Manhattan

Published on: January 10, 2012

Birth Injury Settlement of $21 Million

by Stephen Bilkis

A Pennsylvania Medical Center was found negligent in the case of a birth injury lawsuit recently. The resulting settlement was a record breaking $21 million. Jurors found the doctors and staff responsible for the injuries sustained during the delivery process of the plaintiff’s son which resulted in his catastrophic birth injury.

The plaintiff shared her testimony of what should have been one of the happiest memories of her life during the hearing. She told of her arrival at the medical center and of being prepped for child birth. She said that routine procedures were not handled properly. She stated to a friend that had the staff monitored the baby’s heart rates and vital signs properly, they would have seen that the baby was lacking oxygen and thus moving into breach position which necessitated an emergency cesarean section surgery. Even though the surgery was flawless, the mother maintained that the negligence of the staff resulted in her baby developing cerebral palsy. Had the staff been aware of the situation, the surgery would have happened quicker – within the time frame necessary to probably prevent the condition her son now has to live with for the rest of his life.

Cerebral palsy involves brain and nervous system functions such as movement, learning, hearing, seeing and thinking and is usually caused by injuries or abnormalities of the brain and in some cases by hypoxia (damaging of the brain during periods of low levels of oxygen.)

Published on: January 5, 2012

Birth Injury Compensation Awarded to Teenager

by Stephen Bilkis

Over half a million pounds in compensation was just awarded to a North London teenager. Complications at her delivery years ago left her partially disabled as she enters adulthood.

The sixteen-year-old from Barnet suffered serious complications during her birth at London’s Barnet and Chase Farm Hospital, and she now suffers with Erb’s Palsy.

Erb’s Palys is a condition that causes paralysis of the arm. More specifically, the upper group of the arm’s primary nerves are severed during severe trauma. Depending on the nature of the trauma, the paralysis can either resolve on its own over a period of months, necessitate rehabilitative therapy, or require surgery. It was caused when her shoulder became stuck during delivery, which caused the extensive damage to the nerves in her shoulder. A study reveals that complications such as this happen more often than the public realizes.

Published on: November 27, 2011

Improper Forceps Use Result in Birth Injuries

by Stephen Bilkis

Birth injuries happen for a variety of reasons, and one of those reasons is the improper use of forceps during the delivery process.

Forceps are a metal tool routinely used during childbirth to ease the passage of the baby through the birth canal. Used correctly, forceps can assist in delivering infants who have been improperly positioned, thus reducing the risk of oxygen deprivation.

However, some want the public to be aware that when forceps are used improperly, cerebral palsy and other birth injuries may result.

Published on: November 23, 2011

£3m Birth Injury Settlement Awarded to 37-Year-Old Woman

by Stephen Bilkis

London’s High Court responded to hearing how a grown woman has needed constant care since her delivery in 1972. They responded with a series of lifelong payments awarded to the victim.

In this case, West Midlands Strategic Health Authority admitted to negligence and greatly regretted the incident.

The adult woman lives with her parents and will finally receive some type of medical assistance payments for the duration of her life. When she was still a toddler in the 70s, she was diagnosed with brain damage as a result of a prolonged delivery. Because of the time lapse since her delivery, certain details about the birth injury are not available.

Published on: November 19, 2011

Cardiac Birth Trauma

by Stephen Bilkis

Birth traumas refer to injuries that happen to an infant that result from mechanical forces (ie, compression, traction) during the birth process.

Significant birth injuries accounts for fewer than 2% of neonatal deaths and stillbirths in the United States. These occurrences do still happen occasionally and unavoidably, with an average of 6-8 injuries per 1000 live births in the U.S. Generally, larger infants are more susceptible to birth trauma; higher rates are reported for infants who weigh more than 4500 grams.

While most birth traumas have favorable outcomes, nearly one-half are potentially avoidable if recognition of risk factors happens and the medical staff anticipates and reacts to those factors. Risk factors include large-for-date infants, especially infants who weigh more than 4500 g; instrumental deliveries, especially forceps or vacuum; vaginal breech delivery; and abnormal or excessive traction during delivery. In each of these cases, information is readily available and extra care should be taken.

Published on: October 14, 2011

Disabled Woman Awarded Multi-Million Pound Settlement

by Stephen Bilkis

A 22-year old Walton, England, woman is to be awarded a multi-million pound settlement after winning a lawsuit against the East of England Strategic Health Authority, a New York City Birth Injury Attorney has discovered. The lawsuit was filed on her behalf by her mother for disabilities that were incurred during childbirth due to the negligence of the medical staff.

The lawsuit alleged that the young woman’s brain had been deprived of oxygen during childbirth due to the delivery occurring too quickly due to the labor being induced by drugs, sources said to the researcher. The oxygen deprivation resulted in permanent brain damage that left her permanently disabled, i.e. she has speech difficulty and must have someone with her 24-hours a day. Sources went on to add that although the 22-year old young lady does volunteer work, there is no way that she can be fully independent.

While the young lady is trying to become more independent, or at least as much as is possible under the circumstances, one of the attorneys representing her in this case stated that “She is a very vulnerable person,” who is trying to manage through the daily exercises of life, and is having great difficulty. He went on to add that she was trying to be more independent from her parents as much as she is able. This settlement should assist her in doing this, at least some.

Published on: September 24, 2011

Common health problems that can be helped with chiropractic care

by Stephen Bilkis

Just as chiropractic care can be a benefit to dealing with the effects of Vertebral Subluxation Complex, it can also help with more common ailments and health issues that children face, reports a New York Birth Injury Lawyer. These common health problems that can be helped with chiropractic care include the need for constant antibiotic use, ear tubes, hyperactivity, common sniffles and head cold symptoms, headaches, colic, and more. For parents wanting to help their children overcome these health issues, a visit to a licensed and experienced chiropractor may do more for them than they ever dreamed possible. Surgery, prescription drugs, and alternative and often invasive medical procedures are often what doctors recommend, but according to the findings of a NY Birth Injury Attorney these are not the only way to treat and even help prevent many common ailments in children. In a recent eighteen-year long study of upper respiratory infections in a group of 100 families, researchers found that ear infection often occurred as a result of restricted spinal motion in the area of the upper neck. If this motion was restored, the respiratory symptoms often went away with it. The benefits of chiropractic care on the health of children are tremendous and should be considered, especially where Vertebral Subluxation Complex is involved. Perhaps the best part about chiropractic care In Manhattan and Long Island, both of which have many practitioners, is its non-invasive and preventative nature. As reported by a New York Lawyer, this type of total body care is a good way to help treat this and other debilitating issues that are caused by birth trauma.
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Published on: August 13, 2011

Boy with Cerebral Palsy Needs a Motorized Wheelchair

by Stephen Bilkis

A family in Blacksburg, SC, is trying to take care of their 5-year old grandson as best they can, sources told a New York City Birth Injury Attorney. While it is currently unclear as to how the grandparents came to be the primary caretakers of this young man, they do have their work cut out for them. Their grandson has cerebral palsy, which will require him to have a lifetime of special care and services in order to survive each day.

His family is fully aware of the struggles the child faces and has been attempting to get him at least some of the things he will need, such as a motorized wheelchair. A New York Birth Injury Lawyer was informed that the family was recently turned down twice by Medicaid when they filed for assistance for the motorized wheelchair. It has been deemed necessary for the boy since he will be beginning his first year of school in the next school year. Attorneys in Manhattan and Long Island handle this type of case many times in a year.

Luckily, a local television station’s news department picked up on his story, and the family received some good news. Medicaid approved his wheelchair and he was soon sent a temporary wheelchair (non-motorized) until he can be fitted for his motorized wheelchair. A Medicaid representative stated that the problem was with the vendor the family had been working with that could not provide the type of wheelchair that was needed as the reason for the family’s claim being denied.

Published on: August 2, 2011

One Woman’s Home Birthing Story Inspires Discussion of Its Safety

by Stephen Bilkis

Giving birth at home can be very empowering and calming. The pain is the same – arguably more so with no painkillers. But being in familiar surroundings and without the extra nuisance of machines beeping and measuring, some women still feel the urge to push at home.

One mother, a week before her delivery, said this about her impending delivery: “We’re not hippies, but I’m pregnant, not sick, so why should I go into a hospital? Why go into an unfamiliar, clinical setting where you don’t get continuity of care and are at risk of all sorts of other things like MRSA and swine flu? The best thing is that, after a home birth, I can shower in my own bathroom and then get into my own bed with my new baby,” she added.

There are many medical experts who maintain that home births are dangerous and irresponsible. Some go so far as to equate the practice with child abuse. This anti-home birth party is growing in numbers and venom – so much so that the numbers of women choosing homebirths has dropped to below 10% in most every industrialized nation in the world.

Published on: July 29, 2011

$21 Million Birth Injury Lawsuit Award

by Stephen Bilkis

The Pennsylvania medical center that allegedly caused a severe birth injury to a little boy has been forced to pay a $21 million compensation package to the boy and his mother. The boy developed cerebral palsy as a direct result of the doctor’s mismanagement of his birthing process.

As a lifelong condition, the lawsuit money will provide for quality care throughout the boy’s life. In Manhattan and Nassau County, hospitals and doctors must have insurance for these kinds of tragedies.

In the lawsuit, the boy’s mother alleged that the Erie, Pennsylvania, Hamot Medical Center’s doctors acted improperly during the birth of her son in November of 2006. While in the hospital and ready to give birth, the mother and son’s vital signs were not properly monitored by the nursing staff on hand. According to a New York Birth Injury Attorney, the boy then suffered lack of oxygen and shifted into the breach position. The new position of the fetus forced the doctor and midwife to perform an emergency C-section.