New York Family Awarded $130M in Medical Malpractice Lawsuit

A Long Island, N.Y., family has been awarded $130 million in a malpractice lawsuit.

The parents of Shannon Reilly of Bayport had sued St. Charles Hospital and Rehabilitation Center in Port Jefferson. They claimed her delivery there in 2002 resulted in her cerebral palsy.

Newsday says the jury found St. Charles “departed from accepted obstetrical practice” in several ways. According to court records, that resulted in Shannon being deprived of oxygen just before birth.

Attorneys say Shannon can’t speak, walk, write or swallow without help.

Attorneys for both sides called the award one of the highest known medical malpractice verdicts in New York State.

The attorney for the hospital said he would ask the trial judge to set aside the verdict and grant a new trial.