Family’s birth injury lawsuit on verge of approval by government

On Behalf of | Dec 14, 2013 | Birth Injuries

Expectant parents have a lot on their mind. From getting the baby’s room ready to sending out birth announcements, there are many tasks to accomplish. Of course, the primary one is to make sure that the baby is healthy. Deliveries are so routine these days that people might not think that much could go wrong when a baby is born. While complications are certainly not the norm, they are definitely a possibility.

One family was devastated when their son was born at a medical center on an army base in 2008 with brain damage; he developed cerebral palsy. At first, the mother assumed that the problems were genetic or some kind of birth defect. However, upon doing some quick research, she learned that the problems were due to a trauma at birth — one that could have been prevented.

According to a lawsuit that the family filed, physicians gave the woman an excessive amount of oxytocin, which was administered in order to induce labor. However, the suit alleges that the drug made the woman’s contractions overstimulated, which caused the baby to become distressed.

The boy is now 5 years old; he has to be fed via a feeding tube. He is not able to speak, nor to walk. A judge recently signed an order for the government to pay the family $6.5 million for the negligence that led to the boy’s condition. While the money won’t fix the child’s condition, it will give the family peace of mind and the means to care for him in the years to come.

Source: Killeen Daily Herald, “Judge: Darnall negligent during birth,” Rose L. Thayer, Dec. 5, 2013

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