Eleven Year Old Cleveland Boy and His Mother Recover Damages for Birth Injury

In Cleveland, Ohio, an eleven year old boy and his mother were recently awarded a fourteen and a half million dollar verdict against the hospital where the boy was born and an obstetrician who examined his mother when she was admitted to the hospital. The boy, Alijah, has cerebral palsy, which was caused by a brain hemorrhage that occurred between the time that his mother was admitted to the hospital and the time that he was delivered.

Cerebral palsy is a birth injury which affects individuals throughout their entire lives, making long-term care a necessity. Like many other people who have cerebral palsy, Alijah has a number of other physical and mental health conditions, such as cognitive delays and impaired vision. These conditions will also require long-term care. Because of these factors, the jury awarded Alijah and his mother eight million dollars to pay for the care that he will need in the future, five million for his pain and suffering, and a million and a half dollars for his mother’s services and the other economic damages that they have already incurred.

Alijah’s mother knew that a cesarean birth was a possibility throughout her pregnancy, as well as an early delivery. She had delivered via emergency C-section at 32 weeks during her first pregnancy, eleven years prior. While she was pregnant with Alijah, she went into labor three times. Each time, doctors were able to stop labor with a combination of bed rest and medications.

On April 10, Stephanie Stewart’s water broke, and she was again admitted to the hospital. She talked with her doctor, and they agreed that she would have a cesarean birth. Stewart wanted to deliver her baby shortly after she arrived at the hospital, but the nurse and residents who were on call at the time said that she should wait. An obstetrician examined Stewart, and said that the baby was healthy and did not need to be delivered just yet.

A few hours later, Alijah exhibited signs of distress, and he was delivered via emergency C-section. He had suffered a brain hemorrhage, which happened, according to medical evidence, in between the time that Stewart was examined by the obstetrician and the time that he was delivered. If his delivery had occurred when his mother had wanted it to, he would not have gone into distress and the hemorrhage would not have occurred.

If your delivery was delayed and your child was injured as a result of the delay, you may be able to recover damages. To learn more about whether you can pursue a Tennessee birth injury lawsuit, discuss your case with a knowledgeable Tennessee Birth Injury Attorney as soon as possible. The dedicated Tennessee Birth Injury Attorneys at Bailey & Greer, PLLC would like to learn more about your case. We can answer your questions, explain your options, and help you decide how to proceed. We can help you to pursue the recovery that you deserve so that you can focus on giving your child the care that they need. To learn more, call us at 901-680-9777 to schedule a time to discuss your case.  At Bailey & Greer, PLLC, we are small enough to care, big enough to fight, and experienced enough to win.

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