Los Angeles, US – 6th February, 2017: A California federal judge on Wednesday ordered the federal government to pay $4.9 million in a medical negligence suit accusing a military hospital of implanting an IUD birth control device in a woman without detecting that she was pregnant, resulting in permanent injuries to her baby.
In an August 2016 bench ruling, U.S. District Judge William Q. Hayes determined that an IUD birth control device caused the Veasleys' baby, Brianna, to be born extremely premature and underweight, with severe to profound mental retardation. Rodney Veasley, previously an active-duty U.S. Marine stationed at Camp Pendleton near San Diego with his wife Mildred, had sued the federal government for medical negligence in connection with the implanting of the device without first making sure Mildred was not pregnant.
On Wednesday, Judge Hayes issued a judgment ordering the federal government to pay $1.4 million for the baby’s lost earning capacity, about $2.9 million for future medical expenses through the year 2077, separate $250,000 payments to the mother and baby for pain and suffering, and approximately $181,000 for extraordinary parental care.
Representatives for the parties did not immediately respond to requests for comment late Thursday.
Following a bench trial, Judge Hayes ruled that a family practice physician at Naval Hospital Camp Pendleton breached the standard of care by failing to reasonably rule out pregnancy before implanting the birth control device. The judge also found that the failure to rule out pregnancy was the substantial cause of the baby’s premature birth and injuries.
However, Judge Hayes found that NHCP medical staff didn’t violate the standard of care by failing to administer steroid medications because Mildred’s pregnancy was only 24 weeks old and she was not in preterm labor.
The baby, born four months premature and weighing one pound, eight ounces, suffered from a host of ailments including respiratory problems, a brain hemorrhage, anemia, jaundice, sepsis, kidney problems, eye problems and neurologic damage, according to the complaint.
“As a result of her severe to profound mental retardation, Brianna Veasley will more likely than not never be able to be competitively employed and will be unable to live independently,” according to a previous court ruling.
Source: https://www.law360.com/articles/889064/nurse-dodges-punitive-damages-claims-in-infant-death-suit