Milwaukee Weather
Court: Witness To Son's Death during Birth Can't Seek DamagesMADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The Wisconsin Supreme Court has thrown out $200,000 in damages awarded to a father who watched one of his twin sons die during birth in 1998. In a 5-2 decision, the court ruled Friday that Wisconsin's medical malpractice law does not allow bystanders to seek damages for emotional distress. A judge had awarded Gregory Phelps the damages as part of a $990,000 award to his family for wrongful death and medical malpractice. Phelps watched problems during his wife's delivery at St. Joseph's Hospital in Milwaukee, which were caused by the negligence of an unlicensed, first-year medical resident. Justice Patience Roggensack says the resident was a borrowed employee of the hospital, and so he's covered by the malpractice law. (Copyright 2009 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.) |
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