Jury awards $101 million for a child’s birth injury

The birth of a child is one of the greatest joys that a parent could ever experience. Expecting parents in Maryland often spend months planning for their new baby, like decorating the nursery, buying diapers and even selecting a pediatrician. While parenthood itself can easily throw off some of those plans, having a baby who has suffered a birth injury can derail the plans altogether.

This was the situation that an out-of-state mother found herself in just over five years ago. While she was in labor, fetal monitoring showed abnormalities that were detrimental to her son’s health. However, the medical professionals at the hospital ignored the warning signs for nearly six hours before she finally gave birth. Her son was born with injuries as a result of their failure to act in time.

The mother chose to file a medical malpractice claim, stating that she felt it was important for her son’s voice to be heard. Experts who testified during the case concluded that the little boy would have been born without any injuries if hospital staff had told any of the doctors about the observed abnormalities. If they had been alerted, one of the doctors would have been able to perform a cesarean section.

A jury recently awarded the now 5-year-old boy and his mother $101 million for his injuries. Since he cannot walk, talk or otherwise care for himself, that compensation will likely go a long way in providing the long-term care that he needs. His mother is also pleased that she will be able to bring her son back home. Although she cared for him by herself for the first four years of his life, she could not keep up with hefty cost of doing so, and was forced to place him in a residential facility for people living with developmental disabilities.

No parent should have to learn that another person’s negligence harmed his or her child, but this is the terrifying reality for many Maryland families. A birth injury does not just affect the child, it also affects all those who love him or her and who will have to find a way to provide necessary care. In many cases, filing a medical malpractice claim can be an appropriate choice for securing the financial security to do so.