Articles Posted in Nassau

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A single mother gave birth prematurely to her baby girl on her 25th week of pregnancy. The child stayed at the neonatal intensive care unit of a university hospital where she was taken care of by the staff from the date of her birth on June 25, 2003 until she was released on August 3, 2003.

The child suffered from hydrocephalus; she had breathing disorders; she had seizure disorders and blindness. The mother brought a suit for medical malpracticeagainst the attending neonatologists, the nursing staff and the university hospital itself. The mother filed the suit in damages for and in behalf of her prematurely-born baby daughter, alleging that the attending neonatologist’s medical malpractice caused her child personal injury. The mother also brought a suit in damages alleging that the neonatologist’s medical malpractice and negligence that caused her daughter’s suffering also caused her personal anguish and distress. She claims the payment of her medical bills and for the maintenance and upkeep of her child who suffers irreversible and permanent brain damage which requires round-the-clock nursing care for the rest of her life.

The chief of the neonatal intensive care unit filed a motion to dismiss the cause of action against him for negligence and medical malpractice. The question of whether or not the complaint against the chief neonatologist should be dismissed is the only question before the Supreme Court.

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A child survived her birth for approximately two and one-half years; and during such period lived her short life in pain and suffering with and from polycystic kidneys and other diseases. Through the medium of the administrators of her estate (the parents), she makes claim in tort against the defendant doctors for conscious pain and suffering sustained by her after birth, contending that as a result of the defendants’ medical malpractice (where a birth injury or birth injury accident may result) she was conceived and born when she should not have been conceived or born. Such type of claim has in recent years received nomenclature in the field of torts as one for ‘wrongful life’ and/or the ‘right not to be born’.

Is the claim for “wrongful life” legally viable? Is there a legal right to make claim for pain and suffering resulting from a tort committed prior to conception and thus having been conceived and born?

Both defendants are licensed doctors, ‘specialists’ in the field of obstetrics; that the mother of the infant decedent had previous to the birth of the infant plaintiff given birth to a child in June 1969; that the prior child was born with polycystic kidneys and other conditions and died a short time after its birth; that defendant-one, was in charge of that delivery; that after the death of the prior child, defendants rendered medical care and advice to the mother between June 1969 and 31 July 1970; that based upon such advice the mother became pregnant, resulting in the birth of the presently involved infant, on 31 July 1970; that the defendant-two supervised and delivered said child; that this child, plaintiff now deceased, was also born suffering from polycystic kidneys from which she died two and one-half years later; that defendants were guilty of malpractice because of the negligent care, treatment and advice given to the mother which, they maintain, was not in accord with accepted medical standards in that the medical care and advice was improper by failing to inform the mother and father of the deceased infant of the risk of said infant’s being born with such congenital defects inherent in another pregnancy; that defendants represented to the mother that the condition of the prior (1969) deceased child did not indicate any reason for the mother not to become pregnant again and that there was no reason to fear that a future pregnancy would result in the birth of an unhealthy, congenitally defective child; that defendants did not inform them that polycystic kidney disease was hereditary in nature; that defendants failed to take tests to ascertain the chromosomal and/or genetic makeup of the mother and father so as to ascertain the possibilities and probabilities on a rational basis of any birth following that of their male child born in June 1969 who was afflicted with said congenital kidney disease, and in advising, informing and assuring the mother and father that any child conceived and born to them subsequent to the birth of the child in 1969 would not be similarly afflicted without any test data as a basis for such advice; and by giving the plaintiffs such reassurance without having made any research or investigation into relevant medical information then available concerning said condition and its congenital hereditary nature.

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Dr. Waney Squier, a prominent neuropathologist, is haunted by a certain case. This case is one that any parent will find deeply distressing. Eleven years ago, a mother stood trial at Nottingham Crown Court charged with manslaughter. Even though the woman was described as a woman of good character and a careful and caring mother, she was still accused of shaking her four-month-old baby to death two years earlier.

Dr. Squier wrote a report for the prosecution saying that the child was the victim of shaken baby syndrome (SBS). The mother vehemently protested her innocence, but was convicted and jailed for three years.

The woman’s punishment only began with the incarceration. Tragic consequences rippled out from her baby boy’s death. She wasn’t allowed to go to his funeral; a baby she gave birthto as she was starting her sentence was taken away for adoption; her partner left her, and both her parents died while she was in prison. In short, a warden said, her life fell apart.

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A teenage boy left severely disabled after a series of medical failures at birth was awarded nearly £5.5million last week. The now 16-year-old quadriplegic suffers from cerebral palsy as a result of being deprived of oxygen during his birth.

The plaintiff’s legal team alleged that doctors failed to properly manage the newborn’s breathing after his birth He suffered a circulatory collapse when he was just one day old.

The settlement, which was approved in the High Court, followed the admission of liability by the doctor and the Black Country Strategic Health Authority.

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In 2007, an Evesham family that previously won a landmark court ruling in favor of their son lost their specially adapted home to floodwaters. The ruined home was bought by the family with proceeds from their son’s malpractice suit. The boy was left severely disabled after complications incurred during his birth.

The boy was awarded almost £5 million after a judge agreed that he had been let down by medical professionals who failed to diagnose his mother with gestational diabetes during her pregnancy. Mothers with this condition typically deliver larger babies.

A nurse remembers the case. He says that the mother was given permission to deliver the child at home instead of in a hospital via an early C-section. Because of this, there were complications during the birth, and the child was left with cerebral palsy and Erb’s palsy which has completely confined him to a wheelchair. He is also unable to speak.

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Facial nerve palsy results in the partial or complete loss of voluntary (controllable) muscle movement. This trauma occurs in an infant’s face due to pressure on the facial nerves just prior to or at the time of his or her delivery. The seventh cranial nerve, in particular, is damaged.

In many cases, the appearance of and cause of this birth injury is unknown. But in a difficult delivery, whether the doctor used or didn’t use forceps, there are many factors that may have led to the condition.

A study just released a listing of some of the factors that can cause birth injuries. Those factors include a large baby, which is often seen when the mother has diabetes. An overly long pregnancy or labor is connected to the distressing injury, as well as the use of epidural anesthesia and other medications used to cause labor and stronger contractions.

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Recently, the High Court of London approved a settlement for almost €1M in an medical malpractice action filed by the parents of a nine-year-old boy who suffered shoulder and hand injuries at the time of his birth.

The boy’s 45-year-old mother has filed a separate suit concerning the trauma. She claims she underwent a ‘horrific childbirth’ which tragically left her son John physically disabled.

A reporter found that the court was told the case brought on behalf of the boy had been settled for €900,000. Senior counsel for the child said, “Liability had been admitted by the obstetrician and the Southern Health Board.” They also supplied a substantial apology.  

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Children born with cerebral palsy will have a difficult but manageable life ahead of them. While treatments for cerebral palsy are difficult at times, getting the best help for your child will benefit them greatly.

In order to pay for these effective and expensive treatments, you need to work with an expert . They will actively pursue a monetary settlement from the doctors and staff who caused your child’s ailment, helping you afford those necessary treatments.

Recently, a report from a UK newspaper profiled a 9-year-old born with cerebral palsy. Her condition limited her movement. Throughout her life, she has had to undergo special treatments four days a week, and she has attended a special swimming club and tried to ride a specially made tricycle in order to help improve her movement.

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According to authorities, statues of limitations for malpractice cases in Wisconsin don’t adequately address injuries incurred by developmentally disabled children. The state Supreme Court ruled in 2005 that a teenager with a birth injury, then, could still be allowed to file a lawsuit against his health care providers.

The parents of a fourteen-year-old boy alleged that his doctor and the St. Clare Hospital were responsible for his cerebral palsy because they allowed his brain to be deprived of oxygen for too long during before and after his birth creating a birth injury.

The doctor and hospital, instead of settling, tried to have the case dismissed because it was filed past the statute of limitations.

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A doctor is applauding the efforts of a group of sixteen Midwest hospitals who are revising their practices in order to better protect newborns during childbirth.

According to a recent report in the Wall Street Journal, hospitals in the Ascension Health, Fairview Health Services and the University of Minnesota Public Health groups involved in the revision process have seen a drastic reduction in birth injuries and deaths in the two years since they began using the updated safety protocol series.

“Attorneys representing families who have experienced the tragedy of a birth injury have forced hospitals to take a hard look at what’s wrong with their practices. To their credit, these hospitals have responded positively and have taken up the challenge to improve.”

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