NC jury awards $18.2 million after finding WakeMed doctor negligent in boy’s birth

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A Wake County jury awarded $18.2 million to a 6-year-old and his mother after finding that a doctor’s negligence during the boy’s birth resulted in disfigurement and a lifelong disability.

A judge, however, will have the final say on the amount WakeMed will have to pay. It will likely be reduced significantly, under a state law that caps the amount of some medical malpractice payouts.

Naqah Lake, 6, and his mother, Laurel Browne, filed a lawsuit in 2022 against WakeMed and its medical staff, alleging that they failed to properly treat Browne during her pregnancy and delivery at the Raleigh hospital

Over the course of the litigation, the defendants were narrowed to Dr. Tara Brenner, an obstetrician-gynecologist working for WakeMed. Because Brenner, then a third-year UNC resident, was acting as a WakeMed employee while treating the patient, the law holds WakeMed responsible for the negligence that the jury found in her medical care this week.

WakeMed spokesperson Kristen Kelly pointed out in an email to The News & Observer that the jury found three other WakeMed medical professionals were not negligent.

“WakeMed is committed to providing a safe environment for patients to receive care and for future generations of health care providers to learn,” Kelly wrote in the email.

The lawsuit states that during Browne’s labor on Sept. 17, 2019, her son’s shoulder became stuck behind her pelvic bone.

Brenner rotated the baby’s head, which had been delivered, while the shoulder was still stuck, the family’s complaint states. About two minutes passed between the delivery of the baby’s head and the rest of his body.

Naqah wasn’t breathing and required resuscitation through chest compressions and intubation, the lawsuit states.

He remained in the neonatal intensive care unit for nine days, and his left arm remained limp.

Doctors diagnosed Naqah with a severe nerve injury to his left shoulder and arm. When he was about 6 months old, surgeons operated to try to repair the damaged nerves and remove scar tissue.

Still, Naqah continued to struggle with the permanent nerve damage, known as Erb’s palsy, that has left him with lifelong weakness, limited use of his left arm, and permanent disfigurement, the lawsuit states.

For the 6-year-old, that means needing help getting dressed, using the bathroom and opening containers in his lunch. At school, another child is assigned to help him through the day, said his attorney, Lisa Weinstein.

Those are some of the burdens that can be measured.

Those that can’t be measured include stares, questions and the heartbreak of growing up with a deformed arm that won’t work like other children’s, Weinstein said.

In the lawsuit, the family’s attorneys argued the baby’s injuries during birth were preventable and caused by Brenner’s actions, which didn’t comply with the accepted standard of care for doctors practicing in the state.

In court documents, Brenner’s attorneys denied that she was negligent and that her actions resulted in the injury. They also argued that she met the appropriate standard of care during a complicated delivery and criticized the family’s medical experts who said otherwise.

After about three weeks of testimony, a jury found on July 2 that Brenner was the only negligent provider in the case, according to court documents.

After Brenner was found negligent, her attorneys argued that if she did make a mistake, her actions didn’t meet the legal threshold for gross negligence.

The jury agreed.

On July 13, they awarded Naqah $17.7 million and his mother $500,000.

Of that award, $2.2 million was considered economic damages, or costs that can be counted, such as doctor bills and medical treatments.

The jury also awarded $16 million in noneconomic damages, or harms that don’t come with a receipt, including pain and the challenges of living with a permanent disability and a disfigured arm.

Moving forward, the $16 million award for noneconomic damages will likely be significantly reduced under a 2011 state law that caps such damages at $712,847, unless the jury finds gross negligence.

Still, Weinstein said the family considers the verdict a win after four years of litigation in which the doctor and hospital denied responsibility.

“We do believe justice was served, and we’re so proud of the verdict,” she said.

This story was originally published July 15, 2026 at 5:23 PM with the headline “NC jury awards $18.2 million after finding WakeMed doctor negligent in boy’s birth.”