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The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has agreed to an $11 million birth injury settlement with an Army family whose daughter suffered a permanent brain injury during labor and delivery at Blanchfield Army Community Hospital at Fort Campbell, Kentucky.
The family’s federal medical malpractice lawsuit alleged that hospital providers failed to respond appropriately to hours of fetal distress during the September 2021 birth.
The girl, now 5 years old, lives with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), a brain injury caused by a lack of oxygen or blood flow to the brain.
The child also developed spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy, epilepsy, and cortical visual impairment. Her injuries will require lifelong medical support, making the $11 million settlement a significant source of compensation for the family’s ongoing care needs.
Families may pursue compensation when medical providers fail to recognize or respond to signs of fetal distress during labor and delivery — even in birth injury military malpractice cases.
How Do Military Hospital Birth Injuries Happen?
Military hospitals provide maternity care to service members and their families. Like civilian hospitals, they must recognize complications and respond to emergencies.
When providers fail to meet the standard of care, a baby may suffer a preventable birth injury requiring lifelong medical support.
Common examples of how birth injury military malpractice can happen:
- Delaying an emergency C-section: When a baby shows signs of serious distress, delays in deciding on or performing an emergency cesarean delivery may increase the risk of permanent injury.
- Failing to recognize fetal distress: Not identifying or responding to an abnormal fetal heart rate may allow oxygen deprivation to continue, potentially causing hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), brain damage, or cerebral palsy.
- Making mistakes during assisted delivery: Improper use of forceps or vacuum extractors may cause physical trauma, including injuries to the baby’s head or nerves.
- Mismanaging labor and delivery: Improper use of labor-inducing medications, failure to monitor contractions, or inadequate responses to prolonged or difficult labor may put the baby at risk.
- Overlooking pregnancy complications: Failing to recognize conditions like placental problems, umbilical cord complications, or maternal infections may increase the risk of harm.
- Providing inadequate newborn resuscitation: Failing to promptly recognize breathing difficulties or provide appropriate resuscitation after birth may worsen oxygen deprivation and neurological injury.
A military medical malpractice attorney can help families find out whether errors contributed to their child’s injuries. This often requires reviewing medical records, fetal heart rate monitoring, delivery notes, and newborn assessments.
About the Fort Campbell Birth Injury Military Malpractice Case
In September 2021, a mother arrived at Blanchfield Army Community Hospital at Fort Campbell, Kentucky, nearly 40 weeks pregnant after her water broke. The baby’s father was an active-duty Army service member at the time.
According to the family’s lawsuit, hospital staff kept giving the mother Pitocin®, a drug used to speed up labor, despite signs that the baby was in distress. The family also claimed staff did not check on the mother and baby as often as required and did not offer a C-section in time.
The baby was delivered vaginally on September 11, 2021, and did not breathe at first. She suffered permanent brain damage that led to cerebral palsy and other lifelong conditions.
Today, she cannot sit or walk without support, receives nutrition through a feeding tube, and needs nursing care around the clock.
“This case is about holding the government accountable and giving this military family the lifelong care and support they will need.”
– The Family’s Birth Injury Military Malpractice Attorney
In this family’s situation, fetal monitoring showed the mother and baby should have been checked every 30 minutes, yet about 2.5 hours passed between checks.
The family filed a federal lawsuit, and the case went to trial in April 2026. While the family waited for the judge’s decision, the DOJ agreed to pay $11 million: $6.5 million upfront and $4.5 million in payments over time.
Find a Birth Injury Military Medical Malpractice Lawyer
At the Birth Injury Justice Center, we help families whose children were hurt by preventable mistakes during labor and delivery.
The child in this case is now 5 and still cannot sit or walk without support. For many parents, the full impact of HIE only becomes clear as their child misses milestones like these.
“Parents do not have to wait until every long-term effect of HIE is known before protecting their child’s legal rights.”
– Ricky LeBlanc, Birth Injury Lawyer at Sokolove Law
If your child was injured during birth, we can connect you with experienced birth injury lawyers at no cost. Our legal partners have recovered over $1.1 billion for families across the country, including compensation to help pay for long-term care.
Call us right now at (800) 914-1562 or fill out this form for a free case review to find out if your family may have a birth injury case.
