From crushed babies to brain damage and misdiagnosis, the big apple has had a big payout in medical malpractice settlements so far this year. The New York Daily News says that the city has already had to pay $134 million in medical mishaps at 11 public hospitals. A lot of the settlements have had to do with a child birth malpractice issue, normally killing the baby or leaving the infant with permanent brain damage.

One of the plaintiffs is Deidre Thompson, a mom who sought damages from Queens Hospital Center after a birth injury permanently injured her baby. Thompson arrived at the hospital when she began having contractions in June of 2008. The doctors determine that the baby wasn’t moving down the birth canal, so they tried to induce labor at about 9:20 in the morning by giving Thompson Pitocin. The doctor didn’t come back to check on Thompson for two hours, and then another three hours after that.

The baby’s heart rate started to drop, from 120 beats per minute to a slow 90 beats per minute. This reduced oxygen to the child’s brain, which caused the threat of brain damage. Rather than give Thompson a C-section, the doctor told her to try delivering the baby naturally. For two hours, Thompson worked to push the baby while his heart beat shot up to 200 beats per minute. When Sebastian was born, the child was not able to breathe on his own. He had seizures. A CT scan showed that he had internal bleeding and a skull fracture. While Sebastian survived his traumatic birth, he is permanently disabled. He has trouble walking and speaking, and will never have a normal life because of his disabilities. His mother was able to receive $5.3 million in medical malpractice damages, but even money won’t satisfy Thompson’s sad loss because of a doctor’s negligence.

Other medical malpractice horror cases have caused the doctors to pay up in New York this year. One woman was sent home after she went to the emergency room complaining of a severe headache. The doctors failed to identify that she was having a brain aneurysm. She collapsed on the sidewalk nine days after she was released from the hospital, and has been in a vegetative state ever since. This 44-year-old woman is now dependent on the care of the staff at the Coler Goldwater Specialty Hospital and Nursing Facility. She received a $4.9 million settlement for her case.

One New York hospital also had to pay when they failed to resuscitate a small baby in their care after delivery. A mother came to the hospital and was diagnosed with preeclampsia. This is a severe childbirth disorder that can only be treated by delivering the baby. The nurses induced labor at the Lincoln Medical and Mental Health Center in the Bronx. When the woman gave birth to her son Jamahl two hours later, the doctor did not have equipment on hand to resuscitate the baby. While he survived, he can hardly speak and needs a walker to move around at age 13.

Ironically, not all of the money for these settlements is coming directly from the hospitals. In fact, news reports allege that tax payers may be picking up the tab for these horrible mistakes. In the past four years, city records show that tax payers, not hospitals, have covered more than half a billion dollars of medical malpractice lawsuit settlements. If you are a victim of medical malpractice or someone you love was harmed because of a doctor’s misdiagnosis or negligence, then you have the right to seek damages. Secure a medical malpractice attorney today to help you seek justice in your case!