Bronx

Published on: November 16, 2011

Teen Awarded £6.6m for Birth Injury

by Stephen Bilkis

A severely brain damaged teenager was awarded £6.6 million for injuries he received at birth.

The 19-year-old Oxford native was born at the city’s John Radcliffe Hospital in November 1991 and was diagnosed with cerebral palsy and mental impairment. He has a near normal life expectancy and full awareness of his disabilities and of the comparison between himself and others.

A New York Birth Injury Lawyer interested in the prolonged court cases of some birth injury claims heard that this young man was able to use most forms of assistive technology and was likely to be greatly helped by specialist equipment and care, but he would never be independent, would never enter the paid work force and would need assistance 24 hours a day.

Published on: November 13, 2011

Boy Receives Brain Damage Compensation

by Stephen Bilkis

A small boy who was brain damaged at birth will receive injury compensation from a Welsh hospital in the amount of £2.275 million. The eight-year-old will receive the payout through Gwent Healthcare NHS Trust.

The boy’s brain damage was caused because his birth was delayed at Nevill Hall Hospital in Abergavenny. His final diagnosis included the chilling ring of dyskinetic cerebral palsy.

Cerebral palsy is one of the most painful diagnoses to hear. The term is confusing to most parents and even some doctors in the Bronx and Suffolk County. Through thorough testing, a child’s doctor should be able to accurately tell you the ‘type’ of CP your child has. The classification and diagnosis depends on the severity of his or her limitations and on what parts of the body and brain are affected.

Published on: October 17, 2011

Lawsuit Underway Following Rare Medical Procedure During Birth

by Stephen Bilkis

As the lawsuit continues in the Washington County, West Virginia, Common Pleas Court, attorneys for the parents of a 9-year old girl who lost the use of her right arm allegedly by the doctors who delivered her, are questioning the expert witnesses, a NY Birth Injury Attorney is covering. One of the latest of the expert witnesses has testified that the nurses failed to follow established protocol that led to the delivery being rushed. This same expert witness went on to add that given the size of the infant, the doctors should have opted for a Cesarean section over a vaginal delivery.

Sources tell the researcher that the problem the attending nurses caused was they administered drugs that caused the mother’s delivery to speed up by increasing her contractions and did not notice the ensuing problem. By the time one of the accused doctors came back into the room, the baby was in distress and needed to be delivered right away. However, by this time, the baby had already become lodged in the birthing canal and due to her size, vaginal birth could not be continued.

It was at the point, the expert testified that the accused doctor attempted four or five different maneuvers before choosing to use a “once in a lifetime” maneuver. He called this a once in a lifetime maneuver due to the rarity that it is used. The maneuver is known as the Zavanelli maneuver, which is a procedure that involves the doctor pushing the fetal head back into the birth canal. The procedure is performed when the baby’s shoulders are too wide to slip through the birth canal and to prepare the baby for a C-section. The expert witness added that this procedure might never need to be used even in about 30,000 to 40,000 deliveries, a NYC Birth Injury Lawyer was told.

Published on: September 7, 2011

You can take steps against Vertebral Subluxation Complex by checking your child for signs and symptoms at home.

by Stephen Bilkis

According to a New York Birth Injury Lawyeryou can take steps against Vertebral Subluxation Complex by checking your child for signs and symptoms at home. To do so all you will need is a mirror – preferable a full-length mirror – and your child. First, have your child stand with their back to you facing the mirror. Make sure that they are standing as straight as possible. Next check out the general spine alignment – you will want to see if it is straight, or if it seems to be curving right or left. Next, as a NY Birth Injury Lawyer has mentioned, observe the head placement to see if it seems to be tilted or rotated. You will then want to look at the hips and shoulders to see if they seem to be out of alignment. If one side seems to be higher that the other, chances are that they are not level. By gently rubbing the muscles on either side of the spine, you should be able to tell if they feel tight or ropey in nature. Finally, press on the knobs of the spine to see if your child feels tenderness or pain. If any of these things appear to cause pain or appear to impede the natural structure of the spine and body, you may want to talk to a doctor, as your child may be suffering from Vertebral Subluxation Complex. This is usually not a fatal birth injury bust doctors in The Bronx and Queens are looking for ways to discover the problem before it gets to serious.

In situations where birth trauma may have caused Vertebral Subluxation Complex to appear in your child, a New York Criminal Attorney can assist throughout the process of seeking reconciliation and treatment. If you need an advocate to work with you to make sure you are receiving the best care and treatment available, a New York Criminal Attorney is there for you.

The Office of Stephen Bilkis and Associates can offer you support and guidance as well as a free consultation when you contact us at 1-800-NY-NY-LAW. We have offices in N York City, including Brooklyn, Queens, Manhattan, Staten Island and The Bronx and in Nassau County, Suffolk County and Westchester County.

Published on: August 25, 2011

Birth trauma can happen to anyone

by Stephen Bilkis

Birth trauma can happen to anyone, and can be the result of either natural or unnatural causes, reports a NY Birth Injury Attorney. Since the delicate and still-developing spinal cord and nervous system of an infant are so fragile, it does not take much in the way of trauma or rough handling to cause spinal misalignment or even its more debilitating counterpart, “Vertebral Subluxation Complex,” or VSC. A jarring accident, as well as the use of forceful birth alternatives such as vacuum extraction and even Cesarean Sections, can cause this trauma – a fact that is often brought to light by New York Birth Injury Lawyers. Dr. Jeanne Ohm – a Pediatric Chiropractor and a member of the International Chiropractic Pediatric Association – noted that even something such as simple as routine labor and delivery procedures can cause spinal injury liked misalignment and damage. This includes labor-inducing procedures, the use of pain medication, and restrictions on labor positions due to the mother’s health requirements. In addition to causing nerve damage, Vertebral Subluxation Complex can also cause organ malfunction, muscle damage, and tissue damage – all of which can be devastating medical issues to an infant’s development. These compounded issues can create the need for continued care and rehabilitation for the child, even in the least damaging of situations. Hospitals in Queens and The Bronx are on the look out for any of these possibilities.
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Published on: August 17, 2011

Forceps may cause birth injuries,

by Stephen Bilkis

Medical malpractice is an area of the law that covers just about everything from misdiagnosis to birth injuries. Birth injuries may also include the improper use of forceps to assist in the birthing process. While they are supposed to help ease the child into the world and help in preventing oxygen deprivation and helping babies that are not positioned the right way in the birth canal, if used the wrong way, may cause injuries like Erb’s palsy or cerebral palsy, reported the New York Birth Injury Lawyer.

Typically, forceps have two cups that are rounded at each end. These are placed in such a way to encircle the baby’s head. They can certainly save an infant’s life, but one wrong move and the baby may sustain serious, life long, permanent damage. Aside from cerebral palsy, improperly used forceps in birthing may also result in head trauma and brain injury. Another typical birth injury is nerve damage to the side of the baby’s face. Hospitals in The Bronx and Brooklyn take steps to avoid this problem.

It’s true, forceps delivery does have some inherent risks in it. Nonetheless, the team in the delivery room with the mother is expected to live up to a certain accepted medical standard of care during the birth. If the team doesn’t meet that level of care and the outcome of the birthing process is injury to the child, the parents may well have reason to file a medical malpractice birth injury lawsuit.

Published on: July 26, 2011

Cesarean Sections Used to Avoid Birth Injuries – Part 2

by Stephen Bilkis

The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that about one-third of U.S. women giving birth in 2008 delivered via a cesarean section. That number crossed all races and ages.

Cesareans are becoming more popular as mothers today are less likely to have a negative preconception about surgical delivery. The number is also rising as doctors are quicker to okay cesarean sections in order to avoid birth injury law suits, a New York Birth Injury Lawyer reveals.

The National Institutes of Health said just last year that it is safe for women to have a vaginal birth after C-section, known as VBAC, but some hospitals still do not regularly perform them. Classes on VBAC are offered at many hospitals across the country. It is available, but many who had a positive experience with the surgery the first time are likely to want it done on each subsequent surgery.

Published on: July 11, 2011

Birth Injury Caused by Medical Negligence in Illinois

by Stephen Bilkis

A birth injury claim recently filed by a mother in Illinois concluded in a $9,500,000 personal injury settlement. She was represented by a local firm.

In November of 2006, an Associate Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois, approved the $9.5M settlement of a medical negligence case. The plaintiff alleged that medical negligence on the part of the attending doctor, nursing staff, and the hospital at large, were to blame for a birth injury sustained during labor and delivery.

A New York Birth Injury Lawyer read the court documents and said that during the personal injury investigation, the plaintiff went to her normal clinic for a prenatal checkup. She was admitted to the hospital where medical personnel attached a fetal monitor to her and began inducing her labor using the medication Pitocin. These procedures took place because it was found that she was eclamptic.

Published on: June 13, 2011

Medical Malpractice in Erb’s Palsy Suit

by Stephen Bilkis

The parents of a child born with Erb’s Palsy recently filed a medical malpractice suit claiming their doctor was negligent when delivering their baby. It is claimed that the obstetrician-gynecologist was negligent because she failed to use the proper protocol when delivering their daughter in 2004.

During the child’s delivery, the doctor heightened the left shoulder dystocia injury by applying too much pressure on the baby. Erb’s Palsy, also known as Brachial Plexus Injury, resulted.

A New York City Birth Injury Attorney very familiar with the condition said, “Erb’s Palsy, or Brachial Plexus Injury, is a condition in which a newborn can move one arm but not the other. The condition results from nerve damage. Sometimes this damage is minor and heals itself in days or weeks, but sometimes, entire bundles of nerves are ripped away from the spinal cord causing serious damage.”

Published on: June 11, 2011

Nerve Fibers are Re-Grown after Spinal Cord Injuries

by Stephen Bilkis

Researchers at the University of Michigan Medical School and Johns Hopkins University have successfully developed a treatment that helps animals with traumatic spinal cord injuries. The treatment actually allows new nerve fibers to grow in replacement of destroyed ones.

Brachial plexus avulsion is an injury that occurs when an arm is pulled violently away from the body. In people, the injury occurs most often in motorcycle accidents or during childbirth.

The implications of this study for people who may face amputation of an appendage or those who suffer a brachial plexus injury are far-reaching and exciting.