The parents of a child with severe developmental disorders were awarded a whopping $55 million by a Baltimore City jury. The Baltimore jury ultimately found that the doctors delayed the decision to perform the surgery constituted medical malpractice worthy of a damage award. Having a child born with medical problems, especially those that may not be remedied, is among the most devastating outcomes of medical malpractice. Our Illinois medical malpractice attorneys are extremely experienced in these types of cases and have a long standing record of obtaining the largest settlements and jury awards for our clients.
Obstetricians are the surgically trained physicians that perform all medical matters pertaining to the birth of a child. In this modern day, there are generally two different ways that a child can be born: Caesarean section or vaginal birth, which is also known as a natural birth. A Caesarean section, also known as a C-Section, is a procedure that involves making rather large incisions in both the mother’s abdomen and her uterus. The obstetricians then remove the baby from the mother’s uterus.
As one can imagine, C-Sections are incredibly invasive and often require several days or even weeks for a mother to fully recover from having one. Additionally is the level of difficulty and danger in performing them, along with all other surgeries and deliveries obstetricians perform. As a result, obstetricians have to pay the highest medical malpractice insurance premiums, on average, of any other type of physician. The elevated cost of insurance premiums is derived from the huge nature of damages awarded to victims of these types of medical malpractice. This is likely the result of the innocent and helpless nature of babies and the special relationship mother’s have with their children.
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In this particular case, a Baltimore mother was experiencing many medical difficulties in the late stages of her pregnancy. It was originally planned that the mother would be giving birth naturally, and not by a C-Section. However, when she was admitted to the hospital, the obstetricians decided that they were going to need to perform a C-Section as a result of the medical difficulties. But while they decided a C-Section was necessary, they decided it was not imminent.
This decision not to immediately perform the C-Section ended up causing many serious developmental disorders. Ultimately, the C-Section was delayed over two hours. It has been since determined that this two hour delay was not only the direct cause of the child’s developmental disorders, but also constituted medical malpractice. When an emergency C-Section is ordered, two hours is an excessive period of time to wait before performing the surgery.
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Two year after the C-Section, the victims of this medical malpractice have started to see the profound effects of these disorders. The child is extremely far behind normally developed children in the areas of physical and communicative maturation. A damage award this large, $55 million, can be very difficult to justify in a financially struggling health care system. However, juries have a long history of granting large damage awards to victim’s whose children have been harmed. A child that is harmed at birth will often suffer from the medical malpractice their entire lives. The extended duration of their harm surely supports increased damage awards. Another relevant factor is the simple notion that children harmed at birth never had a fair chance at the world. It is for these reasons that juries are especially sympathetic towards these victims.
If you or a loved one has suffered from medical malpractice, it is imperative you contact an attorney as soon as possible to ensure that you are adequately compensated for your harm.
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