To those who talk about “tort reform” and caps on malpractice awards. I ask you to imagine a scenario. Imagine if you would that you are a mother or father of a child who is severely brain damaged, because several obstetrical nurses were holding a holiday party in a room, and forgot to watch the fetal monitoring for a mother who was in labor.
This was a client of mine, named Julie, who delivered a beautiful but very ill baby with cerebral palsy. The reason Joshua had cerebral palsy is because this nurse who was assigned to monitor the readings of the fetal strips, simply did not do her job. Julie and her husband are in their early forties now and their child Joshua, is six. Joshua can not roll, feed himself, or toilet nor will he ever be able to do these simple tasks. This was all preventable if those charged with his obstetrical care had done their job–instead of having a holiday party down the hall of the hospital. When I received the estimate from the economist on the care of that child for the rest of his life, I was astonished that it would cost in excess of 20 million dollars. But the bottom line is that the cost of housing, feeding, and the medical care costs for such intensive care, does add up significantly. I ask then, how can we talk about caps on damages for Joshua?
If you or someone you know has been injured during pregnancy and/or delivery of their baby, contact Chicago Birth Injury Attorney Jay Paul Deratany for your free initial consultation.
Chicago Personal Injury Attorney Nathan Polum has assisted The Deratany Firm in winning millions for clients across Illinois. Concentrating in Brain Injury, Medical Malpractice, Birth Injury, Nursing Home Abuse & Accident / Injury cases, The Deratany Firm's compassionate lawyers are aggressive advocates for your rights.
