Indiana Jury Awards $3.7M in Botched Birth

Chrissie Cole

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A Marion County jury awarded a woman and her daughter $3.7 million in a medical malpractice lawsuit from the girl's botched birth.

The lawsuit claimed that her daughter, now 6, will live with cerebral palsy for the duration of her life due to delays during delivery that deprived her brain of enough oxygen. She was born in October 2001, in St. Vincent Hospital, in Indianapolis.

Indiana caps medical malpractice awards, so the judgment will be reduced to just under $2 million. Most of which will be paid by the Indiana Patient's Compensation Fund.

A case summary issued said: Shelby began showing signs of fetal distress while her mother, who was bleeding, waited for a C-section to be performed. The girl didn't start breathing until 12 minutes after her birth. The mother also developed a life-threatening bleeding disorder.

Three days later, she went back into surgery for removal of a sponge left behind during the C-section. The review panel -- made up of physicians -- did rule in her favor on that claim.