The Virginian-Pilot
©
NORFOLK
The federal government will pay $2.3 million to settle a medical malpractice lawsuit involving a child born with neurological damage at Portsmouth Naval Medical Center.
U.S. District Judge Robert G. Doumar approved the settlement between the Justice Department and the Holweger family of Virginia Beach, according to a court filing made public Monday.
Scott and Michelle Holweger sued the United States early last year, seeking $15 million in damages. The couple alleged that inadequate care at Portsmouth Naval Medical Center caused their child to be born with developmental disabilities.
The government denied any malpractice and admits no wrongdoing in the settlement.
In 2006, Michelle Holweger checked into the hospital with severe cramping in her lower abdomen. She was 35 weeks pregnant, according to the lawsuit. She was moved to a triage room and connected to a fetal heart monitor, which showed abnormalities indicating the fetus was under stress, the suit says. Instead of notifying a doctor, the papers say, the staff left Holweger for more than an hour without any intervention.
About 2-1/2 hours after she was admitted, doctors performed an emergency cesarean section. The doctors determined that the placenta had detached from the uterine wall, causing a loss of oxygen to the fetus, the suit says.
The baby girl was born pale and limp, with respiratory failure and a slow heart rate, the suit says. She was intubated and later transferred to Children's Hospital of The King's Daughters.
The girl's "neurological injuries are extensive, severe and permanent," the suit says. "She is severely delayed in all areas of development." The damage, including cerebral palsy, will be lifelong.
The case was set for trial Dec. 7, but the parties had been working on a settlement for at least two months, the court records show.
A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office, which defended the suit, declined to comment Tuesday. Attorneys for the Holwegers did not return phone messages.
The judge's settlement order states that the Holwegers' attorneys will receive about $675,000 in fees and expenses, $54,000 will go toward medical bills, and the remaining $1.57 million will go into a trust set up to care for the child.
Tim McGlone, (757) 446-2343, tim.mcglone@pilotonline.com
Delicious
Digg
Reddit
Facebook
Twitter
Google
Yahoo
1. The amount of money
1. The amount of money awarded is not enough for the care of the child. Remember, someone will have to be paid to care for the child's special needs if the parents can't properly do it.
2. The law pertaining to being able to sue the military only pertains to active duty military members who have been harmed. In this case, the individual harmed (the child) obviously is not in the military, therefore her parents can sue the military/government on the child's behalf.
3. When comparing how Attorney's get paid to how other professionals get paid (ie. nurses, doctors, engineers, policemen,pilots etc.), most would agree what attorney's get paid for their actual work done is a lot more than most.
Money
That is in no way enough money to care of a child like this for life if she lives to be 30years to 50 years.hope the parents dont blow all the childs money.seems like the lawyer came out better than the family.
This should do it
"-- remaining $1.57 million will go into a trust set up to care for the child."
(Last line of article) I guess it all depends on who the trustee is.
Is $1.5 million really
Is $1.5 million really enough to take care of a severely handicapped person for LIFE? I doubt it. And although I'm usually against this kind of thing, no amount of pain/suffering for the family but the lawyers get $650K? I'm a parent and can only imagine the stress/trauma of having a disabled child would bring on me and my wife.
Could be worse
Actually there could have been no payment, since the Government has that law that holds military medical systems harmless for mistakes. I'm really surprised that there even WAS a settlement. The allocation is fair, and insures that the child will be cared for.
Actually...
People actually serving in the military cannot sue the Gov't for Medical wrongdoing but their spouses and kids,who use these facilities, are allowed to sue. Being a military spouse myself, I think the family is fighting for the money to be able to care for their disabled child. The amount of money they're recieving will not cover a lifetimes worth of care.
The Lawyers
The lawyers will get to spend their earnings, but the family won't.
the lawyers
So glad the lawyers were paid $675K--essentially 50 cents on the dollar of the victim....Who says we don't need tort reform?
free market
You know, I hear this all the time, and while I do NOT practice personal injury law and am not directly affected by it...has anyone ever wondered why attorneys get 1/3 if they win...and nothing if they lose? Ever hear of the free market? There is nothing to prevent an injured person from choosing to pursue a personal injury claim on the same basis that they pursue a contract claim - by paying the attorney by the hour. Or by shopping a good case to several attorneys for a lower percentage. These lawyers probably spent well in excess of 1,000 hours on this case. Had they been paid by the hour, they would have earned 250-300,000 at local prevailing rates. They get paid more for taking a risk that they don't get paid at all.
Actually
It's actually about 34% of the total award. a far cry from 50 cents on the dollar, and within reason based on attorney rates.