Chester County Jury Awards $32+ Million For Newborn's Brain Damage
By Brad Segall
PHOENIXVILLE, Pa. (CBS) -- A Chester County jury has awarded what's believed to be one of the largest verdicts in county history to a North Coventry, Pa. woman on behalf of her four-year-old daughter who suffered brain damage at birth.
After nine hours of deliberation, the jury ruled against two former nurses at Phoenixville Hospital and awarded $32.8 million to Leslie Proffitt on behalf of her daughter, Lillian.
Robert Bracken, lead counsel for the plaintiffs, says Proffitt was in early labor, on a fetal monitor which showed the baby's heart rate dropping. But, he says, the defendants failed to alert the doctor.
"If she (the doctor) would have known that, she could have done her intervention sooner and ultimately delivered Lilly sooner," Bracken says. "And in this type of situation, where a baby is being deprived of oxygen, each minute counts."
He says the delays caused brain damage that led to Lilly's spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy.
The bulk of the money will be used to ensure her future medical care. There was no immediate word on whether there will be an appeal.
