A Maryland couple has been awarded one of the largest medical malpractice awards in the state, $55 million, for irreparable damage done to their newborn that occurred when they were forced to wait over two hours at a hospital for emergency Caesarean, and as reported by the Baltimore Sun.
R.F. had begun her labor at home under the care of a midwife, but was delivered to Johns Hopkins Hospital hours later on a stretcher, as R.F. needed to have her baby delivered via C-section.
R.F., along with her husband, E.M., filed a medical malpractice lawsuit due to the severe, and permanent, mental and physical disability their son, Enzo, now suffers with.
The award was handed down by a Baltimore Circuit Court jury. Once the state cap amount of damages is applied, the approximate remaining $29.6 million will be placed in a trust for the child to use as needed.
The couple was represented by attorney Gary A. Wais.
R.F., of why the hospital left her to wait so long for emergency care, said, "I don't know what was going on in their brains, and I don't know what was going on behind the scenes, and I don't know what was going on with other patients, but whatever it was that went wrong … I hope that it was at least a wake-up call or a learning experience, and it doesn't happen again."
Johns Hopkins Hospital is expected to appeal the verdict, according to their director of media relations and public affairs, G.S. A statement released by G.S. read, "While we certainly sympathize with Ms. (R.F.'s) situation, we are frankly stunned and surprised that the jury found for the plaintiff in this case given the evidence that was presented. We strongly deny the allegations in Ms. (R.F.'s) complaint and continue to firmly believe that the medical care provided to Ms. (R.F.'s) by Hopkins was entirely appropriate given the circumstances."
The breakdown of the multi-million award is as follows: $25 million will be allotted to both Enzo's future medical bills and a life-care plan, $4 million for his future lost wages and $26 million – reduced to $665,000 due to the state cap – for non-economic damages that include pain and suffering.
Wais said that Enzo's parents would most likely use the award to pay for his round the clock in-home care, build a one-story home to replace their current three-story home so that Enzo has wheelchair access and purchase any treatments or equipment he will need that isn't covered by their insurance.
The suit had been filed against the hospital as well as its parent company, Johns Hopkins Health System Corp. , arguing that the lack of medical care – given in a reasonable amount of time – caused their child to lose oxygen to the brain.
That wait, and subsequent loss of oxygen, is what R.F. and E.M. believe caused Enzo to be born with cerebral palsy and a seizure disorder – an allegation that the jury agreed with.
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