A hospital in West Reading, Pa. has settled a medical malpractice lawsuit involving a young boy who suffered a severe brain injury during birth. Reading Hospital has agreed to pay the family $32.5 million for the incident that occurred in 2018.
The unnamed boy suffers from hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, which stems from a lack of adequate oxygen and blood flow to the brain that occurred during his delivery. The injury causes seizures, cognitive impairment and reduced motor function that can be severe and last a lifetime.
In a statement, the law firm representing the boy’s mother, Miranda Garcia, said the injury happened when clinicians failed to properly identify fetal distress, which could have been remedied with antibiotics and a Cesarean section. Then, after the baby was born with hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, staff failed to deploy interventions that could have reduced brain damage.
The medical malpractice lawsuit was filed in 2022 by Ross Feller Casey, a personal injury law firm out of Philadelphia.
"[Garcia’s son] requires around-the-clock care, which his mother has largely shouldered. This settlement will help significantly to provide the care he needs and will help his mother navigate what will be an enormously difficult road ahead," Matt Casey, founding partner at Ross Feller Casey said in the statement.
Opening arguments in the case took place this week at the Philadelphia Court of Common Pleas, but the case was quickly settled out of court.
Reading Hospital has not publicly commented on the case and has not admitted culpability.
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