According to Courthouse News Service, a federal judge has ordered the United States to pay more than $28 million to the family of a boy who suffered severe brain injuries when doctors failed to performed a timely Caesarean section (c-section).
The news outlet reported that U.S. District Judge David R. Herndon entered judgment on December 20 for Sean Cobbs and his parents Patoya Bryant and Sean Cobbs Sr.
The case took place in East St. Louis, Illinois.
According to Courthouse News Service, the judgment “includes $3,216,827 for lost earnings, $15,165,708 for future care, $231,713 for past medical expenses, $5 million for loss of normal life, $3 million for pain and suffering, $2 million for disfigurement, $1 million for risk of future harm and a setoff of $1.6 million from a settlement with Southern Illinois Hospital Services.”
The family reportedly sued the United States under the Federal Tort Claims Act, citing the conduct of Drs. Donald Bishop, Akua Afriyie-Gray and Sridevi Panchamukhi, all board-certified obstetricians. The family also sued Southern Illinois Hospital Services and two nurses, which were settled prior to the federal lawsuit.
Sean suffered a hypoxicischemic brain injury during the last 40 minutes of his delivery, meaning his brain was deprived oxygen for an extended period, according to the family, which says that medical records proved that the baby should have been delivered via a timely c-section.
I Need a Birth Injury Lawyer
It should be noted that physicians are obligated to protect the safety of the mother and child by not allowing a delay in performing a c-section. If difficulties occur during birth and your child sustains a brain injury, you should contact our baby brain injury attorneys, who have the skill and dedication to help you get the compensation you deserve. Brain injuries often result in expensive medical treatment and long-term rehabilitation. In some cases, life-long care is required to maintain a good standard of living for a child born with a brain injury.
Children born with brain injuries also need specialized education, including speech, vocational and physical therapies, and possible accommodations in the classroom.
If you need to speak with a lawyer about your son or daughter’s brain injury, contact our birth injury attorneys. To schedule a free consultation with one of our attorneys, call our firm at 1 (800) 460-0606.
[Happy Holidays: The birth injury attorneys at Cappolino Dodd Krebs LLP would like to wish you a safe and happy 2014.]
