New York medical malpractice

This birth injury case was first filed in 1984 by the plaintiff's mother. According to Albany's Times Union, J. Tracy Busone gave birth to daughter Tiffany at the former Bellevue Woman's Hospital in Niskayuna, New York in July of 1984. However, the delivery was problematic. The hospital staff failed to properly resuscitate the newborn and she was deprived of oxygen for 10 to 15 minutes – which caused permanent brain damage. The mother filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the hospital, but for undisclosed reasons, it was never resolved. Tiffany, now 24 years old, is confined to a wheelchair and lacks normal motor skills due to her birth injury. Although she has above average intelligence and completed college, she will never be able to support herself financially due to her injuries. However, she wanted the malpractice lawsuit resolved – and with the help of an experienced birth injury lawyer – it was.

Record birth injury award

A jury awarded her a record $43.5 million for her birth injuries against the hospital which is now doing business as Ellis Hospital. She received $20 million to pay for home health aides, $15 million for future pain and suffering and an additional $6 million for past pain and suffering, medical expenses and loss of earnings.

Other birth injury verdicts and settlements

Although the above lawsuit is atypical because the injured victim was an adult at the time of the verdict, what isn't so atypical is the amount of the award. Due to their severity, birth injury settlements and verdicts can be significant. Here are some other examples:

• $38.5M Connecticut jury verdict. A mother received $38.5 million from her Connecticut birth injury lawsuit after her son was born with permanent brain damage due to doctors' negligence with a Caesarean section.
• $18.5M Wisconsin settlement. A mother settled her Wisconsin birth injury lawsuit for $18.2 million after her daughter was born with permanent brain injuries from a botched delivery in which she was left unattended for more than 12 hours.
• $15M Illinois settlement. A mother settled her Illinois birth injury lawsuit for $15 million after her son was born with permanent brain damage and disfiguration after doctors incorrectly used a vacuum extractor at delivery.