The birth of a baby is usually a very joyous time in parents’ lives as they welcome a child into this world. The hope is that everything goes smoothly and they have a healthy baby, but not every parent is that lucky. There are many things that can go wrong, and there are complications that can arise. When they do, the hope is that the medical professionals do their jobs correctly and do everything in their power to help the child. Unfortunately, from time to time mistakes are made, and a child’s condition may worsen as a result.
This unfortunately happened to a couple that gave birth to a child in Pennsylvania. The child was born with an internal bleed in her head. The child was brought to the neonatal intensive care unit. While in the unit, a doctor wrapped the child’s head with an ace bandage and misdiagnosed the child. At a medical malpractice trial, experts testified that the doctor not only misdiagnosed the child, but that it is not medically accepted practice to wrap a child’s head who has that condition.
As a result of the wrap, the child has permanent scarring and hair loss. After a judge ruled that the doctor acted negligently, a jury awarded the family over $47 million in damages. This is believed to be the largest jury award ever in a U.S. District Court in Pennsylvania.
This situation demonstrates the importance of having doctors who do their job correctly. Mistakes in these situations can have very severe consequences. However, as demonstrated above, people who suffer from the mistakes may be entitled to compensation for their losses.
Doctors in Pennsylvania are human just like anyone else and as a result make mistakes from time to time. Doctors are not expected to be able to heal everything, but there is an expectation that they will do their jobs to the best of their abilities. When they do not, people may want to seek compensation for any damages they cause. These are not simple cases, though, and proving negligence is not always easy. Experienced attorneys understand this and may be a useful resource.
Source: wjactv.com, “Jury awards family more than $47 million in Conemaugh malpractice case” Dillon Richards, March 22, 2018