By PAVEL BAILEY 

Tribune Staff Reporter 

pbailey@tribunemedia.net

A doctor has been ordered to pay more than $3.6 million in damages after a botched delivery left a newborn boy with lifelong brain injuries and near-total physical disability.

The payout — $3,648,239.70 — is one of the country’s largest medical negligence awards and follows Supreme Court Justice loren Klein’s ruling that Dr Gregory Carey’s mishandling of the birth caused the child’s devastating condition. Now 12 years old, the boy is in a near-vegetative state, suffering from cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and other neurological impairments.

The court heard that Dr Carey never apologised for the outcome and, according to the child’s father, even joked it was his “most difficult delivery” and that “they were trying to mess up his record”.

The child’s injuries were traced to hypoxic-ischaemic encephalopathy (HIE), a brain injury caused by oxygen deprivation during delivery. The court found this was the result of prolonged and failed attempts at a vaginal delivery when a caesarean section should have been performed.

According to court documents, the child’s mother arrived at Princess Margaret Hospital around 4.15am on August 5, 2012. Dr Carey tried to deliver the baby using a vacuum extractor and later forceps, but both efforts failed. The plaintiff’s father, who was present, described Dr Carey as appearing flustered and unsure of how to proceed. When he suggested a caesarean section, Dr Carey allegedly replied it was “too late” and would cost more.

After 30 minutes of unsuccessful attempts, another doctor, Dr Harold Bloomfield, was called and delivered the baby at 11.45am using forceps. The child was born unconscious, not breathing, and with the umbilical cord around his neck. He was resuscitated and admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit.

In the weeks and years that followed, the child was diagnosed with a series of debilitating conditions, including West Syndrome, Lennox-Gastaut Syndrome, microcephaly, and permanent neurological impairment. Medical experts testified that he will require round-the-clock care for the rest of his life.

Plaintiff’s counsel argued that Dr Carey lacked the skill to use the vacuum and forceps properly, failed to move to a timely caesarean section, and left the baby in the birth canal for too long, leading to severe oxygen deprivation. Expert witness Dr John Busowski testified that the injury could have been avoided if a C-section had been attempted after the first failed attempt at vaginal delivery.

Dr Carey denied wrong-doing, claiming he was fully trained in the use of delivery instruments and that neither the vacuum nor the forceps were responsible for the injuries. He argued developmental abnormalities or other unknown factors may have caused the damage.

However, Justice Klein rejected this defence, citing inconsistencies in Dr Car- ey’s notes and testimony. He found that the doctor misjudged the baby’s position in the birth canal and persisted with a delivery plan that was no longer viable. The vacuum failed due to repeated cup detachments, and forceps could not lock because of the baby’s malpositioned head.

Justice Klein ruled Dr Carey’s actions fell “below the standard expected of a physician skilled in the field of obstetrics with a significant practice in that area.” He concluded that the child’s injuries were directly caused by the doctor’s gross mismanagement of the delivery.

The awarded damages cover the cost of future medical care, nursing, equipment, lost earnings, and compensation for pain and suffering.

Krystal Rolle, KC, and Shantelle Munroe represented the plaintiff. Damian Gomez, KC, and Owen Wells represented Dr Carey.