The agreement, which was approved Monday by U.S. District Judge Dee Benson and is awaiting final approval by the U.S. attorney general, would pay $2.2 million in cash to the family of 2-year-old Omar Castaneda Cortez and use $2.4 million to create a trust for the child. The trust would provide Omar $10,547 a month for life for his care.
His parents, Alejandro Castaneda and Alda Cortez, would pay their lawyers out of the settlement, with the fees totaling no more than 25 percent of the $4.6 million total. They must also pay health-care bills for treatment provided to their son so far.
The U.S. government, which was named as defendant in the lawsuit because the baby was treated by federal employees at a Salt Lake City clinic, makes no admission of wrongdoing in the settlement. Both sides said they made the agreement to avoid the expense and risk of further litigation.
The family and their lawyer could not be immediately reached for comment.
The parents said in their lawsuit, filed last year in U.S. District Court, that Omar had a normal weight, length and head size at his birth on Oct. 4, 2004. However, when they took the boy to the Central City Community Health Center in Salt Lake City for a "well child" exam when he was 9 days old, his head circumference had increased from 35 centimeters to 39 centimeters, the suit said. In two other exams, on Oct. 26 and Dec. 7, the size increased to 40.5 centimeters and 45 centimeters, respectively. Despite the growth, the doctor who examined the baby and other medical personnel failed to recognize the significance of Omar's increasing head size as a sign he was suffering from untreated obstructive hydrocephalus, the suit said.
The condition, which involves an excessive accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid within the brain, caused Omar to suffer a brain stem herniation on Dec. 26, 2004. He went into cardiopulmonary arrest, resulting in neurologic damage.
According to the Hydrocephalus Foundation Inc., a Massachusetts non-profit, the condition is primarily treated with shunts, and most newborns with hydrocephalus have a normal life span and normal intelligence.
pmanson@sltrib.com
