Tag Archives: cerebral palsy

Birth Brain Injury at Army Hospital Results in $11 Million Settlement

Legal settlement papers for birth brain injury

On September 11, 2021, Sarah Panter delivered a daughter at Blanchfield Army Community Hospital at Fort Campbell. She was then given Pitocin, a synthetic medication version of oxytocin used to induce pregnancy.  Monitors signaled fetal distress, a noted effect of the drug, and Panter’s attorneys say a C-section should then have been offered, to prevent the infant from injury. Instead, hours later, a midwife delivered the baby, who initially didn’t breathe.

Panther’s daughter now lives with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, brain damage that occurs when a newborn’s brain does not get enough oxygen or blood flow before, during, or right after birth. Additionally, the child lives with cerebral palsy, epilepsy and cortical blindness, known consequences of brain injury. She also cannot walk or sit unaided, uses a feeding tube, and needs round-the-clock nursing for life.

While birth injury is known to “only” be about 2% for normal vaginal delivery and 1% for cesarean delivery, statistics in the United States report that that birth injury occurs in about 25.3 to 31.1 cases per 1000 hospital births. Because the head is typically the first part to enter the birth canal, it is also the most vulnerable and, therefore, common birth injury, as recognized by various studies available in the NLM database.

In September 2026, the Justice Department agreed to an $11 million settlement funding a lifetime-care trust. While the government settled mid-trial, prior to the judge’s ruling, it has not formally accepted responsibility.

Cerebral Palsy: When a Damaged Brain Leaves a Lasting Mark

The brain injury comes first. Cerebral palsy follows. That distinction matters enormously, as CP is not itself a wound, but rather the permanent shadow one leaves behind.

The NIH’s National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke guidance, reviewed as recently as March 13, 2026, describes CP as a disorder “caused by changes in the developing brain that disrupt its ability to control movement and maintain posture and balance.” The damage happens; CP is an outcome that the victim must live with in the future.

For most, the injury strikes before they ever draw a first breath. Oxygen deprivation during delivery, bleeding in the brain, or destruction of the delicate white matter surrounding a premature infant’s ventricles collectively account for roughly 80–90% of all cases. The CDC, in a February 2026 update, puts the scale in stark terms: about 1 in every 345 American children has CP, making it the most common childhood motor disability in the country.

Some cases, however, emerge after birth. Meningitis, near-drowning, and traumatic brain injury can all trigger CP, but only during the critical window when the brain is still forming, generally before age five. Once the skull has fully matured, the same injuries are referred to as traumatic brain injuries or acquired brain injuries.

To remedy what many see as the government’s chronic underfunding for CP, Tennessee Rep. Steve Cohen introduced H.R. 2178, Cerebral Palsy Research Program Authorization Act of 2025, on March 18, 2025. As he stated, “Cerebral palsy… is the most prevalent disability that has no designated federal funding for research.” After introduction, the bill was referred to the House Committee on Energy and Commerce. (No further action within the last Congressional session is reported.)