U.S. Settles $11M Army Hospital Case

PHOTO CAPTION: Blanchfield Army Community Hospital Labor and Delivery Unit chief nursing officer Capt. Angela Imhoff gives visitors a tour of the unit at Fort Campbell, Feb. 7, 2022. U.S. Army photo by Maria Christina Yager.

The U.S. Department of Justice has agreed to an $11 million settlement with the family of a Fort Campbell soldier whose daughter suffered a permanent brain injury during labor and delivery at Blanchfield Army Community Hospital.

The settlement resolves a federal medical malpractice lawsuit filed by the family in Nashville. The family alleged hospital providers failed to respond appropriately to hours of fetal distress during the child’s birth on Sept. 11, 2021.

The girl, now 4, lives with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy, epilepsy and cortical visual impairment, according to her attorneys.

Her attorneys say she cannot walk or sit without support, receives nutrition through a feeding tube and requires skilled nursing care around the clock.

The case went to trial in April. DOJ agreed to settle the lawsuit while the family and government were awaiting the judge’s decision.

Attorney Laurie Higginbotham said the case was aimed at holding the government accountable while securing the lifelong care and support the military family will need.

The $11 million agreement brings the federal lawsuit to an end more than four years after the child’s birth.

The reporting announcing the settlement does not state that the agreement includes an admission of negligence by the government. The family’s claims about the care provided during labor and delivery therefore remain allegations rather than findings OAF Nation can independently characterize as proven.

Source: WSMV 4 Nashville