Chater v. Central Vermont Hospital

Plaintiffs, the parents of a child born at the Central Vermont Hospital, sued the hospital on their own behalf and for the child, alleging that the hospital’s negligence during the child’s birth resulted in the child’s cerebral palsy and spastic quadriplegia and caused the parents to suffer emotional distress. The jury returned a verdict in defendant’s favor, and plaintiffs appeal on the grounds that the court gave erroneous jury instructions, limited the child’s appearance in court, and refused to grant a new trial. We affirm.

Plaintiff Maude Chater was an obstetrical patient of Dr. Arthur G.…