Having a child diagnosed with cerebral palsy can be a life-shattering event, resulting in a lifetime of expensive medical bills and the loss of whatever visions of a “normal” future you might have held. When this condition is a result of negligence from a medical practitioner, a lawsuit is often the only reasonable course of action.
The family of Christian Arroyo, born in 2003, filed a lawsuit stating that their son’s cerebral palsy and other birth defects were a result of negligent treatment by the government run clinic where he was born, and won a verdict for $29.1 million.
Their complaint stated that their son suffered from a brain infection for 12 hours, and that he exhibited every symptom of a brain infection, but medical staff missed the signs and failed to treat him with antibiotics.
The clinic, funded by the United States government, attempted to have the verdict thrown out on appeal, claiming that the case was filed after the statute of limitiations. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit rejected that argument and upheld the verdict.
Negligence on the part of medical practitioners can destroy lives. This boy’s life will most likely never be what most would consider normal. It is encouraging though that his family will at least have the resources necessary to support him and provide the best possible care. Please let our cerebral palsy lawyers know what you think of this verdict in your comments below.
