Cerebral Palsy Malpractice April 30, 2009.

Teen Wins $100 Million Medical Malpractice Lawsuit for Cerebral Palsy Disability

August 25, 2012, nypost.com reported that a jury awarded a 17-year-old girl $103,075,617.82 for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering after an 11-day trial. Unfortunately, the defendant hospital went bankrupt two years earlier, so that amount would be reduced to $16 million in insurance coverage, according to the family’s medical malpractice attorney.

"The award will help me do whatever I want to do in life and give me a little more freedom," the girl told reporters. She suffered brain damage and cerebral palsy when she and her twin were born prematurely. The lawsuit alleged that the hospital neglected to recognize the mother’s contractions, gave her Benadryl, and sent her home instead of preventing the premature delivery.

"For 17 years my wife felt like she had done something wrong," the plaintiff’s father stated. "I felt vindicated when the verdict was announced."

Judge and His Wife Awarded $49 Million Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit After Botched Delivery

After an 11-day trial and a four-hour deliberation, a jury awarded a judge and his wife $49 million for their daughter’s botched delivery. According to nytimes.com, the mother, who’d been diagnosed with placenta previa, went into labor at the eight-month mark. After a sonogram, labor was induced.

"Because of the position of the placenta, however, vaginal delivery was not possible and the baby became distressed, suffered head injuries and her heartbeat began to slow," the lawsuit stated. "As a result, Mrs. Saxe was given a Caesarean section, but because of the failure to determine the position of the baby with the sonogram, an improper incision was made and the baby suffered further distress in delivery."

In fact, the child suffered skull bleeding and severe bruising of the forehead, face, eyelids, and right shoulder as well as a hematoma to the back of her head, per the family’s medical malpractice attorney. The child now has difficulty walking, talking, and using her arms.

Nursing Home Sued for Cerebral Palsy Patient’s Death

In a state that "forces families to institutionalize their loved ones," a 14-year-old girl was taken from her mother and transported five hours away to a nursing home, where she died of cardiac arrest, according to HuffingtonPost.com.

"I started crying because I knew it would be too much for my daughter on that trip," the girl’s mother told reporters. "There was no doctor there to receive her, only nurses. They didn’t send a report on how to give her food or meds. They didn’t give her food or water until late hours of the night."

Before that trip, she’d spent 29 days at a hospital that neglected her, wouldn’t let her go outside, and allowed her to lose 30 percent of her body weight from malnourishment. The family’s attorney said she remained deprived of food, water, and seizure medications during her five-hour journey to the nursing home. She was also strapped down despite two dislocated hips.

When she arrived at the facility, she was "screaming," according to the local newspaper. She suffered a heart attack 12 hours later.

"There was obviously medical negligence here across the board," the family’s attorney said. "But there are civil rights violations here too. This is one of the worst cases I have ever seen."

If you have questions about your child’s cerebral palsy, attorney Chris Mellino welcomes you to contact our Cleveland office for a free consultation.