Seventeen years ago, a woman who was six months pregnant with twins sought medical attention at a hospital because she was worried that she was having contractions. Sometimes doctors are able to safely stop contractions in order to prevent a woman from going into labor too early. When babies are born prematurely, they could suffer serious health complications, including birth injuries and brain injuries.
But while she was being treated by medical staff, nurses and doctors at the hospital ignored her concerns and instead gave the woman some Benadryl. Hospital staff even forced the woman’s husband to go home. Later that evening, the woman gave birth to twin girls. One baby survived the premature birth with little health complications. The other baby suffered a disabling brain injury.
Last week, the family finally won their medical malpractice lawsuit that had been filed against the hospital where the twins were born. The father of the girls said that he felt “vindicated” when the jury announced the $100 million verdict. The family can now rest assured that the hospital will be held accountable for its negligence. “For 17 years my wife felt like she had done something wrong,” the father stated.
The family’s lawsuit argued that the hospital failed to give the woman proper care when she sought medical attention for her contractions when she was only six months pregnant. The lawsuit stated that the hospital’s staff should have recognized that the woman was having contractions. Staff could have then taken measures to prevent the woman from going into labor and delivering her babies. Instead, the woman’s twins were born three months early, weighing less than 2 pounds each.
For the past 17 years, the daughter who suffered the brain injury, which resulted in cerebral palsy, has watched her sister live a normal life. She hopes that the award will allow her to do more things like her sister. The award will also cover all past and future medical expenses.
Source: New York Post, “Family of SI cerebral palsy teen wins $100M lawsuit against birth hospital,” Josh Saul, Aug. 25, 2012
- Our firm represents clients in medical malpractice and negligence matters that stem from events such as those described in this post. To learn more about our firm and practice, please visit ourWill County cerebral palsy lawyer page.
