Nov. 18--A Lackawanna County jury awarded a Jermyn family $20.5 million in a medical malpractice suit that followed a boy's lasting medical problems caused by mistakes made at his birth.

Lackawanna County Judge Terrence Nealon said the jury verdict was the largest he has presided over in a medical malpractice case in his 10 years on the bench.

The amount of the award dwarfs any in recent history by juries in Northeast Pennsylvania.

No medical malpractice jury verdict in the seven counties of Northeast Pennsylvania has exceeded $10 million from 2000 to 2007, according to statistics compiled by the state Supreme Court.

Only three malpractice verdicts in the region surpassed $5 million in those seven years -- one in Lackawanna in 2006, one in Luzerne in 2005 and one in Monroe in 2004, according to the court.

Jurors deliberated Monday for about four hours before deciding that Richard Behlke, M.D. and Community Medical Center were negligent in their treatment of Laura White, who gave birth to a baby boy named Cody on June 30, 2001. The jury assigned 60 percent of the negligence to Dr. Behlke and 40 percent to the hospital.

Mrs. White and her husband, Daniel, filed suit in 2003 and are represented by attorneys Jeffrey Kornblau and Lynn Sare. The trial began Nov. 3.

On June 30, 2001, Mrs. White called her doctor at OB/GYN Consultants Ltd., based in Scranton, because she believed there may be something wrong with her unborn child. Dr. Behlke, who was not her primary obstetrician, told her to go to Community Medical Center.

After she arrived, she was hooked up to a fetal monitoring system, which indicated the baby was in distress. CMC nurses called Dr. Behlke, who Mr. Kornblau said did not arrive for two hours.

In that time, "the baby was getting very little oxygen," Mr. Kornblau said.

Dr. Behlke's decision to attempt to induce labor made the situation worse, Mr. Kornblau said. By the time Cody was delivered by Cesarean-section about four hours after Mrs. White arrived at CMC, irreparable damage had been done, he added.

In addition to cerebral palsy, Cody White has no use of his hands, is almost completely blind and is mentally retarded, Mr. Kornblau said. Mr. White said his son functions at the level of a 6- to 9-month-old.

The parents will receive $2 million of the award for health care expenses and related costs. The child, now 7, was awarded $18.5 million, which he would receive upon turning 18, for lost earning capacity, pain and suffering and medical expenses.

"Almost all of the money will be used for his care," the lawyer said. "He needs 24-hour care ... for the rest of his life."

Mr. White said the jury verdict will ensure Cody will be cared for properly.

"He's a great little boy," Mr. White said. "He has a lot of difficulties, though. He can't walk or talk."

Lawyers representing Dr. Behlke and Community Medical Center could not be reached for comment Monday night.

It was not immediately clear when the Whites may receive the money.