A Pennsylvania jury has ordered obstetrician-gynecologist Thomas Carnevale, along with his employer Clearfield Hospital, to pay around $14.5 million in damages to the family of a child diagnosed with cerebral palsy. The parents say Carnevales failures of obstetric care resulted in widespread brain damage, ultimately causing their childs neuromuscular disorder. In their birth injury lawsuit, parents who now live in Ohio accused Carnevale of failing to manage their childs 2012 delivery. The physicians alleged failure was a consequential one, the family says. Carnevale administered the mother an excessive dose of Pitocin, the parents claim, while continuing to deliver the medication as the childs heart rate began to drop. Pitocin is often used to stimulate contractions during difficult deliveries, but can also lead to precipitous decreases in fetal heart rate and other complications. At this point, Carnevale should have realized that the childs health was deteriorating rapidly, the family contends. Instead of discontinuing the medication, though, the doctor kept his patient on Pitocin for the remaining duration of the delivery. Carnevales second major mistake, the parents claim, was to forego the possibility of an assisted delivery even after the childs head was crowning. The delivery continued for another ten minutes, according … Continue reading →

IndyCar driver Stefan Wilson surprises Yerick Colon, 12, with an invite to partner up for Horsepower 500, a charity race at Children's TherAplay. Yerick visits TherAplay weekly to manage his cerebral palsy and other muscle-related disorders. Jenna Watson/IndyStar From left, IndyCar driver Stefan Wilson walks alongside as Yerick Colon, 12, has a routine horse riding session with horse Riley and therapist Sue Tribolet at The Children's TherAplay Foundation in Carmel, Ind., Tuesday, April 4, 2017. IndyCar drivers will partner with children at the therapy center for the Horsepower 500 on May 9, where drivers race adaptive tricycles to raise funds for equine-assisted physical and occupational therapy. Wilson asked Colon to be his race partner during a surprise visit to the center.(Photo: Jenna Watson/IndyStar)Buy Photo The race helmet is too big for Yerick Colon'shead, but it can't hide the boy'ssmile. Next to him is IndyCar driver Stefan Wilson, who has just asked Yerick to be his partner in an upcoming race. Not that race. As a prelude to the Indy 500, the two will compete in the Children's TherAplay #Horsepower 500 on May 9. It's the second year for the event, which pairs IndyCar drivers with patients at Children's TherAplay, a … Continue reading →

A child with cerebral palsy has celebrated the second anniversary of a life-changing operation that enabled him to walk. Six-year-old Tadhg Kelly was facing life in a wheelchair as a result of the movement disorder that affects his muscles. At just three, doctors told his parents Moya, 43, and 44-year-old Jonathan who have both battled cancer their son would never walk. But they refused to give up and raised 80,000 to send Tadhg to St Louis in the US for spinal surgery. Dubliner Moya said: We were advised the sooner we put him in an electric wheelchair, the better. But having seen the success of many other Irish children who had travelled to America for treatment we refused to give up hope and decided to apply to see if Tadhg was a candidate for a surgery. Having just finished treatment for breast cancer myself, the prospect of raising that amount of money was daunting but we would have done anything to make this possible. We had our share of bad luck with Tadhgs dad having also fought cancer a few years previously. It was time for something positive to happen. Tadhg had Selective Dorsal Rhizotomy surgery to open up the … Continue reading →