Pennsylvania readers probably do not like to hear about harm being done to infants. After all, who does? But sometimes it is necessary to relate stories of birth injuries as a cautionary tale. Doing so serves a twofold purpose. First, it lets readers in Pittsburgh know about certain procedures of which they should be wary because they may result in harm and second, it alerts them to the possibility of having a legal course of action in the unfortunate event that wrong done to them.

Recently, a jury awarded $1.8 million to a 3-year-old girl who will probably never be able to use her left arm. The reason for that is that her arm was paralyzed when she was being delivered and something went wrong with the process, which caused her to suffer ripped and ruptured news.

The baby sustained the nerve damage because the doctor supervising the delivery ordered the use of a vacuum. That is an unnecessary move and a fairly unusual one for a baby who weighed as much as the girl did (nine pounds). Ultimately, the girl's shoulder got stuck behind her mother's pelvic bone and was damaged when the vacuum kept pulling her out.

The doctor's defense attorney said he and his client were "saddened" by the verdict. They blamed the natural sympathy people have for injured children for the decision against them.

About $1.2 million of the award is meant to pay for the girl's past and future medical bills. She was awarded $600,000 for pain and suffering. All the money goes to the girl; the parents take home only $5,000 to compensate them for the burden of needing to care for a child with disabilities.

Source: The Omaha World-Herald, "$1.8 million awarded in birth injury," Todd Cooper, Nov. 24, 2011