Published: Sun, August 26, 2012 @ 12:00 a.m.
The Plain Dealer
CLEVELAND
In a verdict announced at 3:30 a.m. Saturday after 15 hours of deliberation, a Cuyahoga County Common Pleas jury ordered MetroHealth Medical center to pay $8.5 million to the mother of a child who suffered permanent brain injury at birth three years ago.
Nala Myers, who turned 3 on Saturday, suffered lack of oxygen to the brain because she was not promptly and properly resuscitated after delivery, according to the lawsuit for her mother, Tierra Myers.
She is tube-fed, unable to speak or walk and will never be able to care for herself, said Myers’ attorney, Bill Jacobson of the Cleveland law firm Nurenberg, Paris, Heller & McCarthy.
The hospital contended that a placental infection caused the baby’s distress, he said.
“Our sympathy goes out to the family,” spokeswoman Shannon Mortland said in a statement for MetroHealth. “However, there were complex issues associated with this case, and we feel we acted appropriately.
“We anticipate examining our options for appeal.”
Lawyers for the hospital could not be reached for comment.
The size of the judgment reflects the lifelong care Nala will require. A search of the Lexis.com jury verdict database indicates it is not unusual for cases in Ohio in which significant brain damage occurs during childbirth.
The eight-member civil jury heard almost three weeks of testimony by experts from around the country before starting their deliberations around noon on Friday. They reached their decision at 2:45 a.m. Saturday.
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