LOCAL : Cedars-Sinai to Pay $17.5 Million to Child Injured Just After Birth

Cedars-Sinai Medical Center agreed today to pay as much as $17.5 million to a 6-year-old Reseda girl who suffered brain damage just after she was born in the hospital. According to a court-approved settlement, the girl, Lauren Ruben, will receive $500,000 immediately. The remainder of the money will be paid out in monthly payments from a lifetime annuity. The $17.5-million figure is based on a life expectancy of 70 years.

The girl was injured because an intern who had been out of medical school less than six months failed to recognize for several hours that the girl was not getting adequate oxygen, the girl’s lawyer said. The child’s mother, Barbara Ruben, said the settlement “means we have the future now. I was really frightened about what would happen to my daughter. Now I know she will have the best of care.”