Philadelphia Jury Awards $207.6 Million to Child Born with Cerebral Palsy After Penn Hospital Delayed C-Section

On February 22, 2018, a woman admitted to the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania was in labor when physicians identified a uterine infection. Despite that diagnosis, the care team waited approximately 45 minutes before performing a cesarean section. The newborn emerged with severe brain injuries.

The child was ultimately diagnosed with cerebral palsy and significant neurodevelopmental delays. By the time of trial, the child required complete assistance from caregivers for daily functioning. HUP maintained in its defense that the injury had already occurred before the mother reached the emergency department and that the care provided was appropriate.

H. Briggs Bedigian and E. Merritt Lentz of Gilman and Bedigian, along with co-counsel from Kline and Specter, tried the case in Philadelphia's Court of Common Pleas. The plaintiff's team presented evidence that the 45-minute delay in surgical delivery, in the context of a documented uterine infection, directly caused the child's oxygen deprivation and resulting brain damage. They also disputed the hospital's characterization of the child's condition, presenting evidence the child was not in a vegetative state as HUP had argued.

On April 21, 2023, the jury returned a verdict of $182.7 million, at the time the largest medical malpractice verdict ever recorded in Pennsylvania. HUP moved for dismissal, a new trial, and remittitur. In January 2024, Judge Gwendolyn N. Bright rejected all three motions, leaving the verdict intact. HUP appealed to the Pennsylvania Superior Court.

With post-verdict interest, the total judgment grew to $207.6 million. On July 10, 2025, a unanimous Superior Court panel affirmed the full judgment, finding the award did not shock the conscience given the trial evidence. The verdict remains the largest medical malpractice judgment in Pennsylvania history.