$13.9 Million won on a claim for medical malpractice leading to brain damage
A Gwinnett County jury verdict awarded a mother $13.9 million on a claim that doctors and nurses failed to detect oxygen deprivation to her unborn daughter during labor. The mother’s attorney shared how the medical center misread a fetal heart monitor and incorrectly diagnosed the baby’s condition as infection or meningitis.
The baby was born with cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and mental retardation. The girl who is now ten years old only has the intellectual ability of a 3-year-old. The jury was presented with testimonies of experts that included an obstetrician, gynecologist, midwife expert, as well as life care planners, pediatric neurologists, and endocrinologists.
The jury expressed how difficult it was to understand some of the medical concepts and to decide which expert to believe. Around 55 poster boards were used to explain medical terms used in delivery room. The jury was divided on the issue. The mother’s attorney was able to argue that the doctors should have intervened and performed a cesarean section to rescue the baby.
The plaintiffs’ attorney asked for a $19 million verdict- $12 million for the life car plan, $7 million for pain and suffering at $100,000 a year with a life expectancy of 70 years. The jury arrived at $13.9 million for the final amount. Gwinnett Hospital System was confident that the care provided was appropriate, and that the infections caused the child’s brain damage and the infection prevented her to access oxygen.
The suit which was filed in 2004 has now finally been closed.
Dempsey v. Gwinnett Hospital System, No. 09-C-20372