$5.5 million - Record settlement in California for a brain injury to a child — hospital personnel failed to note symptoms, child suffered from a condition known as hyperbilirubenemia.

At the time, this was a record settlement in California for a brain injury to a child. Our neonatal and birth injury lawyers in California recently represented a child who was brain injured shortly after her birth. She suffered from a condition known as hyperbilirubenemia. There was a break down of red blood cells in her blood which resulted in excess biliruben. This biliruben eventually crossed the blood-brain barrier and stained the baby's brain resulting in a condition called kernicterus. This caused the child to become a spastic quadriplegic and unable to hear, although the baby had retained cognitive ability. Our office has handled several similar cases in the past. It was our contention that the hospital personnel failed to note symptoms suggesting the ongoing increasing biliruben which included bloody urine and increasing jaundice. When the baby's condition was finally diagnosed, treatment was attempted, but it was too late to prevent brain damage. Under California law, non-economic damages are limited to $250,000.

$2.0 million - Confidential Settlement for quadriplegic brain damage injuries to a 20 day-old child.

Three days after birth, a male infant presented to a pediatric clinic. The parents complained that the baby was very yellow. The physician said the baby was only yellow to the mid-chest and sent him home with instructions to call if the jaundice became worse. The jaundice did not become worse—it stayed the same. Three weeks later the child was admitted with severed hyperbilirubenemia and kernicterus. It was too late to avert the brain injury. Plaintiff contended that the baby should not have been sent home without either obtaining a biliruben level or setting a return visit within 48 hours so that the doctor could determine for himself that the jaundice was receding. The defense contended that with jaundice to the mid-chest most children do fine and it was extremely unusual for a child of this age to have his biliruben significantly increase for no known cause. The baby had significant quadraparisis and cognitive delay. The case was settled for the doctor’s full policy limits.