The Connecticut Supreme Court ruled “medical malpractice claims” is broad enough to include a mother’s emotional distress damages during an allegedly traumatic birth caused by health care professionals, and waived the state’s sovereign immunity. 

Under General Statutes § 4-160(f), the state’s sovereign immunity is waived in qualified medical malpractice lawsuits, which allows the actions to move forward without the authorization from the Claims Commissioner. The General Assembly enacted this statute to prevent case backlog, the opinion said.