$40 Million Birth Injury Verdict: On March 23, 2023, an Illinois medical malpractice birth injury jury awarded compensatory damages in the amount of $40 million to a now 19-year-old woman who suffered permanent brain damage during her delivery that the jury determined was due to the unnecessary delay in performing an emergency C-section. The jury’s verdict included $20 million for future disability, $5 million for past disability, $4.75 million for future emotional distress, $750,000 for past emotional distress, $500,000 for past pain and suffering, $5 million for future caretaking expenses, and $4 million for future lost earnings.
The Illinois medical malpractice lawsuit alleged that the plaintiff’s mother was 40 weeks pregnant when she arrived at the defendant hospital in May 2003 with complaints of abdominal pain, cramping, and bleeding, all of which can be signs of a placental abruption, which is a medical emergency. Despite such complaints, the hospital staff allegedly failed to timely call for a physician to perform an emergency Cesarean section delivery that the plaintiff alleged would have avoided the harm suffered by the newborn.
The Illinois medical malpractice birth injury lawsuit was filed when the child was four years old; it took fifteen years to be tried before the jury.
As a result of the medical negligence, the child suffered seizures, mild cerebral palsy, speech disabilities, and developmental delays and has a significant executive function disorder along with memory deficits, the extent of which was reportedly the focus of the three-week trial. The defendant hospital reportedly had offered $3 million to settle the birth injury claims; the plaintiff’s Illinois medical malpractice lawyers suggested to the jury that they should award between $35 million and $37 million. The jury awarded $40 million.
The defendant hospital issued a statement after the trial, stating, in part: “There are no words to describe the level of our disappointment at the verdict and the devastation that is caused by egregious awards like this. The verdict does not reflect the facts of this case. We support our medical staff and clinical teams and stand by the care that was delivered. Awards of this massive size are devastating to this region. Nuclear verdicts are on the rise and they have devastating impacts on businesses, entire industries and the community at large.”
One of the plaintiff’s medical malpractice lawyers stated after the verdict: “We prosecuted this case for 15 years and persisted in rejecting the defense argument that Kiera wasn’t injured to the extent we said. On the outside, Kiera looks like a normal 19- year-old but the damage to her brain has limited her potential. Physically, Kiera is high functioning. Cognitively, her executive functioning is significantly impaired. The verdict is just and reflective of the complete compensation that Kiera deserves for the harm that was done to her by the conduct of the defendants.”
If you or a loved one have suffered serious harm as a result of a birth injury in Illinois or in another U.S. state, you should promptly find an Illinois medical malpractice lawyer, or a medical malpractice lawyer in your state, who may investigate your birth injury medical malpractice claim for you and represent you or your loved one in a birth injury medical malpractice case, if appropriate.
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