Record contained sufficient evidence to support Dist. Ct.’s $8.3 million judgment in favor of plaintiff in plaintiff’s FTCA claim of medical malpractice against federally-employed obstetrician, where plaintiff’s infant son suffered avoidable brachial plexis injury to his right arm. Instant $2,653,000 award for lost potential earnings was supported by evidence, even though son was only five years old at time of trial, where experts provided testimony regarding son’s future earnings potential both with and without injury, and where expert provided court with number of years son was statistically expected to be in workforce. Ct. rejected govt.’s claim that any calculation of lost potential earnings would be too speculative as applied to instant five-year old son and noted that finding that plaintiff’s injury would persist throughout his life was supported by record. Ct. also rejected govt. claim that $5.5 million in non-economic damages, such as disfigurement, deprivation of normal life and pain and suffering, was out of proportion to similar cases, where some of govt.‘s proposed comparator cases were resolved through settlements and others did not provide details on nature and implications of plaintiff’s brachial plexis injury.
Federal 7th Circuit Court
Civil Court
Federal Tort Claims Act