Cerebral Palsy Victim Awarded $43.5 Million after 24-year Legal Battle

By Jim Greene

Published on November 23, 2009

A 24-year-old woman confined to a wheelchair because of permanent brain injury suffered at birth has been awarded $43.5 million by a New York jury. The hospital in which she was born in 1984 has been ordered to compensate her for home health aides, pain and suffering, and medical expenses.

The suit, filed by her mother soon after her birth, alleged that Tiffany Busone was deprived of oxygen for 15 minutes in the delivery room at Bellevue Maternity Hospital in Niskayuna, N.Y. The result, according to the suit, was cerebral palsy and a lifetime of assisted care for the victim.

Victim Earned College Degree, but Needs Home Care

Although Busone suffered a permanent loss of motor skills, her cognitive skills remained intact, and she was able to graduate from Arizona State University. Her lawyers said that, while there is no question of Busone's intelligence, she would not have been able to support herself without the financial compensation.

The judgment was against Ellis Medicine, which purchased the hospital in 2007 and renamed it Bellevue Women's Center. The company was ordered to pay Busone $20 million for medical assistance in her home, $6 million for past pain and suffering, $15 million for future pain and suffering, and $2.5 million for other medical expenses.

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