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SLO family awarded $74 million for medical malpractice

April 21, 2012

Dr. Kurt Haupt

After two days of deliberation, a jury found a local physician responsible for not properly delivering a baby and awarded a San Luis Obispo family $74 million.

Sofia Blunt, now almost three years old, suffered brain damage when she was born at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center on April 19, 2009 and she now has cerebral palsy.

On Friday, the jury found that Dr. Kurt Haupt was responsible for the botched delivery that occurred at Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center. The family’s attorney argued a lack of oxygen to the brain resulted in the cerebral palsy which is estimated to cost $35 to $50 million during the child’s lifetime.

Sierra Vista Regional Medical Center was also originally named as a defendant in the suit and subsequently settled for an undisclosed amount.


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There is no satisfying conclusion as to why bad things happen to people, especially innocent children. We must always understand that God does not screw around our loved ones as some sort of cruel punishment. The Bible tells us that there is “no condemnation for those who belong to Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1).


Romans 11:36 reminds us that EVERYTHING EXISTS BY GOD’S POWER AND IS INTENDED FOR HIS GLORY. Therefore, although He didn’t inflict suffering on the Blunt family for punishment, He will allow things to come into their lives that can be used to bring glory to Him, as in the case of little Sofia Blunt’s malady upon birth.


Jesus said, “I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world” (John 16:33). That passage makes sense, doesn’t it? In essense, God “does not enjoy hurting people or causing them sorrow.” (Lamentations 3:33), but, at time He tests our resolve in His word.


After thousands of years of sin, death and personal destruction, it should not surprise the TRUE Christian that genetic disorders and such would eventually become commonplace.


[ All pseudo-christians that don’t accept or believe in the word of our God as shown above, click on the “dislike” button]


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Dr. Haupt delivered my kids over 20 years ago, both smewhat high risk deliveries and I have perfect men today. Everyone is human, though, and I feel terrible for the family that this happened to them but will still hold Dr. Haupt in the highest esteem. I just hope that this money does help the little girl have a more comfortable life and the stupid lawyers don’t get it.


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trap,


You’re comparing apples and oranges. When a plumber makes a mistake, it’s fixable, either by him, or another plumber in a short time. Salesman analogy, same thing. On the other hand, when the doctor in question made the mistake that he did, it is forever, not only for Sofia Blunt, but the peril the parents have to go though until her demise.


There has to be an incentive not to screw up, and 74 million not only represents this fact, but is for her care over her life. It’s more than likely going to be appealed anyway.


Put yourself in the same situation, and I am sure you’d think differently.


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^ Meant to post the above under flytrap below. ^


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Slanders-go with the hypothetical-I am stating the IF there was a commensurate risk to the plumber or the insurance salesman of losing everything they owned every time they provided services, do you think that they would be in their respective businesses? My statement was IF. For the surgeon, there IS, and there are no IFs!


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This system is out of control. With ridiculous judgements like this, how can society expect anyone to spend 8 years of their life studying medicine AFTER college, becoming hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt, then deliver a baby often in the middle of the night on a weekend, often for about as much as a plumber gets paid on a routine call, and risk everything that he has ever made every single time he does it? Do you think a plumber would risk everything he owns and has worked for his entire life every time he came out for a leak? Or an insurance salesman every time he sold a policy? And earn as much as a SLO fireman?


And by the way, Obamacare makes no provision at all for controlling medical malpractice claims and reducing physicians practicing defensive medicine which increases costs for all of us. Dr. Haupt’s malpractice company probably will cover him for less than $2 million. And the attorney keeps 50%

(that’s FIFTY PERCENT) of everything.


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Oh MOLDY DOUGHNUTS ! I just knew someone would hop on the “Blame Obama for everything” clown car somewhere on this thread ! Patent nonsense.


The fact is that there should be no other kind of ‘health insurance’ THAN malpractice insurance for the doctors and the so-called health care industry or others cause greivous harm intentionally or not from some liable cause.


Insurance should be for things, not people.Look at all of the nations around the world that have pretty much universal health care that are BETTER than this corrupt, money ordered system here in the USA . We’re #37 in the WORLD, and that is unacceptable !


Another thing, malpractice insurance is REQUIRED for physicians and other professionals along with their host clinics and hospitals …so that throws another chink in your argument.


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