Connecticut Family Awarded $58 Million Birth Injury Compensation

Stamford, CTA Waterbury, Connecticut jury recently awarded $58 million in birth injury compensation to the family of a boy who was born with a severe form of cerebral palsy that the jury ruled could have been prevented.

The Stamford Times reports that when Danny D'Attilo was born in February 2003, he was pale and limp, unable to breath and was experiencing an irregular heartbeat. When it was later determined that he was suffering from a serious form of cerebral palsy, doctors said he would not be able to perform many daily functions on his own throughout his entire life.

According to a medical malpractice attorney for the family, the $58 million award given to Dominic and Cathy D'Attilo was the largest medical malpractice ruling in the history of the state, the news source reports.

While Danny's parents were pleased with the ruling, they still were not in a celebratory mood in light of the adversity their son will continue to face throughout the remainder of his life.

"Daniel can't take back what happened to him," Cathy D'Attilo said. "I'm grateful today. This (money) will help Danny and all his future needs."

During the trial, the family's medical malpractice attorneys claimed that Dr. Richard Viscarello of Maternal Fetal Care in Stamford made a number of errors during Danny's delivery including delaying a Cesarean section.

The attorneys claimed that the child should have been delivered two days before he actually was, when the mother's embryonic fluid experienced a significant decline. However, the birth was allegedly delayed until the woman went into labor, the medical malpractice lawsuit claimed.

However, in response to the verdict, an attorney for the doctor said that the jury ruled based on the fact that they sympathized with the parents.

"It was a total miscarriage of justice by the jury," said the defense attorney. "His treatment was impeccable. It's a shocking verdict. There was overwhelming evidence supporting the doctor. There was no credible evidence supporting the plaintiff."

While the judgment is beneficial for the family as it can allow them to properly care for the child, local ABC affiliate WABC-TV reports that the D'Attilos may not receive the money for a number of years due to the lengthy appeals process.