Illinois Hospital Settles Brain Injury Lawsuit for $6.5 Million
Posted on Jan 16, 2009 3:25pm PST
In Aurora, Illinois, a family recently settles a
medical malpractice lawsuit for $6.5 million. The lawsuit was filed against Provena Mercy Medical Center after the family accused the hospital of causing their son's brain injury during the birthing process. Yesterday, a Cook County Circuit Court judge signed a medical negligence agreement between the family and the medical center for $6.5 million.
In court documents, the family reported that their son, Roberto Morales, Jr. suffered brain damage while the doctors delivered him on April 7, 2001. Documents reveal that the family's obstetrician and labor nurses administered the mother the drug Pitocin, which is a drug that speeds up the delivery and labor process by increasing contractions. One of the side effects of Pitocen is that it can increase an unborn baby's heart rate and oxygen supply, which can result in debilitating side effects, like brain injuries. In the lawsuit, the family and its lawyer say that the doctors and hospital staff failed to respond appropriately to the baby's distress, which led to the baby incurring a birth injury.
After the birth, the baby boy had to be air transported to the Advocate Lutheran General Hospital emergency room in Park Ridge, Illinois by an emergency medical team because that hospital had a higher level of care for catastrophic injuries, such as the baby's brain injury.
The family's lawyer asserted that because the infant's injuries were so severe, he needed care from Advocate Lutheran General Hospital for over a month before he could be released.
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