Disabled teen wins high court case over settlement

[March 21, 2013]  WASHINGTON (AP) -- The Supreme Court has blocked North Carolina from trying to take more than $900,000 from a legal settlement won by the family of a 13-year-old girl who suffered devastating injuries during her birth.

The court ruled 6-3 Wednesday in favor of the family of the girl, identified only as E.M.A. She is severely disabled as a result of what her parents say was a botched delivery.

North Carolina has spent nearly $2 million for her medical care and when the family settled a malpractice lawsuit for $2.8 million, the state claimed a third of the settlement.

Writing for the court, Justice Anthony Kennedy said the state can't claim a share of the settlement as reimbursement for medical care without determining how much of the settlement is attributable to the care.

[Associated Press]

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