$5 Million Settlement Reached in Birth Injury Lawsuit

By Daniel Hawn

Published on September 28, 2006

Michelle and Kendall Turner of Bedford, New Hampshire, filed a lawsuit after their son Dustin was born with cerebral palsy at Melrose-Wakefield Hospital in Massachusetts. As a result of his condition, little Dustin cannot eat, walk, or talk on his own. In the suit, the parents alleged that their son’s condition could have been prevented had an emergency C-section been performed.

An attorney for Dr. Mitchell Zager, the obstetrician who delivered Dustin, said that his client decided to pursue mediation as a means of resolving the case, although the precise cause of the boy’s condition was never confirmed.

A statement issued by Melrose-Wakefield Hospital expressed condolences to the Turner family and said that Dr. Zager is no longer performing deliveries at the hospital.

The $5 million settlement is thought to be one of the highest pre-trial medical malpractice settlements in Massachusetts history.

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