An Oklahoma federal judge upheld a $15 million award to the parents of a child with a cerebral palsy birth injury found to have been caused by the medical team at Indian Chickasaw Nation Medical Center hospital.

U.S. District Judge Joe Heaton announced the $15 million award in November 2018, which also included $350,000 in noneconomic damages, including pain and suffering, for each of the three family members. The amount is the largest allowed under Oklahoma law for intangible losses.

Overview of Birth Injury

Alexis and Taylor S. filed the lawsuit against The Indian Health Service & Chickasaw Nation Medical Center after their son suffered irreversible brain damage during his May 2016 birth. The baby boy was later diagnosed with cerebral palsy and spastic quadriplegia, muscle stiffness in the arms and legs. The child will require lifelong medical care, Indianz.com reports.

Heaton based his ruling on testimony from the parents’ medical experts, who, according to Law360, said “a nurse’s failure to comply with a doctor’s orders to stop or decrease a labor-inducing drug called Pitocin — instead increasing the drug — caused (the baby’s) brain injury due to oxygen deprivation.”

The judge determined a team of doctors was also negligent becasue they “delayed resuscitation attempts for too long, causing traumatic injuries” to the baby.”

The judge noted that the nurse’s mistake was “compounded by her failure to notify the doctor or nurse-midwife of signs of fetal distress.”

Heaton characterized the baby as “severely disabled” and “not expected to crawl or walk.” The child requires a feeding tube and has been diagnosed as cortically blind, according to the judge’s written decision.

The parents’ lawsuit accused the medical center of failing to have a pediatrician present at the delivery “despite the medical center’s knowledge that the baby would likely require resuscitation after he was born.”

Chickasaw Nation Medical Center had “antiquated policies, procedures, and terminology related to labor and delivery,” the lawsuit states, and the care there is “inadequate and inferior and less safe for patients as compared to the national standard of care .”

After the judge’s verdict awarding $15 million to the parents, they filed a motion asking that the award be increased because the noneconomic damages exceed the $350,000 individual award amounts. The judge denied that motion.

Heaton ordered that $1.35 million of the award be placed in a trust for the child’s lost future income. The judge rejected the federal government’s request that the trust make payments to the family on a designated schedule.

What is Cerebral Palsy?

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines cerebral palsy as “a group of disorders that affect a person’s ability to move and maintain balance and posture.” Some 10,000 cerebral palsy birth injuries are reported annually in the United States, making it the most common motor disability in childhood, according to the CDC. Severity ranges between cases but individuals with the condition often suffer problems with vision, hearing, swallowing and speaking.

While medical malpractice is not the only cause of birth injuries, it’s important for parents to consider whether their child’s injuries could have been caused by the medical staff’s negligence.

The Cerebral Palsy Birth Injury Lawsuit is Case No. 6:17-cv-00186, in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Oklahoma.