Jury awards more than $97M to family of boy injured at birth

DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) — The family of a boy whose brain was severely injured during birth at an Iowa City hospital has been awarded $97.4 million. The Des Moines Register reports that a Johnson County on Monday handed down the award, believed to be the largest medical malpractice verdict in Iowa’s history. The award came in a lawsuit filed by Kathleen and Andrew Kromphardt against Mercy Hospital Iowa City and an obstetrician. The family’s lawyers contend that the boy’s brain damage was caused by, among other things, medical staff’s failure to deliver the baby by cesarean section. The boy is now 3 years old and is unable to walk by himself or speak beyond a few words. The family says he will need 24-hour care for the rest of his life.