Larry Curtis - Iberia Parish, Louisiana Spinal Cord Injury Lawyers

May 22, 2008 - Brain Injury Yields $15.35 Million Settlement

A $15.35 million medical malpractice settlement was reached on Tuesday on behalf of an infant who suffered a brain injury during birth.

In October of 2001, Vanessa Jenkins, 19, was admitted to Valley West Community Hospital in Sandwich, Ill., to give birth to her son, Cody Smithey. Cody was injured when a doctor used a vacuum extractor device to aid in the delivery.

The extraction device was used 18 times over the course of 50 minutes without success. Another doctor was called in to perform an emergency c-section after the boy’s fetal heart tones exhibited signs of distress. Cody, now 6, suffered brain injuries as a result of the doctor’s alleged negligence in using the vacuum extractor.

The plaintiff’s attorneys argued that the doctor was not competent in the use of the device. They also claimed that the doctor was negligent when he failed to discontinue using the extractor device after the first few unsuccessful attempts.

The plaintiffs further alleged that the nursing staff who assisted in the delivery, negligently failed to insist that the doctor stop using the device.

The plaintiffs claimed that Valley West Community Hospital was put on notice of the doctor’s incompetence in using the device when in 1999 the doctor settled another malpractice case involving the delivery of a child at the hospital where the doctor used a vacuum device and forceps. The child in that delivery died shortly after birth.

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Larry Curtis, Personal Injury Attorney handles all types of Personal Injury cases including: Automobile Accidents, Maritime Accidents, Spinal Cord Injuries, Traumatic Brain Injuries, Wrongful Death, Insurance Bad Faith, Airplane Accidents, Drunk Driving Injuries, Large Truck Accidents, Motorcycle Accidents, School Bus Accidents, Slip and Fall Accidents.

Larry Curtis, Personal Injury Attorney serves the following Louisiana areas: Southern Louisiana, Lafayette, Acadia Parish (Crowley), Allen Parish (Oberlin), Ascension Parish (Donaldsonville), Assumption Parish (Napoleonville), Avoyelles Parish (Marksville), Beauregard Parish (DeRidder), Bienville Parish (Arcadia), Bossier Parish (Benton), Caddo Parish (Shreveport), Calcasieu Parish (Lake Charles), Caldwell Parish (Columbia), Cameron Parish (Cameron), Catahoula Parish (Harrisonburg), Claiborne Parish (Homer), Concordia Parish (Vidalia), DeSoto Parish (Mansfield),East Baton Rouge Parish (Baton Rouge), East Carroll Parish (Lake Providence), East Feliciana Parish (Clinton), Evangeline Parish (Ville Platte), Franklin Parish (Winnsboro), Grant Parish (Colfax), Iberia Parish (New Iberia), Iberville Parish (Plaquemine), Jackson Parish (Jonesboro), Jefferson Parish (Gretna), Jefferson Davis Parish (Jennings), Lafayette Parish (Lafayette), Lafourche Parish (Thibodaux), LaSalle Parish (Jena), Lincoln Parish (Ruston), Livingston Parish (Livingston), Madison Parish (Tallulah), Morehouse Parish (Bastrop), Natchitoches Parish (Natchitoches), Orleans Parish (New Orleans), Ouachita Parish (Monroe), Plaquemines Parish (Pointe a la Hache), Pointe Coupee Parish (New Roads), Rapides Parish (Alexandria), Red River Parish (Coushatta), Richland Parish (Rayville), Sabine Parish (Many), St. Bernard Parish (Chalmette), St. Charles Parish (Hahnville), St. Helena Parish (Greensburg), St. James Parish (Convent), St. John the Baptist Parish (Edgard), St. Landry Parish (Opelousas), St. Martin Parish (St. Martinville), St. Mary Parish (Franklin), St. Tammany Parish (Covington), Tangipahoa Parish (Amite), Tensas Parish (St. Joseph), Terrebonne Parish (Houma), Union Parish (Farmerville), Vermilion Parish (Abbeville), Vernon Parish (Leesville), Washington Parish (Franklinton), Webster Parish (Minden), West Baton Rouge Parish (Port Allen), West Carroll Parish (Oak Grove), West Feliciana Parish (St. Francisville), Winn Parish (Winnfield)

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