Birth-Injured Boy Wins $3.9-Million Judgment

A 13-year-old boy who was left a quadriplegic at birth has won a court judgment of $3.9 million against the doctor who delivered him, an award that could grow into more than $31 million, which would make it one of the largest medical malpractice verdicts in California history.

A Superior Court jury returned the verdict Monday in favor of Terry Battle of San Diego, who cannot talk, wears diapers and depends on his mother for full-time care.

The panel found that obstetrician Phillip Rand had been negligent in the boy’s birth, and ordered Rand to pay an additional amount--up to $31.1 million--over Battle’s life expectancy of another 50 years.

Rand, however, carries no insurance, and though Battle’s parents expressed joy Tuesday over the verdict, the family’s attorney said his gratitude to the jury was tempered by the practical obstacles that lie ahead in collecting any cash.

Lawyer Mitchel J. Olson said he was cautiously optimistic that the family would see at least a portion of the award. “I think (Rand) has assets,” which could be seized and sold to pay off the verdict, Olson said.

Rand did not return a phone call Tuesday. His attorney, Richard Barton, said he intended to ask for a new trial or file an appeal to reduce or overturn the award. As a result, it could be months or years before Terry sees any of the money.

The jury issued the $31-million award after finding that Rand had been negligent, Olson said.

Testimony at the trial indicated that Pamela Battle called Rand on April 28, 1978, when she went into labor, and reported she was bleeding, Olson said. Rand told her to go back to bed, but she went to Sharp Memorial Hospital instead, where there was evidence that the baby was not getting enough oxygen, Olson said.

A few hours later, after Rand was located, he waited longer still to perform an emergency Cesarean section to deliver the baby, Olson said.

After delivery, the child was rushed to neonatal specialists at Children’s Hospital in San Diego, where they diagnosed bleeding under the brain, a condition caused by a lack of oxygen, Olson said. Surgery five days later controlled the bleeding but, by then, there had been significant brain damage, Olson said.