Cerebral Palsy Medical Malpractice Claim Ends In $130M Jury Verdict

A Michigan jury has awarded $130 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit brought by the family of a child who was allegedly left with cerebral palsy caused by brain damage during medical treatment at two months old.ย 

Following trial in Oakland County Circuit Court, William Beaumont Hospital was ordered to pay more damages to 12-year-old Vihn Tran, indicating that medical malpractice during treatment in 2006 left the child with รฅ life-long disability.

Cerebral palsyย is a neurological disorder that may be attributed to brain damage suffered before, during or shortly after birth. If the childโ€™s brain is deprived of oxygen around the time of birth, it can result in irreversible damage that leaves the child with developmental problems, loss of motor functions and other life-long injuries and disabilities.

Spinal-Cord-Stimulation-Lawsuit
Spinal-Cord-Stimulation-Lawsuit

According to evidence presented at trial, Tran was hospitalized as an infant at Beaumont in 2006. When he was only two months of age, the hospital allegedly botched multiple attempts to start an IV, resulting in a breath-holding incident. The lawsuit claimed that two nuclear medicine technicians failed to announce a code blue alert and failed to give the baby proper treatment, such as chest compressions, to restart breathing. As a result, he suffered massive brain damage.

Local media reports suggest that the award is one of the largest in a Michigan medical malpractice lawsuit.

The family indicates that the money will be used to provide medical care for Tran, which will be needed for the rest of his life. However, the hospital has said that the verdict will be substantially reduced by state laws capping malpractice awards, and it plans to appeal the verdict.

Irvin Jackson
Written by: Irvin Jackson

Senior Legal Journalist & Contributing Editor

Irvin Jackson is a senior investigative reporter at AboutLawsuits.com with more than 30 years of experience covering mass tort litigation, environmental policy, and consumer safety. He previously served as Associate Editor at Inside the EPA and contributes original reporting on product liability lawsuits, regulatory failures, and nationwide litigation trends.




0 Comments


This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

Share Your Comments

This field is hidden when viewing the form
I authorize the above comments be posted on this page
Post Comment
Weekly Digest Opt-In

Want your comments reviewed by a lawyer?

To have an attorney review your comments and contact you about a potential case, provide your contact information below. This will not be published.

NOTE: Providing information for review by an attorney does not form an attorney-client relationship.

MORE TOP STORIES

Two years after allowing thousands of incomplete Suboxone tooth decay lawsuits to be submitted due to statutes of limitation laws, a federal judge says those cases should be filed individually or dismissed.
As the number of lawsuits over tabletop fire pits continues to grow, the CPSC has issued a warning indicating that despite a consumerโ€™s death linked to one product, the manufacturer has not agreed to remove the devices from the market.