Cerebral Palsy Malpractice Lawsuit Settled For $2.4 Million

A medical malpractice lawsuit involving a baby born with serious brain damage and cerebral palsy as a result of inadequate medical care was settled late last week for $2.4 million.

Contra Costa Regional Medical Center in California has agreed to pay $2.15 million toward the purchase of a lifetime annuity for Morgan Lee, who suffered damage to his central nervous system during birth.

Lee, now 2, is quadriplegic and appears to be blind. “He can do nothing that you would expect a normal two-year-old to do. His prognosis is very, very grim in terms of him ever getting any better,” said his attorney, Stan Casper.

Donna Lee, his mother, was sent to the hospital by her doctor on July 23, 2004, because of concern over her elevated blood pressure – a condition that can jeopardize the health of both the fetus and the mother.

Four days later and despite the fact that she had been receiving a labor-inducing medication, Lee's mother still had not given birth.

Doctors performed several tests to determine if the baby was receiving enough oxygen. When a series of tests performed before 11 a.m. on July 27 failed to elicit a response from the baby, a doctor called for an immediate Caesarean section.

However, the C-section was not performed until two and a half hours later.

“It wasted precious time,” said Casper. “You could see that the baby had totally declined – a heart rate way, way depressed and insufficient to properly oxygenate the baby's brain.”

The lawsuit alleged that Lee was born with damage to his central nervous system as a result of the delay. Casper maintained that the damage could potentially have been avoided had the hospital acted immediately.

If Lee lives a normal life span, the total annuity payments will equal nearly $18 million. The hospital will also pay Lee's mother $250,000 as part of the settlement.