Sailor Files $150M Claim Against Navy Hospital
A sailor’s family has filed a $150 million suit against the Navy claiming that a Navy hospital acted negligently during the birth of their child resulting in serious birth injuries including the child’s development of cerebral palsy.
As a result of the injuries, the child is unable see, talk, or walk.
The Claims
According to Sean Cronin, the attorney representing Joseph and Kendra Alcorn, the injuries were a result of a lack of oxygen to the child during delivery in May last year.
According to Cronin, hospital records showed that the baby was not breathing and that his limbs were blue when he was delivered at Naval Hospital Jacksonville.
The baby, Gavin, was transferred to a civilian hospital promptly where doctors performed an MRI. The doctors determined that the baby suffered localized brain damage during delivery.
The doctors claimed that the cerebral palsy was congenital, but according to Cronin, the specific type of cerebral palsy Gavin has is caused by oxygen deprivation during delivery. Congenital cerebral palsy is characterized by damage to large parts of the brain while Gavin’s damage was localized.
“There is no evidence that this is a congenital defect,” said Cronin, lamenting the fact that the doctors are trying to blame the baby’s illness on the mother’s use of tobacco and prescription drugs. “All evidence indicates that this was caused by asphyxiation. I am extremely disappointed that the hospital is attempting to blame the victim. This is an attempt to smear the family and not be accountable for their own actions.”
Previous Malpractice at the Hospital
The hospital has been involved in several medical malpractice lawsuits in the past few years. According to the Navy Times, four people have been disabled, and 12 people have died as a result of medical malpractice in that hospital since 2000.