A note-worthy ruling was recently made regarding a couple’s malpractice lawsuit for the loss of a son following a breeched delivery by a mid-wife. The child survived 13 days in the neonatal intensive care unit before passing away from severe brain damage and organ failure following a loss of oxygen from being delivered breeched. It opened its eyes just before he passed. The $5 million dollar award is remarkable for several reasons. Firstly, the mid-wife in the case did not carry malpractice insurance and therefore it is unlikely whether the Plaintiffs in this suit will ever see $1 dollar from this case. One has to seriously question the wisdom of such an action in principal having been brought; considering all the additional suffering the parents had to further go through in re-living such a tragic loss for trial – to obtain an uncollectable judgment. Nevertheless, those parents were commitment to making the public aware of why this tragedy occurred. Secondly, the next interesting aspect of this outcome is the fact that it was from a JUDGE’S VERDICT, without a jury; and therefore speaks volumes of how much a judge considered the parents suffering to be deserving of. In Florida, we have gone through decades of debate over the concern that jurors, if left up to their own sense of right or wrong (sympathy) would provide outrageous jury verdicts on pain and suffering alone. Yet, this judge, in a conservative community and left up to his own conscience found that $5 million dollars was an appropriate value.
For further discussion regarding this topic please contact the Fort Lauderdale Malpractice Attorneys at the Schulman Law Group at 954-349-3300, 1-877-529-0444 or at info@www.schulaw.com
