A family in the US has been awarded a $45 million payout after a doctor made a series of medical missteps including taking an eight minute phone call from his stockbroker during a woman's labour.

Marla Dixon's delivery was not meant to be high risk. But a series of unfortunate incidents resulted in her newborn son suffering severe brain damage after being brought into the world on December 2, 2013.

The 19-year-old first-time Miami mother claimed in a US federal court that the doctor delivering her baby, Ata Atogho, made a series of missteps that led to a tragic outcome for her and her infant son, Earl Junior.

Ms Dixon and her partner, Earl Reese-Thornton Senior, filed the medical malpractice lawsuit after their son suffered severe brain damage from lack of oxygen.

Dr Atogho ordered nurses to restart a drug administered to strengthen contractions, failed to perform a Caesarean section and walked away from Ms Dixon's room for long periods of time, including an eight-minute phone call from his stockbroker.

Earl Junior will need round-the-clock care for life (Image: Miami Herald)

The nurse in charge of the delivery claimed Dr Atogho had blamed Ms Dixon for not pushing hard enough and tried to cover his tracks by falsifying her medical record with a note that made it appear as if she had refused a C-section, according to the Miami Herald .

"Not one time did he apologise," Ms Dixon said of Dr Atogho.

"He didn’t care. He kept going on with his lies. He blamed me."

Dr Athogho has received no disciplinary action and will not be personally liable for the $45 million, as he was working for a federally-funded health clinic.

North Shore Medical Centre spokesperson Patricia Vila said Dr Atogho has not been working at the clinic for "a number of years".

Dr Ata Atogho has not faced any disciplinary action (Image: Zocdoc.com)

However, this is not the first time Dr Atogho has been at the centre of a medical malpractice lawsuit.

In one case, which went to trial, a mother accused Dr Atogho of rushing her delivery and using a vacuum device that disfigured her daughter.

The girl, born in September 2013, was left with permanent nerve damage to her shoulder and neck.

Her mother agreed to settle for $123,000 in January.