URBANA – A Champaign County judge has endorsed a $12 million out-of-court settlement for an Urbana woman left severely brain-damaged during labor at Provena Covenant Medical Center eight years ago.

The settlement for Tim Ravanh, 33, is thought to be one of the largest in the history of Champaign County. An attorney for Ravanh said the amount is necessary to provide the intense level of care she'll need for the rest of her life.

"She is significantly brain-damaged and has no speech," family attorney Todd Smith of Chicago said. "She has 'locked-in syndrome.' That means she has cognitive function. She appreciates her surroundings and the people who are in her life. She's very much aware of the desperate nature of her situation, being completely dependent on others for all activities of her daily living. It's about as difficult and as devastating an injury as I've seen."

A family member of Ravanh said they preferred that Smith answer questions about their loved one.

Smith's firm will receive $2.8 million of the $12 million paid jointly by Provena, Christie Clinic and anesthesiologist Dr. Tadeusz "Ted" Dziadek, who administered the epidural injection to which Ravanh reacted adversely.

Another $200,000 in attorney fees was awarded to Champaign attorney Jim Martinkus, who initially filed the lawsuit on behalf of Ravanh in 2004. Smith's firm took the case over later.

According to the settlement order filed in mid-September, almost $600,000 of the award was used to pay expenses associated with Ravanh's care and expenses related to the lawsuit.

Ravanh's family – her father, Khamsing Ravanh, is her guardian – will receive $4.4 million now and another $4 million through a structured settlement that will be paid to the family in monthly installments until Ravanh is 63 years old.

According to facts laid out in the settlement, Ravanah was at Provena on Dec. 27, 2002, in labor with her son who was later born – healthy – by cesarean section. Dziadek gave her an epidural injection that sent Ravanh into cardiopulmonary arrest in his presence and that of a registered nurse.

However, the order said, the necessary equipment to respond to that kind of emergency was not present in the room, and CPR was not started on Ravanh until about 20 minutes later.

"She suffered irreversible brain injury as a result of oxygen deprivation following an intrathecal injection of medication by Ted Dziadek and the subsequent failure by the nursing staff to timely and appropriately resuscitate her," the order said.

Bill Brinkman, the Champaign attorney representing Christie Clinic and Dziadek, who's now practicing in Texas, said his clients had not authorized him to comment on the settlement.

Chicago attorney Lawrence Helms, representing Provena, did not return repeated calls seeking comment.

Crystal Senesac, spokeswoman for Provena, issued the following statement in an e-mail: "Our prayers remain with the family in this sad, but isolated incident from 2002."

Senesac said Ravanh's case was not the impetus behind Provena's involvement in a so-called "lean processes" movement announced by Christie and Provena in a July news release.

"Provena's Blessed Beginnings Birthing Center is being modernized and redesigned using lean principles. Past birthing center patients and teams of staff members have collaborated to design the overall layout and each of the spaces within the unit. While keeping the family experience in mind, they have evaluated their workflow for delivering high quality care by using principles such as 'point-of-use storage,' which makes sure the right items are on hand at the right time throughout all stages of the childbirth experience," the release said.

According to court documents, the case might have been settled for far less before Smith's firm was able to show liability on the part of Provena Covenant Medical Center.

An affidavit from Smith said Ravanh's was a "complicated medical-malpractice claim which was likely on its way to settlement for something less than $2 million. In other words, the original theories in this case and approach (without criticism toward anyone) did not include the liability of the hospital identified subsequently that resulted ultimately in the outcome of this matter."

Smith said the settlement amount is so high not just because of the liability on the part of the hospital but because of the amount of care Ravanh will require for the rest of her life. Her parents and other adult siblings take care of her and her two sons, Smith said.

"She lives with a large family of modest means and modest circumstances. She is in a tiny room with boxes piled up ... and other equipment used to help her. It's not wheelchair-accessible. There's enormous kinds of aid necessary to take care of her. The family is extremely close and have all been with her from day one. They're a very loving family. They're concerned for her and her alone in all of this and have worked very hard to pursue this result."

He also called Provena Covenant "a good hospital that made a mistake in this case that ended up being a tragic outcome for this woman and her family."