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Court Reduces Verdict in Oxygen-Deprivation Case to $40.5 Million

A federal judge in Miami has reduced his award of damages from $60.5 million to $40.5 million to the parents of a boy who was left in a permanent vegetative state as a result of oxygen deprivation at birth.

Judge Jose A. Gonzalez of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of Florida reduced each parent's award for noneconomic damages by $10 million, but let the rest of the award stand and denied the federal government's motion for a new trial.

The United States, the sole defendant in the case, moved for a new trial or a reduction in damages on the grounds that the award was excessive and that the court erred in determining the doctor who delivered the child was a government employee, making it liable for the boy's injuries.

Raiza Bravo gave birth to Kevin Bravo Rodriguez in Jacksonville Naval Hospital June 11, 2003, by Caesarean section after nearly 24 hours of labor, according to the lawsuit.

Kevin was born unresponsive and it took doctors 13 minutes to revive him, the complaint said. Expert witnesses testified at trial that Kevin will remain in a total vegetative state and may live 20 years.

Bravo and her husband, Oscar Rodriguez, who serves in the U.S. Navy, filed suit against the U.S. government in July 2004, alleging medical negligence and loss of consortium under the Federal Tort Claims Act. They later added her obstetrician, Dr. Kenneth Kushner, as a defendant.

After a 12-day nonjury trial Judge Gonzalez ruled for the family and issued an amended final judgment last December, awarding them a total of $60.5 million in damages plus interest and costs.

He awarded Bravo $25 million and Rodriguez $15 million for loss of consortium and awarded Kevin $10 million for pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment of life. The remainder was for past and future medical expenses and lost earning capacity.

The family's attorneys then submitted a bill for more than $225,000 in legal costs.

In his latest ruling, Judge Gonzalez reduced Bravo's award for loss of consortium to $15 million and Rodriguez's award to $5 million. He also awarded legal costs of $76,375 to the plaintiffs.