Florida Hospital to Pay $15 million for Birth Injury

Florida birth injuries, while rare, are devastating for the victims and their families.

Along with the physical and emotional trauma of birth injury, the financial burden can be just as devastating. Now, Florida lawmakers in Tallahassee agree. They recently passed House Bill 965, which is on its way to the Governor’s desk.

The claims bill would completely change the quality of life for Aaron Edwards, who was born with cerebral palsy 14 years ago in Lee County. In 2007, a Florida jury found that negligence by Lee Memorial Hospital employees caused Edwards’ injuries during birth. The jury awarded nearly $31 million to Edwards and his parents, but the state’s sovereign-immunity laws shielded Lee Memorial from having to pay that amount. Edwards requires around-the-clock physical care and he can only communicate with the use of a computer system. National statistics find birth injuries occur in about six to eight out of every 1000 births. As any good Florida birth injury lawyer knows, many of these types of injuries are preventable and are caused by the careless actions of the doctors, nurses, and other healthcare workers.

Our experienced team of Florida birth injury lawyers has handled a variety of birth injury cases, including:

• Brain Damage o Cerebral Palsy
• Shoulder Dystocia
• Erb’s Palsy
• Spinal Cord Injury

The most common type of birth injury occurs when doctors use instruments, such as forceps, to aid in the delivery process. These tools can be misused and easily harm a fragile infant.

During times of distress, it is critical that doctors and nurses make sure the baby has enough blood flow and oxygen to the brain; otherwise, long-lasting and sometimes fatal injuries can occur. Oftentimes, a cesarean section may be necessary in order to avoid further injury to an unborn child, and a delay in performing a cesarean section may cause serious trauma.

Harm can be also be caused by the misuse of vacuum extractors or forceps. If proper and prompt care is not taken during this critical time and a birth injury results, the attending doctor(s) may be guilty of medical malpractice.

At the Law Offices of Robert Rubenstein, our Miami-Dade & Broward team of birth injury attorneys and medical malpractice lawyers will thoroughly review the circumstances of your case to determine if your child suffered an injury during birth due to the negligence of healthcare professionals.

The consultation is free.