• 27
  • September
    2011

A 14-year-old boy and his mother have been waiting for the $30 million they were awarded in a medical malpractice lawsuit against Lee Memorial Health System for the past four years. The family won their 2007 lawsuit and the judgment was upheld on appeal in 2009, but the Fort Myers, Florida, hospital still has not paid the family after causing the young man's cerebral palsy at birth. Now, they have turned to the Florida legislature and a claims bill in order to get the award.

A claims bill is a way for individuals to receive compensation for medical malpractice or other injuries caused by government-run entities. Because Lee Memorial is a public hospital, it has sovereign immunity that protects it from having to pay more than $200,000 in a medical malpractice lawsuit. In this case, the jury awarded the boy more than the liability cap, requiring him to seek approval by the legislature for the remainder of the award.

Fourteen years ago, when the mother was in labor, medical professionals at Lee Memorial gave her Pitocen to induce contractions. While doctors gave her progressively higher amounts of the drug, no one was monitoring the mother or the soon-to-be born child. Eventually, there was enough Pitocen in her system to cause severe contractions. The contractions began to deprive the baby of blood and oxygen, requiring an emergency cesarean section, but doctors were too late to prevent the young man's cerebral palsy.

A hospital spokesperson says that the hospital should not have to pay the boy's medical malpractice award. She continues to insist that he should not have won in court and notes that Lee Memorial does not need medical malpractice insurance because it is protected by sovereign immunity. According to the spokesperson, the hospital could better use the money to reinvest in patient care. While that may sound altruistic, the hospital is continuing to ignore a medical malpractice award that will likely provide a young man with what he needs to live a normal life.

Source: Naples Daily News, "Family seeks Legislature's help in receiving $30 million judgment vs. Lee Memorial," Liz Freeman, Sept. 16, 2011