In this case, the father of a brain damaged baby filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the attending doctor. In the original trial, the court found the doctor guilty of malpractice and granted a motion to set aside the damage award of $1,500,000, because it was not enough. A new trial was ordered to set damages.
On appeal, the court held there was plenty of evidence to show that the on call attending doctor didn’t properly supervise the treatment offered by his residents during the birth of the baby in this case. They further held his malpractice was substantial and the proximate cause of the baby’s severe brain damage.
In handing down the court’s decision, the Supreme Court Appellate judges also fund that the damages awarded initially deviated substantially from what would be a reasonable damage award, in light of the extent of the baby’s brain damage. However, they also found that setting aside the verdict as a result of juror confusion and ambiguity was not the right thing to do.