Tripler Army Medical Center paid $11 million to a family whose baby suffered permanent brain damage during delivery in 2005, attorneys for the family announced this week.
A breakdown in communication between doctors at Tripler caused Kayla McCraw's delivery to take nearly two hours, according to attorney Michael Livingston. When she was delivered, her umbilical cord was wrapped tightly around her neck, reports Hawaii News Now.
An inexperienced intern then inserted a respiratory tube in McCraw's esophagus--instead of her trachea--which pumped oxygen into the newborn's stomach, not her lungs, the attorneys told the Navy Times. "In short, what we had here was a series of egregious medical errors over a period of two hours which resulted in severe brain damage," Livingston said.
McCraw--now four years old--suffers from cerebral palsy and likely will require constant care for the rest of her life, according to Hawaii News Now. "I really pray that Tripler learns from this and takes precautions so it doesn't happen again," David McCraw, Kayla's father, said.
The hospital conducted an extensive review and made changes to prevent similar tragedies from occurring.
"Tripler accepts full responsibility," medical center spokeswoman Janet Clark said. "The settlement moneys will ensure that Kayla will receive the medical care, assistance and rehabilitation that she needs for the rest of her life."
Tripler settled the lawsuit out of court in March, just one day prior to the federal trial, according to the Star Advertiser.
For more:
- read the Hawaii News Now article
- read the Star Advertiser piece
- here's the Navy Times article