Tripler Hospital To Pay $15M Over Botched Delivery

Tripler Hospital To Pay $15M Over Botched Delivery

Introduction

An Army couple whose baby suffered brain damage from a lack of oxygen during his delivery at Tripler Army Medical Center in 2018, in Hawaii has been awarded a $15 million payout by a federal court.

The couple will get an initial payment of $7.5 million as per the settlement conditions. The settlement would also include an additional $7.5 million in an annuity that would pay their son a monthly income for the rest of his life. One of the lawyers for the family said in his Honolulu office on Friday that the compensation, projected over a lifetime, amounts to around $38 million.

The settlement, which was approved provisionally by a U.S. Magistrate Judge on June 14, is now awaiting final approval by an assistant attorney general in Washington, D.C. Tripler, which is based just outside of Honolulu, makes no admissions of guilt in the agreement. It declined to comment on the situation on Friday.

According to the medical center's website, it provides tertiary treatment for the 264,000 area veterans, active-duty military members, and those who have retired from service.

According to the attorney representing, the father of the afflicted child, an enlisted soldier, was stationed in Hawaii when his wife went into labor on the evening of February 16, 2018.

Despite the mother's best efforts to birth the kid naturally throughout the night, the foetal heart monitor showed signs of concern by 6 a.m. the following day. According to the lawsuit submitted on August 28, 2020, despite the fact that his vital signs kept becoming worse, an emergency caesarean section was not carried out until shortly after 8:30 a.m. When the baby was born approximately ten minutes later, he was blue and unresponsive because his brain was not getting enough oxygen.

The C-section was delayed, according to the family's attorney, because medical staff finishing their night shift failed to adequately convey the severity of the situation to the incoming shift. He said that the attending physician was also failing to consult with nurses and floor personnel and do the necessary inspections in such a situation. The kid has seizures, cerebral palsy, and other neurological problems as a result of the poorly handled delivery, according to another lawyer for the family.

The youngster is now receiving behavioral treatment, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy. At this time, he is four years old and is still developing. His parents are really optimistic that his health will keep getting better.