A jury awarded $10 million to a mother who gave birth in an ambulance after it found that her premature baby wasn't properly treated during the transfer from one hospital to another. In 2003, Addison Chess was delivered at 25 weeks while in an ambulance owned by EVAC Ambulance Service. About 13 minutes into transit from Bert Fish Medical Center in New Smyrna Beach to Arnold Palmer Hospital in Orlando — a 90–minute trip — the mother's water broke. Addison weighed only 1.7 pounds. A lack of oxygen to his brain resulted in cerebral palsy. The mother alleged that she was sent across the state in an inadequately equipped ambulance in the middle of the night. She also claimed that a paramedic's administration of morphine to her and failure to properly care for the baby after birth was reckless and a gross deviation from the standard of care. The jury found for the plaintiff on both the negligence and reckless disregard claims.
