Jury Awards $20.5 Million in Cerebral Palsy/Medical Malpractice Case

A jury has awarded $20.5 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit after mistakes were made that caused lasting medical problems and cerebral palsy. Lackawanna county Judge Terrence Nealson said that the jury verdict was the largest he has seen in a medical malpractice case in his 10 years as a judge. This amount is larger than any seen in recent history in Northeast Pennsylvania. There has not been a malpractice verdict in the seven counties of Northeast Pennslvania that was larger than $10 million in the past 8 years.

Jurors deliberated for around four hours before they decided that Richard Behlke, M.D. and Community Medical Center were negligent in their treatment of Laura White, who gave birth to a baby named Cody on June 30, 2001. The jury decided that Behlke was 60% negligent while 40 percent of the negligence was assigned to the hospital.

Mrs. White and her husband, Daniel, decided to file a lawsuit in 2003 and are currently represented by attorneys Jeffrey Kornblau and Lynn Sare.

Mrs. White called her doctor at OB/GYN Consultants Ltd. because she believed that there might be something wrong with her child. Dr. Behlke told her to go to the Community Medical Center. Once she arrived, White was hooked up to a fetal monitoring system, which indicated that the baby was in distress. The nurses called Dr. Behlke, who did not arrive at the medical center for two hours. During that time period, the baby was very deprived of oxygen.

Dr. Behlke decided to attempt to induce labor, but that only made the situation worse. By the time Cody was delivered by Cesarean section, irreparable damage had been done. Cody has cerebral palsy and is unable to use his hands, and is completely blind and mentally retarded. According to Mr. White, Cody functions at the level of a 6 month old.

Cody's parents were given $2 million of the award for health care expenses and related costs. The child was given $18.5 million, which he will receive once he turns 18, for lost earning capacity, pain and suffering and medical expenses.