Posted On: October 26, 2006
Brain damaged baby awarded 16.5 million by Federal Judge
Jaymes Song of the Associated Press reports that a brain damaged baby was awarded $16.5 million by a federal judge in Hawaii. Instead of oxygen the baby was given carbon dioxide until he was permanently brain damaged:
A minute into Izzy Peterson's life, a doctor administered what she believed to be oxygen to give the newborn's breathing a boost. But for 41 minutes, Izzy was accidentally given carbon dioxide, which slowly ate away at his life. Izzy, born healthy on Jan. 14, 2005, is now silent with severe brain damage. He breathes through a tube in his neck and eats through another connected to his stomach. The 1 year old requires around-the-clock nursing care at his home in San Antonio and is expected to die before he turns 30. Chief U.S. District Judge David Ezra on Thursday ruled the federal government must pay the boy's family $16.5 million in damages, which is believed to be the largest verdict for a single person in a personal injury case in Hawaii."Jaymes Song, Associated Press, Dallas Morning News, 10/20/06
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/APStories/stories/D8KS5V483.html
I think it is important to note that this is a judge making this award and not a jury. While the amount may seem high to some people, the fact is that it takes millions of dollars to care for a brain damaged child.
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