Pennsylvania Mother Wins $21.6M in Botched Birth

An Erie County jury says the hospital now known as UPMC Hamot must pay $21.6 million in a malpractice case in which a botched birth left a boy profoundly disabled for life.

Wednesday’s verdict includes $19.6 million to provide for Ja’Kareon Graham’s future medical expenses. The rest covers the 4-year-old boy’s past medical expenses and his lost lifetime earning capacity.

The attorney for what was then Hamot Medical Center argued that the hospital staff “met all applicable standards of care” but declined to comment on the verdict or whether the hospital will appeal.

The Erie Times-News says the jury agreed with the boys’ mother that the hospital’s nursing staff was unprepared for complications arising from the breach birth and didn’t do enough to prevent oxygen deprivation that left the boy being unable to speak and being fed through a tube.