Cerebral Palsy Twins Awarded $13 Million in Medical Malpractice Suit

A Pennsylvania jury awarded $13.2 million to 10-year-old twin girls who suffered serious brain damage and cerebral palsy in utero, which allegedly resulted from a physician's failure to adequately diagnose and treat their mother's urinary tract infection.

After a three-day deliberation, the jury determined Dr. Morgan T. Smith Jr.'s negligence directly resulted in the neurological damage Samantha and Alec Lindstrom suffered. Samantha was awarded $6.9 million and Alec was given $6.3 million.

According to the lawsuit, the twin's mother, Lisa Lindstrom, had a “high risk” pregnancy. During the 26 th week of her 1995 pregnancy, she contacted doctors about her 102-degree fever and her concern of a urinary tract infection.

Lindstrom was told to take Tylenol and drink fluids and call back in a few hours. Her temperature decreased, but she still suffered chills and shakes. Later that night, Lindstrom's temperature “soared” to 104 degrees and she was rushed to the emergency room.

The lawsuit claims Lindstrom was given muscle relaxants to stop her contractions. Two days after her initial call to her doctor, the twins were delivered prematurely by Caesarian section.

Both girls spent a great deal of time in the hospital's neonatal intensive care unit and suffered serious brain damage that resulted in cerebral palsy.

According to an expert witness, Dr. Yitzchak Frank, a pediatric neurologist in New York, Lisa Lindstrom's untreated urinary tract infection caused serious neurological damage in both newborns, which resulted in cerebral palsy, mental retardations, behavioral problems, and speech and language abnormalities.

Neither child will lead independent lives and both require special education and treatment for their condition.