Eight and a Half Million Dollars Awarded in Birth Injury Case

A family was awarded $8.5 million in a birth injury case. According to the lawsuit, the baby suffered a severe brain injury in 2010 while in the care of MetroHealth Medical Center in Cleveland, Ohio.

The lawsuit claimed that the mother likely contracted a placental infection, the baby did not receive adequate oxygen to the brain, and the baby was not resuscitated properly.

The family said that the child, now three years old, will never be able to lead a normal life or care for herself. She has to be fed with a tube each day.

An important piece of evidence in the trial was the baby’s APGAR score. The scoring system is named after Dr. Virginia Apgar, the anesthesiologist who devised it in 1952. Infants are evaluated on five criteria, which are summarized in a backronym: appearance, pulse, grimace, activity, and respiration.

In this case, the infant had a pulse when she was born, but she was not breathing. Neonatal resuscitation experts were not notified in time to prevent brain damage. At trial, forensic evidence was introduced that showed that the baby’s APGAR score had been changed in such a way as to make it appear that the hospital was not responsible for the child’s injury.

Failure to respond properly to a baby who is not breathing is just one type of medical malpractice that can lead to a birth injury lawsuit. Doctors and hospitals may also fail to detect infections in the mother or baby, misuse medical equipment, misread fetal monitors, or make medication errors.

Comments are closed.

CHICAGO LAW OFFICE
205 W Randolph St. Suite 925
Chicago, IL 60606

Phone: 312.222.0010
Fax: 312.222.1203

MAP/DIRECTIONS

NORTHFIELD LAW OFFICE
Two Northfield Plaza, Suite 385
Northfield, IL 60093-4126

Phone: 312.222.0010
Fax: 312.222.1203

MAP/DIRECTIONS

Phone: 312.222.0010

JOLIET LAW OFFICE
175 N. Chicago St.
Joliet, IL 60432-4126

Phone: 312.222.0010
Fax: 312.222.1203

MAP/DIRECTIONS

SCHOLARSHIP

PODCAST: Our podcast covers personal injury topics and cases.

Chicago Injury Alert by Briskman Briskman & Greenberg

© 2024 Briskman Briskman & Greenberg All rights reserved.
Disclaimer | Sitemap | Privacy | Accessibility Statement

The law firm of Briskman Briskman & Greenberg represents injured people throughout Illinois, including Chicago, the Chicagoland area, Joliet, Waukegan, Cicero, Evanston, Arlington Heights, Wheaton, Bolingbrook, and Naperville, as well as other cities within Cook County, Will County, DuPage County, Lake County and McHenry County. Briskman Briskman & Greenberg also represents injured people throughout Wisconsin, including Kenosha, Milwaukee, and Madison.

Custom Legal Marketing | Law Firm SEO That Works