A delivery that went wrong at a Colorado Springs hospital in 2007 left a child with severe and permanent brain damage and a condition known as spastic quadriplegia. She will need a high degree of supervision and care for the rest of her life. A lawsuit filed last year by the child's mother was settled early this year for $700,000. The lawsuit alleged that malpractice on the part of the nursing staff and physician led to the child's injuries by, among other things, failing to heed the signals from the fetal heart monitor which indicated the baby was in distress during labor.
Statute of Limitations Works for Child, But Not for Mother
In general, a medical malpractice action must be brought within two years from the date of the injury, although there are exceptions when the injury is not immediately apparent and is discovered later. Injured minors, however, have until their eighth birthday to bring suit, if they were injured before they were six years old. While the mother was able to recover a substantial settlement on behalf of her child, she waited too long to file a claim for herself and was barred from recovering for her own injuries. It is recommended to always contact an attorney as soon as possible after an injury to avoid such a result.
A Lifetime of Costs
The additional lifetime costs for a child born with such severe challenges will reach into the several millions of dollars. A payment of $700,000 can itself grow into the millions over time if properly invested. Hopefully the income generated will keep pace with the expenses as they are incurred.
Undocumented Immigrants Have Access to Courts
The mother of the injured child is an undocumented immigrant. The child, being born in America, is a U.S. Citizen. Regardless of the political debate surrounding immigration, it is the law of the land that undocumented immigrants have access to the courts and can sue for personal injuries, including medical malpractice that causes severe and permanent brain damage in their children.
If you or your child has been injured during a birth or other medical procedure, contact an attorney as soon as possible to make sure you are compensated in the case of professional negligence. In Colorado, contact the personal injury and medical malpractice lawyers at Paulsen & Armitage, LLC.
