A jury in Wayne County, Michigan, recently awarded Kirsten Drake and her son K’Jon $120 million in a four-week trial over the brain damage he suffered at birth. Drake filed the lawsuit in 2020 against Henry Ford Health Systems after her son, born in 2010, experienced significant birth injuries and lifelong complications.
Negligent Care During Labor and Delivery
In the lawsuit, Drake and her lawyers alleged that one physician, an obstetrician, and four nurses provided negligent care during K’Jon’s birth. Drake was admitted at Henry Ford Hospital in Detroit in June 2010 after experiencing edema and possible false contractions at 39.5 weeks in her pregnancy.
While in the hospital, oxygen levels to the fetus began to drop caused by compression of the umbilical cord. Dr. Leila Hajjar-Nolan, the obstetrician, ordered a C-section just before 10:00 at night, but K’Jon was not delivered until after midnight.
The doctor ordered the C-section over concerns with the fetal heartbeat, termed “non-reassuring fetal heart tones.” This should have led to delivering the baby much sooner. The obstetrics team negligently delayed the procedure and K’Jon’s birth.
Lasting Complications and Disabilities
K’Jon was asphyxiated as a result of the delay. The lack of oxygen caused significant brain damage with associated long-term complications and disabilities. K’Jon has severe cerebral palsy, a seizure disorder, and serious developmental delays. He cannot talk, has limited vision, and must use a wheelchair.
Because of the harm caused at birth, K’Jon relies on 24-hour care from his mother and grandmother. Unable to afford professional healthcare workers, they serve as his primary and full-time caregivers. K’Jon will never be able to care for himself or be independent.
The Lawsuit and Damages Award
Drake sued Henry Ford Health Systems in 2020, alleging that the obstetrician and other staff negligently and harmfully delayed her C-section. This negligence, she said, directly caused her son’s catastrophic brain damage and disabilities.
Unable to settle, Drake and her lawyers took the case to trial. After four weeks, the jury awarded her and K’Jon $120 million in damages. The award will help her provide her son with better care, ongoing therapy, and a more spacious home that is adapted to his special needs.
Drake’s lawyer successfully argued that if the doctor and other staff had used better judgment, K’Jon would not have suffered the brain damage that left him disabled and dependent on round-the-clock care. Henry Ford Health Systems would not admit to negligence but could also not provide a reason for the delay in the C-section. It plans to appeal the decision.
Cases like the Drake family’s are all too common and illustrate how easy it is for a negligent decision to lead to significant harm to a vulnerable newborn. Better decision-making, quicker action, and more thoughtful care could have spared this family from all the physical and emotional pain of cerebral palsy and other disorders K’Jon will have for life.
