A Massachusetts family was recently awarded $30 million after a child was born with significant brain injuries. 
According to the Boston Globe, the family filed a lawsuit against a nursing staffing agency, saying the provider failed to properly monitor the birth of the child during his delivery. The mother involved in the lawsuit was allegedly in labor and pushing for more than five hours, and her son was born with almost no heartbeat and was not breathing.
The lawsuit claims that the medical team was not using a continuous fetal heart-rate monitor during the delivery. As a result, the family said the child suffered severe brain injuries, as an umbilical cord was wrapped around his neck during the delivery.
The delivery occurred in 2013. The child now cannot walk, speak, or eat on his own.
According to the Globe, earlier this month, a jury awarded the family $30.6 million, finding Cross Country Staffing Inc., which supplied the nurse responsible for monitoring the child’s heart rate, negligent in its care and treatment.
Shortly before the verdict, a confidential settlement tied to the size of the jury award was reached between the family and attorneys for the agency. The agency, based out of Florida, provides nurses to low-staffed hospitals across the country.
The hospital involved in the delivery, as well as the midwife and the obstetrician, settled for an undisclosed sum last year before the case went to trial. For further information, you can click on the source link below.
Delivery Delays Can Lead to a Lifetime of Medical Costs
As this case allegedly shows, brain damage during birth can occur due to complications with delayed medical care, or the failure of doctors and nurses to properly monitor a child.
If your child suffered a brain injury due to the negligence of a healthcare provider, our Ryan Krebs, M.D., J.D., is uniquely qualified to handle medical malpractice cases.
Our firm is well versed in birth injury law and each birth trauma attorney can provide you with the legal advice and representation you need to successfully pursue a case. For a free discussion about your case, call 1-(800)-460-0606.
