According to news reports out of Florida, a family was awarded $19.2 million in a medical malpractice suit that could be the first of its kind in the county's history. Reports detail that the medical malpractice suit involved a three-and-a-half-year-old girl who is currently blind and lives with cerebral palsy. "In 2007, 15 days after she was born premature at HealthPark Medical Center, paperwork shows the girl was given a heavy dose of nutrients." According to reports, the medications were filed for 100 times the dose. The family's attorney expressed that his mistake led to cardiac arrest and severe complications. As a result, the family initiated the medical malpractice suit against the hospital.

A representative for the family expressed their rationale for the suit, "She is a very adorable child, but you have to think down the road 10, 15, 20 years when she's an adult. She'll still be in a wheelchair, she'll still be in a diaper, she'll still need to be carried and fed." The hospital issued the following statement:

"We acknowledge that a serious error occurred. Medical experts who reviewed the matter at our request believe that the child's condition is a result of complications related to her extreme prematurity because she was born three months early and weighed one-and-a-half pounds."

As a result of the case, the family was awarded $19.2 million in a Lee County circuit court in a lawsuit against Lee Memorial Health Systems. However, due to liability caps, the award could be limited to $200,000. Reports detailed that the "hospital has never paid a claims bill through court. They hope, after appeals and motions to retrial, this is the first."

Source: NBC 2 "Lee family awarded $19.2M in malpractice suit" 2/8/2011