricted. The unborn baby weighed only half a pound at 20 weeks. The mother’s doctor reportedly failed to monitor the baby’s growth until it was born two months later. As a result, the baby allegedly suffered a brain bleed while in utero and was born with cerebral palsy. Now, an eight-year-old, the child cannot walk, talk, or feed themselves. The child’s life expectancy is roughly 25 years.

The plaintiffs contend that the doctor should have monitored the baby’s growth when he recognized the child was undersized in November. The doctor involved in the case told attorneys that he managed the plaintiff’s pregnancy as though it were normal.

The doctor also testified that the abnormal growth diagnosis was “not real”. He said during depositions that he only provided the medical diagnosis so that Medicaid would cover the woman’s medical intervention. The doctor maintained that the child’s condition was related to factors the doctor could not have remedied. The jury awarded the mother and her baby $2.6 million in damages.

Talk to a St. Petersburg Medical Malpractice Attorney 

If you or your newborn has been injured due to the actions or inactions of your physician, call the St. Petersburg medical malpractice attorneys at Masterson, Hoag & Smith to discuss the matter, free of charge, in more detail.

Resource:

clarionledger.com/story/news/local/2020/11/30/rankin-county-jury-awarded-mother-2-6-m-medical-malpractice/6389286002/