Post by gatordynasty on Sept 17, 2011 21:55:59 GMT -5
Jury awards $4.5 million to parents of child born with no arms, one leg
WEST PALM BEACH ā
Almost 3, Bryan Santana longs to play with toys and run alongside other children. But because he was born without arms and with only one leg, normal toddler games elude him.
On Friday, a jury awarded his West Palm Beach parents $4.5 million to help them buy prostheses, wheelchairs and other medical services experts say he will need to live any semblance of a normal life.
Genes and Chromosomes After nearly nine hours of deliberation over two days, a jury of four men and two women agreed that a Palm Beach Gardens obstetrician and the clinic where she works were negligent for not detecting the boy's horrific disabilities before he was born.
Had Dr. Marie Morel and an ultrasound technician properly administered a sonogram, they would have discovered the abnormalities, the jury found. Had Ana Mejia and Rodolfo Santana known, they said they would have terminated the pregnancy.
The $4.5 million is half the $9 million an expert said the couple will need to assure Bryan is cared for throughout his estimated 70-year life.
However, the teary-eyed couple said they were overjoyed.
"I have no words," Mejia said in Spanish. She and her husband agreed the award will change their son's life.
Attorney Mark Rosen, who represents Morel and OB/GYN Specialists of the Palm Beaches and Perinatal Specialists of the Palm Beaches, said an appeal is likely. "Obviously, we disagree with the verdict and we think the law wasn't applied properly," he said.
Juror Rebecca Long said the jury wanted to send a message that the care Mejia received was unacceptable. But, she said, jurors also felt the expert hired to devise Bryan's rehabilitation plan inflated some of the costs.
"We thought $9 million was too much, so we decided to do half of that," she said.
But jurors were appalled that the technician and Morel reported seeing four limbs on the second ultrasound Mejia received. When questioned, technician Tamara McClain couldn't explain why she noted that in the report Morel signed.
Since then, the office has changed its protocol, said Jason Weisser, the couple's attorney. Now, in keeping with national standards, it identifies each limb, he said in testimony that wasn't presented to the jury.
Long said she was glad to hear of the change. "There's no reason this should have happened," she said.
The clinic wasn't the only one to miss Bryan's abnormalities. St. Mary's Medical Center failed to detect them on three ultrasounds it administered. It reached a confidential settlement with Mejia and Santana.
The suit was based on the state's wrongful birth statute. Florida is one of about 25 states that allow parents to sue on behalf of children with disabilities, claiming they wouldn't have had the child except for the negligence of a health care provider.
www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/pb-baby-no-legs-lawsuit-verdict-20110909,0,1904111.story
WEST PALM BEACH ā
Almost 3, Bryan Santana longs to play with toys and run alongside other children. But because he was born without arms and with only one leg, normal toddler games elude him.
On Friday, a jury awarded his West Palm Beach parents $4.5 million to help them buy prostheses, wheelchairs and other medical services experts say he will need to live any semblance of a normal life.
Genes and Chromosomes After nearly nine hours of deliberation over two days, a jury of four men and two women agreed that a Palm Beach Gardens obstetrician and the clinic where she works were negligent for not detecting the boy's horrific disabilities before he was born.
Had Dr. Marie Morel and an ultrasound technician properly administered a sonogram, they would have discovered the abnormalities, the jury found. Had Ana Mejia and Rodolfo Santana known, they said they would have terminated the pregnancy.
The $4.5 million is half the $9 million an expert said the couple will need to assure Bryan is cared for throughout his estimated 70-year life.
However, the teary-eyed couple said they were overjoyed.
"I have no words," Mejia said in Spanish. She and her husband agreed the award will change their son's life.
Attorney Mark Rosen, who represents Morel and OB/GYN Specialists of the Palm Beaches and Perinatal Specialists of the Palm Beaches, said an appeal is likely. "Obviously, we disagree with the verdict and we think the law wasn't applied properly," he said.
Juror Rebecca Long said the jury wanted to send a message that the care Mejia received was unacceptable. But, she said, jurors also felt the expert hired to devise Bryan's rehabilitation plan inflated some of the costs.
"We thought $9 million was too much, so we decided to do half of that," she said.
But jurors were appalled that the technician and Morel reported seeing four limbs on the second ultrasound Mejia received. When questioned, technician Tamara McClain couldn't explain why she noted that in the report Morel signed.
Since then, the office has changed its protocol, said Jason Weisser, the couple's attorney. Now, in keeping with national standards, it identifies each limb, he said in testimony that wasn't presented to the jury.
Long said she was glad to hear of the change. "There's no reason this should have happened," she said.
The clinic wasn't the only one to miss Bryan's abnormalities. St. Mary's Medical Center failed to detect them on three ultrasounds it administered. It reached a confidential settlement with Mejia and Santana.
The suit was based on the state's wrongful birth statute. Florida is one of about 25 states that allow parents to sue on behalf of children with disabilities, claiming they wouldn't have had the child except for the negligence of a health care provider.
www.orlandosentinel.com/news/local/pb-baby-no-legs-lawsuit-verdict-20110909,0,1904111.story