Family Wins $53 Million for Brain-Damaged Son

CHICAGO, IL — A Hickory Hills mother and son were awarded $53 million in a malpractice suit against the hospital where he suffered a life-altering brain injury in the hours leading to his birth.

The lawsuit against University of Chicago Hospital alleged a series of missteps that led to fetal distress, resulting in Isaiah Ewing being born with severe brain injury April 20, 2004. Twelve-year-old Isaiah has cerebral palsy, is in a wheelchair, and needs his mother to feed and clothe him. The amount—reportedly the biggest birth injury verdict ever in Cook County—includes $28.8 million for future caretaking expenses.

It's alleged that Isaiah's condition was caused by nurses and doctors ignoring his mother Lisa and failing to perform a timely C-section, ABC 7 reports. The lawsuit highlights the staff's alleged errors, which included "failures to carefully monitor mother and baby, perform a timely cesarean section, follow a chain of command, obtain accurate cord blood gases, and be aware of abnormal fetal heart rate patterns that indicated distress to the baby, including hypoxia, or a drop in the supply of oxygen," as reported by the Chicago Tribune.

"I was very surprised in court, the lack of remorse, the lies they were telling. I was very shocked," Lisa Ewing said, as reported by ABC 7. "I laid there—no one came to check on me. No one—I thought I was getting the best care. I wasn't."

Court records indicate the jury wished to award money based on past and future medical expenses, loss of normal life, and shortened life expectancy.

The family's attorney Geoffrey Fieger commented on the verdict Thursday, noting the staff's remorseless conduct.

"The University of Chicago has been, for the last 12 years, completely unapologetic, and even though the evidence was overwhelming that they caused Isaiah's brain damage, they refused to accept responsibility," Fieger said Thursday during a press conference.

The lawsuit claims Isaiah had suffocated at birth.

A statement from hospital spokeswoman Lorna Wong expressed "great sympathy" for the family, but also publicly decried the verdict. She defended the staff's actions, noting that Isaiah and his mother had been treated for infection, and that infection can lead to cerebral palsy. The staff also says Isaiah born with normal oxygen blood levels, meaning there was no oxygen deprivation.

It took the jury four hours to decide. A list of the damages also includes $7.2 million for future medical expenses.