A Wake County jury has said WakeMed must pay $18.2 million after finding that a doctor’s actions during a 2019 delivery caused permanent nerve damage to a boy now identified as Naqah Lake. The 6-year-old’s left arm is significantly weakened and disfigured, and his family sued, alleging that a delivery maneuver led to a brachial plexus injury. The verdict is not a payday yet. A judge still has to review the award, and the final amount could be cut under North Carolina law.
Verdict and damages breakdown
According to The News & Observer, jurors awarded $17.7 million to the child and $500,000 to his mother, for a total of $18.2 million. Of that sum, the panel tagged about $2.2 million as economic losses, such as future care costs, and $16 million as noneconomic damages for pain, suffering and disfigurement. The judge will now decide how much of that number can legally stand, and attorneys on both sides say post-trial motions are all but certain.
What the lawsuit says happened
The family’s complaint says that on Sept. 17, 2019, during Laurel Browne’s labor, a shoulder dystocia occurred and a resident physician rotated the baby’s head while the shoulder was still impacted. The plaintiffs say that maneuver should not be used for that complication. Naqah required resuscitation, spent nine days in the neonatal intensive care unit and later underwent surgery at about six months old in an effort to repair damaged nerves. He was diagnosed with Erb’s palsy and has lifelong limits in his left arm. Those details and the trial timeline are laid out in court filings and in the plaintiffs’ statement to Lawdragon.
Jury findings on negligence
As reported by The News & Observer, after roughly three weeks of testimony, jurors found on July 2 that Dr. Tara Brenner, who was then a UNC obstetrics resident acting as a WakeMed employee, was the only negligent provider in the case. They did not find that her conduct rose to the level of gross negligence. That legal line will matter when the court decides whether the large noneconomic award survives in full. WakeMed told the paper that the jury cleared three other staffers and said the system remains “committed to providing a safe environment” for patients and trainees.
State law could shrink the pain-and-suffering award
North Carolina places a cap on noneconomic damages in medical-malpractice cases, and the Office of State Budget and Management sets the inflation-adjusted limit. For 2026, the cap is $712,847, a number that could dramatically cut the jury’s $16 million noneconomic award. If a jury finds both a permanent injury or disfigurement and reckless or grossly negligent conduct, the cap can be lifted, but both elements must be present. Plaintiffs’ lawyers say Naqah’s lifelong disability fits an exception, while defense counsel is expected to press the court to apply the statutory limit.
Who represented the family and what’s next
The case, captioned Naqah Maxwell Lake, a minor, by and through his Guardian ad Litem Christopher Duggan, and Laurel Browne v. WakeMed (File No. 22CVS011664-910), was tried in Wake County Superior Court before Judge Winston C. Gilchrist, according to Lawdragon. Grant & Eisenhofer led the family’s team at trial and described the verdict as among the largest in North Carolina for a brachial plexus birth injury. With the verdict now entered, the next steps are the judge’s review of damages and likely post-trial motions and appeals from the defense, which could stretch out the timeline for any payout.
The family’s attorney said the verdict reflects the harm a child will live with every day and called the outcome a victory after four years of litigation. For Naqah, that means ongoing medical care and everyday accommodations, from help with dressing to assistance at school, that the jury considered when setting economic damages. A judge will now decide how much of the award the family actually receives and whether any portion will be cut under state law, after which either side could seek appellate review.
