A woman and her son were awarded $53 million in a medical malpractice case. The woman was able to prove that her son was born with cerebral palsy and an intellectual disability due to negligence on the part of an Illinois hospital. A judge upheld most of the award last week.
In the original case, the woman alleged close to 20 mistakes on the part of medical staff at an Illinois hospital. Those mistakes included a failure to monitor her and her baby, follow a chain of command, perform a C-section in a timely manner, obtain accurate cord blood gases, and notice abnormalities in monitoring that would indicate distress in her baby.
The jury in the case found in favor of the family. The jury awarded the largest verdict in the county’s history of record. After the verdict, the defendant filed a motion for a new trial, stating improper conduct on the part of the plaintiff’s attorney. Even though the judge denied a new trial, he did reduce the verdict by $950,000, citing a “technical error.”
The family has yet to collect any monies from the court case. Because it is a verdict rather than a settlement, the doctor named in the case has the right to appeal. An appeal would mean that the case would be tried a second time and the verdict may change. Whether or not an appeal will be filed is unknown at this time.
If you or a loved one have been harmed by a medical professional in New York, you may have the elements necessary for a successful lawsuit. Reach out to our team of experienced medical malpractice attorneys for your free case evaluation today. We will review the details of your injury and advise you of the options available to you under current state law.