Tag Archives: birth trauma

The New York Post reported in August that a jury awarded $100 million to a Staten Island family for a birth injury that caused their daughter to develop cerebral palsy. Stephanie Debes and her twin sister Amanda, now 17, were born three months early at St. Vincent’s Medical Center on Staten Island. According to the lawsuit, the girls’ premature birth resulted from lack of proper care. The jury determined that hospital staff acted negligently by failing to recognize Catherine Debes’ contractions before she went into labor and failing to prevent the pre-term delivery of her daughters. As a result of her premature birth, Stephanie suffered a brain injury that resulted in cerebral palsy. According to the family’s attorney, Stephanie is “imprisoned in her own body” and “can’t even roll over in bed.” Her father describes her life as “a pretty lonely one” with few friends. He says the hospital failed…
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A Chicago family recently settled a birth trauma lawsuit against the hospital they hold responsible for causing their baby’s birth injury. When the plaintiff checked into the hospital to give birth, a “house” doctor with no formal training in obstetrics attended her labor until her regular physician arrived. By the time her physician got there, the baby had already suffered oxygen deprivation, which caused permanent brain damage. As a result, the baby developed cerebral palsy. The case was set to go to court, but on the eve of the trial, the Chicago hospital opted to settle with the family for $13 million. The family will receive part of the settlement in cash and the rest as future payments. Children with cerebral palsy typically require specialized treatment and care throughout their lifetime. An award like this one enables a family to afford the medications, therapy, special education, orthotic devices and/or surgery…
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