Amanda Antell  |  June 12, 2019

Category: Birth Injury

Top Class Actions’s website and social media posts use affiliate links. If you make a purchase using such links, we may receive a commission, but it will not result in any additional charges to you. Please review our Affiliate Link Disclosure for more information.

sleeping baby in bassinetMassachusetts General Hospital (MGH) has been ordered to pay a family $30 million after a jury found them liable for traumatic birth injuries their infant had suffered. According to the claim, the baby had suffered serious injuries at birth that reportedly caused the child to have life long problems.

The Boston Globe reports that the medical malpractice lawsuit was filed by Kim B. and Daniel B., who alleges that her son had not been properly monitored during her labor, which caused him to be born not breathing and with almost no heartbeat.

The claim states the medical team was not expecting this because they had not been using a fetal heart rate monitor, which did not allow the medical staff to properly monitor the state of the baby during the delivery.

Fetal Heart Rate Monitoring

According to the medical malpractice lawsuit, the on staff nurse had checked the infant’s heart rate intermittently while using a handheld device.

While the intermittent readings were meant to indicate the infant’s condition, the lawsuit states that the nurse was actually monitoring Kim’s heart rate. If an abnormal heart rate was present, Kim would have undergone a C-section to deliver the baby or the doctor would have used tools like forceps or a vacuum.

The lawsuit points out that MGH policy requires medical professionals to use a continuous fetal heart rate monitor, especially when the mother is pushing during the second stage of labor.

The nurse and MGH allegedly failed to do this, which caused serious injuries at birth. Approximately one in every 9.714 people in the United States are born with a birth injury.

The most common birth injuries include Brachial Plexus Palsy, bone fractures, spinal cord injuries, and cerebral palsy.

Overview of Birth Injury Allegations

The baby was born in January 2013 and the labor reportedly lasted five hours. The claim states he was born with the umbilical cord wrapped around his neck in the birth canal which left the infant with serious brain injuries.

Kim and Daniel’s child reportedly cannot walk, speak, or eat on his own and will most likely have these difficulties for the rest of his life.

This medical malpractice lawsuit made its way to a Suffolk County jury that awarded the family $30.6 million, reportedly finding Cross Country Staffing Inc. negligent in the care and treatment of Kim and her son.

Cross Country Staffing was the company that supplied the nurse who was reportedly monitoring the infant and should have noticed the slow heart rate.

According to the Boston Globe, the company, shortly before the verdict, reached a separate settlement with the family and will be spared from the $30 million. Lawyers involved stated that the settlement is one of the largest awards for a medical malpractice lawsuit in the recent history of Massachusetts. Other birth injury malpractice lawsuits are still pending around the country.

The trial lasted approximately two weeks. Kim and Daniel were reportedly “completely overwhelmed with joy” when they heard the verdict.  Kim stated they not only were seeking compensation for her son’s injuries at birth, but also wanted hospitals to implement better safety guidelines and instructions for fetal heart monitoring to help prevent similar injuries to other newborns.

Do YOU have a legal claim? Fill out the form on this page now for a free, immediate, and confidential case evaluation.

The cerebral palsy attorneys who work with Top Class Actions will contact you if you qualify to let you know if an individual birth injury lawsuit or class action lawsuit is best for you.

Hurry — statutes of limitations may apply.

 

Learn More

We tell you about cash you can claim EVERY WEEK! Sign up for our free newsletter.


Get Help – It’s Free

Get Help From a Birth Injury Lawyer

We at Top Class Actions are not attorneys, but by filling out the form on this page, we will connect you to a birth injury attorney with years of experience with complex birth injury cases.

If your child was injured at birth, you may have a legal claim. Submit your information now for a free case evaluation.

A birth injury attorney will contact you if you qualify to discuss the details of your potential case at no charge to you.

  • By submitting your information, you agree to receive communications from Top Class Actions and to be contacted by an attorney or law firm to discuss the details of your potential case at no charge to you if you qualify. The law firm responsible for the content of this page is LegaFi Law LLC.
  • NOTE: If your child was born before 2008, you do not qualify for this investigation.
  • Hidden
    NOTE: If your child was born before 2008, you do not qualify for this investigation.
  • Select all that apply.
  • We tell you about cash you can claim every week! Subscribe to our free newsletter today.
  • Hidden
  • Hidden
    By checking this box, I consent to receive from Top Class Actions, and the lawyers, their agents, or their co-counsel sponsoring this investigation, marketing emails, calls, or texts sent by automatic telephone dialing systems or otherwise. I understand that this authorization overrides any registrations on any Do Not Call registry(ies). I understand that consent is not a condition of purchase and that I may opt out at any time. Review Top Class Actions’ Terms and Conditions and Privacy Policy here.
  • This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Please note: Top Class Actions is not a settlement administrator or law firm. Top Class Actions is a legal news source that reports on class action lawsuits, class action settlements, drug injury lawsuits and product liability lawsuits. Top Class Actions does not process claims and we cannot advise you on the status of any class action settlement claim. You must contact the settlement administrator or your attorney for any updates regarding your claim status, claim form or questions about when payments are expected to be mailed out.