News

THE PALM BEACH POST, May 24, 1997

"Boy awarded $6.7 million after doctor crushes skull"

Associated press

MIAMI - A jury awarded $6.7 million in damages Friday to a boy whose skull was crushed after a doctor at a Fort Lauderdale hospital used a mislabeled pair of forceps to deliver him.

Tyler Caccamo was left with severe neurological injuries after the botched delivery at Holy Cross Hospital in May 1990.

At 7 he cannot speak, has poor vision, is partially paralyzed on one side, is prone to seizures and wears a hockey helmet to protect him when he falls.

"He'll be in diapers for life because he cannot be potty-trained," Said Scott Schlesinger, a Broward lawyer who represents Tyler and his family.

The Hospital sympathized with Tyler and his family but planned to appeal the award by the Broward County jury, its attorney Tom Heath said.

Schlesinger said a series of blunders, beginning with the premature delivery, led to Tyler's condition.

Thirty-five weeks pregnant, Sheila Caccamo contacted her doctor, mistakenly believing that her membranes had ruptured and she was about to go into labor.

Dr. Reynald Pouliot, a staff obstetrician, decided to induce labor, Schlesinger said.

That whole system failed," Schlesinger said.

Tyler would have been a perfectly healthy baby if they had let her go home," he said.

Sheldon J. Schlesinger, P.A. represents clients throughout the state of Florida including the cities of Boca Raton, Boynton Beach, Carol City, Cooper City, Coral Gables, Coral Springs, Davie, Deerfield Beach, Delray Beach, Fort Lauderdale, Hialeah, Hollywood, Jupiter, Lake Worth, Miramar, Miami, Oakland Park, Palm Beach, Palm Beach Gardens, Palm Springs, Pompano Beach, and Rivera Beach

Broward County • Miami-Dade County • Palm Beach County