Cerebral palsy lawsuit settled for $9.5 million

A Chicago-area hospital has agreed to pay the majority of a $9.5 million settlement in a lawsuit filed after the 1996 birth of a baby with cerebral palsy. Sherman Hospital in Elgin, Illinois, will pay $7.5 million while Dr. Jae Eun Han and the employer of the nurse midwife, Mary Traub, will each pay $1 million, according to the Chicago Daily Herald. The settlement ends a legal battle that stretched over a decade, back to when Patrick O'Came was born with the brain condition. According to the lawsuit, Traub attempted a risky procedure called "fundal pressure" to help the baby through the birth canal. The suit alleges that the pressure applied by Traub cut off the oxygen going to the baby through the umbilical cord during the distressed birth. "This settlement will allow Patrick to receive the proper and necessary care he will need for the rest of his life," said attorney Shawn Kasserman on his firm's website. Cerebral palsy is a general term that encompasses a wide variety of conditions that affect the brain. According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, one in 303 children in the U.S. suffer from cerebral palsy.