On Friday May 29, 2009 a Frederick County, Maryland jury awarded $3,900,000.00 ($3.9 Million Dollars) to a boy whose family proved that his cerebral palsy was the result of doctor negligence and medical malpractice. The doctors apparently failed to properly monitor the child’s heartbeat while his mother was at the hospital. 2 individual doctors were held liable for the child’s brain damage and CP including an emergency room physician and an obstetrician. The nurses, a third doctor, and the hospital were found not liable for the newborn child’s injuries and mental retardation.

According to news sources, the Plaintiff visited Frederick Memorial Hospital when she was 36 weeks pregnant. She was not properly monitored, and there was a ruptured placenta that caused the child named Ryan’s heart rate to fall. The case was litigated by Paul Bekman. The ruptured placenta and brain damage occurred as a result of the negligence of Frederick Memorial Hospital and its staff and employees who failed to properly monitor the pregnant lady and her child and failed to perform appropriate testing. Although the lady came to the hospital at 5 am on May 7, 2000 and the fetal heart rate showed 128 beats per minute, it is alleged that no other tests were performed until after 8 am according to the Amended Complaint.

When the nurse was unable to locate a fetal heart rate at 8 am a doctor came in and realized the fetal heart rate was only 30 beats per minute (bpm). An obstetrician was then called in to do a C-Section. The doctors at Frederick Memorial Hospital who were found liable by the jury are Brian Rader, MD and Edward Chen, MD. The jury verdict included $71,000 in past medical costs, $870,000 for medical expenses up until the child reaches the age of majority, and $2 Million Dollars for medical care costs after age 18, $750,000.00 for lost earnings (also known as lost wages) and $300,000.00 for pain and suffering.

This is a very significant verdict for Frederick County, Maryland. There have not been a lot of plaintiff verdicts in medical malpractice cases and brain damaged baby cases in Western Maryland counties such as Frederick County, Washington County, Garrett County and Allegany County, Maryland.

Although there have not been a lot of medical malpractice and birth injury verdicts, we have heard a lot of complaints about the quality of medical care in Frederick County and other counties in Western Maryland. If you or someone you love has a child with cerebral palsy or any other birth injury, it is important to have the medical records reviewed by a seasoned Silver Spring medical malpractice attorney.

The personal injury lawyers at Goldberg Finnegan have experience handling cerebral palsy cases, brain damaged baby cases and other medical negligence cases.