The Nation - News from July 30, 1987

A federal judge in Providence, R.I., awarded $11 million to a Navy couple who sued the government because their daughter was born brain-damaged as a result of negligence by doctors at Newport Naval Hospital. The award to Peter and Donna Reilly is intended to cover the expenses of caring for their daughter, Heather, for the rest of her life. “Heather is a helpless individual, ‘significantly delayed developmentally’ and unable to see,” U.S. District Judge Raymond J. Pettine wrote. “She will never be able to walk, talk, feed or take care of herself.”