A federal jury has awarded a $10 million settlement to a former Orono woman against the Brewer Medical Center because of the unreported permanent and catastrophic injuries of her infant son.
The woman sued the federal government-operated Penobscot Community Health Center, a federally qualified health center, in June 2020. It eventually resulted in a lawsuit against Brewer Medical Center.
According to the court documents, the woman's boyfriend beat her son, nearly killing him. The infant was just four days old until Jan. 10, 2019, when she took the infant to Brewer Medical Center for treatment.
The woman filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the Brewer Medical Center for not notifying her about the red flag signs of physical abuse that would have allowed her to protect the child.
In November, the woman’s boyfriend was sentenced to 9 years in prison, but after severe pleading from the defendant, a suspension of 4 years was been declared.
As per the court documents, the emergency department at Eastern Maine Medical Center discovered that the child had suffered severe injuries, including a fractured skull, a left femur fracture, bleeding in the brain, blindness and a permanent brain injury.
The ongoing serial abuse of the child, which had been occurring for months, also resulted in severe injuries that are pretty old. The injuries included damage to his spine, ears, ankle and neck.
An evaluation by a neurologist stated that the child would experience severe pain, emotional distress, profound traumatic injury, permanent impairment, blindness, loss of enjoyment of life along with lost earnings capacity and increased medical expenses.
$7 million from the proposed $10 million settlement would be placed in a trust for the child's long-term care.
