Does 4 Million Equal 45 Million?
It would seem to be true in the case of a young California boy whose troubled birth has left him with severe brain damage and cerebral palsy. A Sierra View District Hospital has agreed to a 4 million dollar settlement. The obstetrician and nurse anesthetist have also agreed to a settlement but the terms of the settlement remain confidential.
Gabriela Enriquez was admitted to Porterville Hospital on March 19th of 2006 to give birth to her first child, Jose Carrillo. Bruce Fagel, Gabriela's attorney, said that the baby's monitor indicated that the baby was in distress over the last several hours of labor but that those indications of distress were ignored by the nurses and obstetrician on duty. He went on to say that by the time an emergency c-section was ordered the next morning significant brain damage had occurred from lack of oxygen.
According to Fagel, Jose has severe cerebral palsy and, while his doctors believe his intellectual development may be normal, his motor skills are lacking and he will never be able to walk or communicate normally.
Because the hospital district board is a public agency it was required to approve the terms of the settlement even though the settlement was reached in private negotiation. A judge also had to approve the settlement because the plaintiff is a minor.
Court records show the Enriquez/Carrillo suit against the hospital also named as defendants Dr. Jose R. Salas, a Porterville obstetrician; Janet Michelle Bailey, a registered nurse/anesthetist; and Dr. Philip Early, head of the hospital's anesthesiology department.
According to records of the Medical Board of California, Salas was placed on probation in 1999 for three years because of an accusation of "gross negligence" and "repeated negligent acts" stemming from a 1995 birth at Sierra View.
So, how does a 4 million dollar settlement become a 45 million dollar settlement? It doesn't. The settlement is still a 4 million dollar settlement but the 4 million dollars will be placed in an annuity designed to provide a monthly income for the rest of Jose's life - to cover his medical needs, home care and therapy. Over his lifetime that annuity is estimated to pay him about 45 million dollars.
