Brain Damage Lawsuit

09 Mar Brain Damage Lawsuit

Baylor, Doctor Settle Brain Damage Case for $11 Million, Woman Should Have Had Emergency C-Section, Lawsuit Claimed

(Dallas) A Dallas court on November 29 approved an $11 million settlement between an Oklahoma woman and her son and the hospital and physician she accused of causing her son’s severe brain damage during his birth on May 19, 1999.

Baylor Medical Center at Garland paid $10.8 million of the settlement, with Dr. Erik Gunderson paying the remaining $200,000.

Kristi Hamilton claims that Baylor and Dr. Gunderson failed to recognize signs of fetal distress while she was in labor, and that she was allowed to continue to labor when she should have had an emergency Cesarean section. When it was apparent she could not deliver her son vaginally, she was given an emergency C-section.

Kevin Hamilton, who had no heart rate when he was born, suffers from profound brain damage, injuries that require him to be tube-fed through his belly button. He will require intense medical supervision his entire life. The Hamiltons, who lived in the Dallas area when Kevin was born, now live in Muldrow, Oklahoma.

“This settlement will merely help Kristi Hamilton pay for the care her son will require for as long as he lives,” says Jeffrey Rasansky, Ms. Hamilton’s attorney. “She would gladly exchange every dime in return for her son’s health.”