New York family’s medical malpractice suit settled for $5 million

A New York family will be able to better care for their disabled child now that their law suit against a New York hospital has been settled in their favor. The lawsuit alleged that hospital staff failed to provide proper care to the mother during her pregnancy. After several visits for observation and treatment during her pregnancy, her child was born prematurely and was diagnosed with quadriplegic cerebral palsy.

Medical malpractice lawsuits encompass a wide variety of areas from nursing home negligence, surgical errors and birth injuries. More common birth injuries include bleeding in the brain, spinal injuries, skull fractures and cerebral palsy. These cases are based on the belief that negligence was involved in causing the serious injury, either prenatally or during the birthing process. A birth injury suit allows parents to file a claim on behalf of their child and seek damages for past and future medical expenses as well as pain and suffering.

The main complaint in a medical malpractice case is that the patient did not receive proper medical care at a standard of quality expected in the medical profession. Birth injury plaintiffs might claim the hospital or health care provider did not properly monitor the mother or baby, or the doctor may have failed to take the necessary precautions during certain types of pregnancies.

There are several factors required for a successful medical malpractice claim. First, the plaintiff must offer proof that the injury in question was caused by the negligent act of a medical staff member. Ultimately this means they must prove that the physician or staff member’s actions did not meet the accepted standard of care and that failure to do so is what caused the injury.

In this birth injury medical malpractice case, the New York hospital settled the suit for $5.3 million before it went to trial, indicating there must have been enough evidence to meet the required threshold for successful trial verdict.

Source: Reuters, “NY Cerebral Palsy Lawsuit Settled for $5.3M,” Stephanie Rabiner, April 13, 2012