Sometimes doctors and nursing staff in New Mexico fail to deliver the best care they can during the birth of a child. This could result in a birth injury that has lifelong repercussions. In one case in another state, a mother and her 12-year-old son were awarded $53 million as part of a medical malpractice claim involving a birth injury.
The woman filed a lawsuit against a medical center back in 2013. She claimed that doctors, as well as nurses, mishandled her pregnancy as well as the birth of her son. Her son now has cerebral palsy. His mother has to help him to use the restroom, eat and bathe each day.
According to the lawsuit, the medical staff did not properly monitor the woman and her baby. They also were accused of not performing a cesarean section quickly enough and did not pay attention to signs that the baby boy was in distress. However, the hospital claimed that an infection in the body led to his cerebral palsy. The hospital asserted that the boy’s oxygen levels in the blood were normal when he was born and that his injury took place before he received care from the staff.
If doctors and staff in New Mexico do not exercise a reasonable degree of care when taking care of a pregnant woman and her baby, thus causing a birth injury, a medical malpractice lawsuit demanding compensatory damages may be appropriate. Punitive damages may also be sought in cases of egregious fault. Restitution from a successfully fought case may help to cover ongoing medical costs and other losses tied to the documented incident of medical malpractice.
Source: beckerhospitalreview.com, “UChicago Medical Center to pay $53M in birth injury lawsuit“, Heather Punke, July 1, 2016
