An Illinois family has agreed to a $9.5M medical malpractice settlement after mediation with an Illinois hospital, nurse midwife and the nurse’s employer after she claimed that her son’s birth injury, resulting in cerebral palsy, was caused by negligence.
The woman filed a cerebral palsy lawsuit claiming her son was deprived of oxygen during the birth process which caused a brain injury. According to her lawsuit, the nurse midwife was required to have a sponsoring physician on call but her sponsoring physician was away and she did not call another physician in to the case.
The child, who is now 14, has a permanent disability which requires lifetime care. In the settlement, the hospital has greed to pay $7.5 million. The doctor and midwife will each pay $1 million as part of the settlement.
Cerebral palsy can be caused by the lack of oxygen at birth which can cause permanent disabilities including seizures, blindness, mental retardation and physical impairments.