A Florida couple was awarded $10.2 million in a relatively high-profile medical malpractice case involving the death of a 3-year-old boy who suffered brain damage during birth at the U.S. Naval Hospital in Jacksonville, Fl. According to the medical malpractice suit, revised to include wrongful death claims following the boy's death, the suit claims that the hospital staff in Jacksonville at the U.S. Naval Hospital "failed to realize that the umbilical cord was wrapped around the baby's neck during labor, which caused oxygen deprivation and severe brain damage." The judgment was handed down by U.S. District Senior Judge Jose Gonzalez Jr.

Judge Gonzalez and the court found that the death of Oscar Rodriguez and Raiza Bravo's son, Kevin, was ultimately due to neurological damage caused by the negligence of the medical staff. According to a Law.com article, this ruling is unique in the medical malpractice and wrongful death space because "it caps the award under a new standard set by the 11th U.S. Circuit of Appeals, which imposed caps based on state court actions."

Furthermore, it's "significant from a legal standpoint because it was the first time a federal judge applied the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals directions in setting wrongful death damages." Back in 2008, the appeals court concluded that damages "could not exceed the highest affirmed wrongful death verdict in the state appellate district where the death occurred."

Judge Gonzalez awarded $5 million to each parent and $153,695 for medical and funeral expenses. The case was tried in federal court due to the fact that the injury took place at a federal facility.

Source: Law.com "Fla. Couple Awarded $10.2 Million in Significant Wrongful Death Case" 09/27/2010