Thomas Greer: $38 million verdict in Mid-South womans birth injury malpractice case
$38 million verdict in Mid-South woman’s medical malpractice case
FOX13 Memphis News Staff - May 8, 2026
Memphis, Tenn. — A jury recently awarded a Memphis mother $38 million for injuries her son suffered during birth.
That mother, who asked that her name not be published, says her doctors made decisions that created lifelong complications for her son.
She says of her pregnancy, "Everything was absolutely fine until the day I went to Regional One for delivery."
She says she was in labor for hours when her doctors told her, "They told me Cordell had pooped. He had meconium and to my knowledge that was serious."
She says her doctors let her labor continue for hours longer despite that complication, an elevated white blood cell count, and evidence Cordell's heart rate was fluctuating.
She says the doctors only agreed to a C-section delivery after she threatened to leave the hospital. "I asked my son's father to get a wheelchair to take me to another hospital because I just felt in my heart something was wrong," she says.
During recovery, she learned her newborn was receiving life-saving treatment. She says, "When I woke up, he was not in my room and everyone in my room was crying. So, I said, 'Hey, like, where's my son?' And they just told me that he was very sick. Very, very sick. Like, we don't think he's going to make it."
She continued, “The first question I asked, I was like, 'Hey, does he have 10 fingers?' I didn't know what was 'sick.' I didn't know what was going on because again, my entire pregnancy was fine. I had no issues. And that's when I found out that he had swallowed so much meconium or poop that he needed to go to Le Bonheur for more care.”
Cordell was put on an ECMO machine, a type of life support. He spent 2-1/2 months in the hospital before he was allowed to go home. Then, at 10 months old, he suffered a stroke his family believes was related to his delivery. The series of medical complications left him with lifelong effects.
She says, "He's 9 years old at this point. He is intellectually delayed." He is in a special needs class in school.
She says he struggles to make friends his own age, usually connecting more with children a few years younger.
She says, "Physically, he struggles day-to-day. He cannot do multi-step instructions. He can't open containers. Something so simple as a Capri Sun bottle or a bottle of water.”
That mother believes she was the victim of medical malpractice. She reached out to Greer Injury Lawyers for help.
The firm’s founder attorney Thomas Greer told FOX13, "Well, over 90% of the trials that go forward against doctors and hospitals are lost. So, this was an uphill battle from the very beginning.”
It took years to get the case to trial.
Greer says, "One of the issues when you have a child who's injured at birth is you don't know the full extent of the damage until they get a little bit older."
In April 2026, a jury heard the case against the doctors, not the hospital. The trial took 11 days featuring pages of medical records and expert testimony from both sides. Ultimately, the jury determined the doctors were at fault. They awarded a total of $38 million.
Greer says of the jury, "They were clearly impacted by the story of this case, what happened to this child. And they wanted to send a message."
The money will help with Cordell's needs for the rest of his life.
His mother told FOX13, "My biggest fear was him not being able to take care of himself when I wasn't here. So, now I don't have to financially worry about that, and he can get the services that he requires that I couldn't afford on my own."
An attorney for the doctors in the case issued a statement about the case to FOX13.
"My clients feel for the mother and her son. They do not dispute that the child sustained an injury, but they believe it could not have been predicted, given the clinical circumstances. At trial, well-trained experts testified that my clients provided proper medical treatment and that their treatment did not cause the child’s injuries. We appreciate the jury’s service, but we respectfully disagree with the verdict."
The mother in the case went back to school after her son's birth. She graduated and became a nurse. She told FOX13 the painful lessons she learned firsthand help her fight for her patients.
She says, "I get to advocate for other people now. So, especially if I have an OB patient, they don't know my story. And, sometimes, I tell them my story. I make sure I’m there for them as well as their child."
She urges all patients to advocate for themselves. And she says don't be afraid to ask for help.
