Maine Jury Awards $8 Million Malpractice Verdict Against Hospital and Midwife

Amy Rothschild

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A severely brain damaged boy and his mother received almost $8 million in damages on Thursday, October 26, 2007, in a lawsuit against a Maine hospital and one of its midwives. The verdict was rendered in Auburn, Maine. The verdict in favor of Sasha Emond of Lewiston and her son, Odysseus, was described as the largest malpractice award ever handed down in Androscoggin County Superior Court. It came after two days of jury deliberations at the close of a nearly two-week trial.

In the complaint, Sasha Emond, who was sixteen years old when her child was born, contended that her midwife and Central Maine Medical Center failed to recommend an emergency cesarean section during the birth when it became known that the fetus was in distress. The woman's child , who is now five years old, was born with cerebral palsy caused by lack of blood and oxygen to his brain. The child will need around the clock care for the rest of his life.

For more information on this subject, please refer to the section on Medical Malpractice and Negligent Care.