United Brachial Plexus Network, Inc.

I'm so sorry that your case didn't turn out as you expected. The important thing is you tried!!! You can tell your child that. Also, is there any chance she can still sue when she turns 18. Is there a chance that the case can be appealed? I think I would talk to another attorney to look over how the case went and whast could have been done differently, if anything, if you want to keep pursuing this. You need to find your own peace of mind.

We settled for much higher then 100,000 I personally would not take it but it depends on how strong your case is

Our case was in a federal court (with a jury) due to the fact that the suit was on behalf of both my child and myself.

Bridget

My daughter was born in an Indian Hospital in Oklahoma. The doctor totally freaked out in the delivery room. After she was born, they knew immediately that something was wrong, but the doctor did not even have the guts or the courtsey to say anything to my husband. (I was in surgery to remove my placenta.) Stephanie was born basically dead, she was gray and did not take a breath for almost 3 minutes. She was bruised from her eyes all the way down her body. Her left arm was lame. Almost 9 hours after Stephanie was born, the doctor finally came in to talk to me. (Only because I was asking for her.) When I brought her home from the hospital my mother-in-law kept telling me to sue. The hospital had told me that she might get the use of her arm, but that they didn't know. But we lived in MO and they could not do anything for her. I was told to move her arm in and out. OHH how she cried. We did this every 2 hours for almost 6 months. They like a miracle, she began to move her arm on her own a little. Still my mother in law said to sue. I said no. I felt lucky to have my baby girl, felt like they had saved. It was about 2 years later that realized the truth. It was to late to sue. As a parent, you have 2 years from their birth to sue in their behalf. (She can still sue when she turns 18. Which she is.) Eight years later, we finally have a name put to it. It really saddens me that all this could have been avoided, if the doctor had taken the time to listen to me. I wish I had been smarter then. Stephanie would have had the treatment she deserved earlier. I feel that every case should be public knowledge, including the doctor's name and the nurses present. Thank you for listening. I feel a real need to vent lately.

mom 3,

I read of a case here in Buffalo, NY, and the child got $750,000 compensation. Just thought I'd throw that out there.

Jody O.

From what I'm told by my attorney, if an insurance company for the doctor offers a settlement of the full amount of the policy, you take it. If you go to trial and the full amount of the policy has been offered and you lose your out of luck, but also if you win it doesn't matter how much you're awarded because you will still only receive the limit of the policy. A jury could award even millions but you would still only get the cap of the doctors insurance policy. Unfortunately in Florida the least legal amount of malpractice insurance a doctor can carry is 250,000 dollars. That was all our doctor had, the least legal amount. So when we were offered the settlement of the full amount of the policy we would have been stupid not to take it and risk not getting anything. Other doctors may carry more and offer more but if the policy limits are offered you take it. Do I wish he'd been insured for more, he** yes!So the amount of a settlement doesn't relate to the severity of the injury or how good the attorney is it basically relates to how much the insurance company offers and how much insurance the doctor carried and how much of it they offer and how much you accept. I hope I explained that well enough. So I would say if someone got 750,000 dollars then their doctor was WELL insured.

I was told too that we could only receive the amount of the Drs. insurance policy. We were picking a jury when the insurance adjuster offered 1.5 million. His policy was 2 million and the judge did let us know that and that we could get that much from the jury. Of course, we took the settlement but it still shocks me it took 6 yrs and about 10 minutes worth of negotiations. 2 yrs. has past since then and I still reflect on how very lucky my daughter was to have been offered this kind of settlement. She is severely injured and no, this doesn't take away that kind of pain but it does give me peace of mind to know she will always be able to care for herself. The trust we set up for her is until she is 65 and very protected from future relationships and from herself! Good luck to all of you that still are awaiting the outcomes. Many of my bpi friends were not as fortunate. We also put a charitable donation clause in her trust and she has put it to good use!