Children in Oregon deserve the best possible start in life. Parents spend months, leading up to their children’s births and even years after, making sure they get that great start. Unfortunately, some things — like birth injuries — are simply out of parents’ control.
An out-of-state judge recently awarded $15 million to a teenage boy for the injuries he suffered at birth. In 2015, his parents sued the hospital where he was born on his behalf, alleging that the medical staff did not intervene as they should have during her labor. The now 15-year-old boy suffered serious brain injuries as a result of their actions.
The lawsuit alleged that the hospital never properly monitored her son while she was in labor, which means they missed warning signs that he was in distress. The mother says that the staff did not tell her about her options for having a cesarean section when they realized that her son was being deprived of oxygen. As a result, he was born with multiple neurological deficiencies, including cerebral palsy. The judge agreed that, had doctors stepped in earlier to perform a timely C-section, the boy would have likely been born without any injuries.
Birth injuries are generally not temporary problems. Oregon victims suffering from neurological or physical disorders from birth have to live their entire lives with injuries that require ongoing and expensive care. Successfully navigating medical malpractice suits can be just one step toward securing that care while also holding negligent parties responsible for their actions.