Med-mal settlement approved for $6M

March 17, 2008

A $6 million settlement agreement has been approved in a medical malpractice suit against three doctors and five nurses over injuries allegedly suffered by a Dudley couple’s son at birth, according to the Worcester Telegram & Gazette.

Bruce and Susan Hanks accused the defendants of failing to properly manage Susan’s labor and delivery of their son Jacob at UMass Memorial Medical Center and of not performing a Caesarean section in a timely fashion.

The family’s lawyer, Frederic N. Halstrom of Boston, told the Telegram that the delay left Jacob without a heartbeat for 20 to 25 minutes. The child, now 7 and living at a residential school, suffers from a permanent brain injury and developmental, cognitive and behavioral problems. Superior Court Judge Peter W. Agnes Jr. approved the settlement.

The defendants denied any negligence. Their insurers agreed to pay $6 million to settle the case.