A boy from Freehold, New Jersey who was disabled from birth has been awarded over $19 million by a Monmouth County, New Jersey jury in a medical malpractice suit, according to the boy’s attorney, Brian Drazin.

Drazin said the money will allow Bonnie Kowalski, his 10-year-old client Brandon’s mother, to pay for his care for the remainder of his life, equip their home to accommodate his disabilities, and purchase a wheelchair-accessible van to transport him. Drazin said that, being completely disabled, Brandon is completely reliant on others to care for him.

After a trial which began on February 11, the jury deliberated for two days before finding that Arvind Palav, an obstetrician, was negligent and awarded $19.25 to the boy on Monday, March 17.

Drazin said that during her pregnancy, Palav misdiagnosed Kowalski after she contacted him on September 11, 1997, complaining of pain in her abdomen. He delayed in determining she was hemorrhaging and lost a great deal of blood, according to Drazin.
Palav also failed to perform the necessary tests on Kowalski and didn’t recognize that the unborn child could be in “fetal distress” and ignored the warnings of a nurse who discovered the problem, according to Drazin.

Drazin said that Brandon, who was delivered by C-section, had to be resuscitated and was in intensive care for four months. He now suffers from severe brain damage and cerebral palsy and is also legally blind.

Over 10 defendants were named in the original complaint, which included Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank, New Jersey and the chairmen of the obstetrics/gynecology and general surgery departments of the hospital. According to Drazin, some were dismissed quickly after he found that they had no part in the delays.

Once deliberations began, Judge Louis Locascio narrowed the issues to that Palav and a surgeon who performed exploratory surgery on Kowalski were the only defendants remaining in the case.

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