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Six-year-old Awarded Record $6.4 Million for Birth Injuries

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Following a four-year legal battle, the largest sum paid out for a birth injury case in Queensland will be awarded to a six-year-old boy. The settlement surpasses other recent large settlements, pleasing the family.

The parents of the six-year-old lodged the claim in Brisbane’s Supreme Court in 2007 for personal injuries and consequential loss as a result of negligence by Dr Robert Watson and HCoA Operations (Australia) Pty Ltd. The parents proceeded with legal action after what they claimed were complications during his birth.

The child was born via an emergency, lower-section, caesarean section. Earlier that day, the mother had visited the hospital after having high blood pressure but was discharged that afternoon. She was induced and told to return to the hospital if her condition worsened; she returned hours later. 15 minutes after she arrived, the doctor examined her and determined he would perform the emergency, lower caesarean section.

The child was born 28 minutes later but had suffered a serious brain injury due to lack of oxygen prior to his delivery. 12 hours after his birth, he developed seizures and was subsequently diagnosed with severe, spastic, quadriplegic cerebral palsy.

A concerned family member reports that he requires assistance to feed himself, he is unable to walk, he cannot stand unaided, and he suffers several other health complications.

Court documents state that had the foetal compromise been detected, “appropriate obstetric management could have been undertaken such that [the child] would have been delivered without sustaining the effects of hypoxic injury to his brain.” The family claimed that their child’s brain injuries were caused solely by negligence on the part of the doctor and the hospital.

The family reached an agreement with the defendants; the parents are also expected to receive an undisclosed sum. Since the incident both the mother and father have suffered tremendously. The mother experiences frequent crying spells, is socially withdrawn and suffers from intrusive negative thoughts, according to court documents. The father suffers from reactive anxiety and depression. The compensation is expected to be sanctioned in Brisbane’s Supreme Court today as it would be in Queens and Suffolk Counties.

Birth injuries affect entire families. That’s why you need the expert legal advice of a New York Birth Injury Attorney to help fight for your rights and just compensation.

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