Child Wins Damages in Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

Chrissie Cole

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A jury has awarded $96 million in future damages in a medical malpractice case of a child who developed a rare neurological disorder that was caused by untreated jaundice after his birth four years ago at Verdugo Hills Hospital.

The current award value is $15 million, but it expected to reach $96 million over the course of medical care for the boy throughout his lifetime. Making it one of the largest jury awards in recent California court history.

The child was born in 2003 at Verdugo Hills Hospital under the care of Dr. Steven Wayne Nishibayashi, also a listed defendant in the case.

According to the lawsuit, Aidan exhibited several risk factors for kernicterus, a neurological disorder that can cause mental retardation, cerebral palsy and hearing loss, when he developed jaundice shortly after birth. The jaundice was a sign of the buildup of bilirubin, a yellow bile pigment, produced in greater quantities than a baby's liver can excrete.

The hospital and the doctor, the plaintiff's attorneys argued, should have been alert to that possibility and given him appropriate medical treatment to reduce the bilirubin buildup.

Shortly after his birth, his parents were concerned about his condition, but they were told the jaundice would go away by itself. The doctor and hospital gave the parents a pamphlet and told them jaundice was not a serious medical risk. However, the child ended up in the emergency room of another hospital where two blood transfusions failed.

California caps medical malpractice awards at $250,000. At this time it is unclear how the limit will affect Monday's award judgment.