Staten Island

Published on: December 16, 2011

Fund Established in New York to Cover Birth Injury Medical Costs

by Stephen Bilkis

A new fund was recently set up in the 2011-2012 New York State Medical Budget which will have the state, not hospitals, cover all medical costs for families with children suffering from brain injuries that follow birth complications caused by medical error.

According to a person in the know, New York’s newly established neurological fund will cover medical costs for children who have suffered brain or spinal cord injuries “caused by the deprivation of oxygen or mechanical injury in the course of labor, delivery or resuscitation – or by other medical services provided or not provided during delivery.”

New York is slated to contribute $30 million to the fund in its first year and increasing that contribution to $70 million in its second and third years. By its fourth year, the state will be contributing $100 million annually to the fund.

Published on: November 3, 2011

Studies in the Netherlands Show Decline in Cerebral Palsy in Preterm Infants

by Stephen Bilkis

Some recent studies of the number of cerebral palsy in preemies have presented some good news, sources have told a New York Birth Injury Attorney. One such study that was conducted at the University Medical Center Utrecht, located in the Netherlands, found that of those infants that were treated in their neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) between 1990 and 2005 that the rates of cerebral palsy decreased significantly.

Other such studies have experienced similar findings, such as study in Canada that recorded a decline in cerebral palsy over the past 30 year. Another study at the University of California, San Francisco, also noted that cases of cystic periventricular leukomalacia began to decrease after the 1990s.

Although there are some studies that do not show a decline, many researchers think that those studies include extreme preemies that are born in the 23rd or 24th weeks of pregnancy, while the current studies include only those infants who are born from week 25 or later.

Published on: October 31, 2011

Should video be permitted in the labor and delivery room?

by Stephen Bilkis

Hospitals and health care professionals have recently revealed worry over video cameras in the labor and delivery room according to new reports from New York Birth Injury Lawyers.

“It picks up actions that a still camera might not and the sound can make a situation seem worse than it is,” commented one physician to a reporter.

Some speculate the videos presented in the courtroom give the plaintiffs an unfair advantage with the jury because in the end, most people want to help a child over an institution.

Published on: October 20, 2011

Iraqi Infant Arrives in U.S. For Birth Injury Surgery

by Stephen Bilkis

U.S. troops in Iraq discovered an Iraqi infant with severe birth defect when they conducted a raid on a home she was in last month. That baby arrived in Atlanta last month for medical treatment.

The baby was responsive and in good condition, a spokesman for Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta reported. He said it will probably be one more week before she will undergo surgery.

The three-month-old child left Baghdad in a military transport plane accompanied by her grandmother and father.

Published on: October 10, 2011

Disabled Redditch Student Sues Health Authority

by Stephen Bilkis

A New York Birth Injury Attorney was informed that the mother of a Redditch, England, student has filed a lawsuit on his behalf. She is seeking compensation for up to £300,000, or $ 487,350.25 USD for injuries that she says her son received at childbirth.

The suit alleges that doctors made the decision to do a C-section too late, and after her son’s head had already entered into the birthing canal. Due to this action, doctors had difficulty in removing the boy’s head, as it was lying too low in his mother’s abdomen at the time of C-section. In which case he was only minutes away from being delivered naturally. Her lawyers are also presenting that the amount of force that was necessary to remove his head from his mother’s abdomen, caused his soft skull to deform, which led to bleeding in his brain.

According to court papers, when doctors were able to dislodge the infant’s head from his mother’s body, he had an extremely swollen head, and appeared to be both shocked and battered. The now 28-year old man suffers from spastic tetraplegic cerebral palsy with epilepsy. He is not able to walk, and he does not have much use of his legs. The Birth Injury Lawyer of NYC discovered that the man does not understand the consequences of his actions, his vision, and memory are poor, and he does not understand money.

Published on: October 7, 2011

British Man Awarded £6m Due to Birth Error

by Stephen Bilkis

A British man from Tipton, West Midland, United Kingdom, was awarded £6m, or $9.7 million USD, sources informed NY City Birth Injury Lawyers. The total amount of the award includes a lump sum payment of £2.75 million, and the court also ordered that he receive annual payments for the rest of his life for care and rehabilitation.

The lawsuit was brought against the West Midlands Strategic Health Authority for an incident that had occurred at the former Sandwell Maternity Hospital for their negligence at his delivery by the man’s mother. The suit alleged that as she lay in labor about to give birth to her son, the attending midwives detected an abnormal fetal heartbeat. The midwives immediately called for an obstetrician to attend, but after waiting for a certain time frame, the obstetrician did not show and the midwives were forced to deliver the baby themselves.

Although the Health Authority had previously admitted that, a physician should have been in attendance earlier, but would not have made a difference in the child’s condition. The court disagreed and ruled that the six additional minutes the baby was kept waiting was minutes that the baby’s brain was deprived of oxygen, which resulted in the baby’s development of cerebral palsy. Brain damage due to a baby’s lack of oxygen is a well-known cause of cerebral palsy, a New York Birth Injury Lawyer has learned.

Published on: October 2, 2011

Experts suspect Opioid Pain killers may be linked to birth defects

by Stephen Bilkis

NYC Birth Injury Lawyers discussed a recent study that uncovered possible risks to pregnant women when they take opioid painkillers, which is found in codeine and oxycodone.

“It seems there is a small risk for birth defects associated with these pain medications,” a doctor said. “It looks like only certain birth defects were a common factor in the study.”

Statistics say that approximately 3 percent of U.S. babies are born with a malformation, including cleft palate, heart defects and spina bifida. Brain Injury is something that all doctors and hospitals in Staten Island and Westchester County are aware of.

Published on: September 21, 2011

Non-profit Consumer Advocacy group pushes to update the Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976

by Stephen Bilkis

NY Birth Injury Lawyers have been examining the work of a non-profit’s group to pass what they call the “Kids-safe Chemical Act,” which hopes to be a major upgrade to the original Toxic Substances Control Act of 1976.

“Basically this group says there is a strong link between pollution and diseases in our population including lung cancer, infertility and birth defects,” said on NY Birth Injury Lawyer. “Current law does not force chemical companies to prove a chemical is safe before it ends up in children’s toys and products.”

He went on to explain that the Toxic Substances Control Act has not been amended since 1976 and has been recently called the weakest of all major environmental laws on the books today.

Published on: June 12, 2011

Newborns Exposed to Too Much X-Ray Radiation

by Stephen Bilkis

Birth injuries are often caused by doctor errors during the birthing process, but some parents in New York should make sure their newborn is not being put in danger by testing performed immediately after the birth. It’s possible that an excessive amount of testing is dangerous to babies.

A New York Birth Injury Lawyer can help you decide if you should bring a medical negligence lawsuit against the medical facility you gave birth in.

An example of excessive testing by doctors was recently detailed in the New York Times. The story uncovered data that pointed toward an excessive amount of potentially unnecessary X-rays being done on newborn babies. The babies were up to 26 weeks premature, and the excessive testing was allegedly done at the State University of New York Downstate Medical Center in Brooklyn.