DOJ agrees to $11M settlement after soldier’s baby suffers permanent brain injury at Fort Campbell hospital

FORT CAMPBELL, Ky. (WSMV/Gray News) - The U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) has agreed to pay $11 million to settle a lawsuit filed by the family of a Fort Campbell soldier whose daughter suffered a permanent brain injury during delivery at Blanchfield Army Community Hospital.

The lawsuit was filed in Nashville federal court by the family.

The family alleged that medical providers failed to respond to hours of fetal distress during the child’s birth on Sept. 11, 2021.

The child, now 4 years old, lives with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy, epilepsy and cortical visual impairment, according to the family’s attorneys.

The attorneys said she cannot walk or sit without support, receives nutrition through a feeding tube, and requires around-the-clock nursing care.

The case went to trial in April, and the DOJ settled while the parties awaited a judge’s decision.

“This case is about holding the government accountable and giving this military family the lifelong care and support they will need,” attorney Laurie Higginbotham said in a statement.