Articles Posted in Suffolk County

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The Facts:

On 8 April 2005, the subject infant was born at a hospital. Allegedly, the infant sustained meconium aspiration syndrome and hypertonia as a result of the hospital’s mismanagement of the labor and delivery. Though the infant was transferred to another hospital on 9 April 2005 for almost two weeks, he was transferred back where he remained until 24 May 2005. Thereafter, he was treated at the same Hospital through 2006.

A claim for medical malpractice against the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation thereafter ensued brought by the infant’s mother, individually and on behalf of her son, the subject infant. It is alleged that the infant suffers from brain injury and severe developmental delays.

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The infant petitioner, Saad Muhammed, was born at defendant Hospital. The child was born prematurely at approximately 31-weeks gestation. It is alleged that the infant plaintiff suffers from, inter alia, cerebral palsy, spastic diplegia and developmental delay as a result of defendant’s medical malpractice due to failure to properly diagnose the amniotic infection of plaintiff infant’s mother, Sayyeda Fozia Tariq, and the defendant’s failure to properly monitor and intervene during the labor and delivery process.

Plaintiff filed an action for damages for medical malpractice of the defendant’s hospital in administering the birth of the infant petitioner. Defendant filed a motion to dismiss the complaint for failure to file a timely notice of claim.

The issue in this case is whether plaintiff timely filed the notice of claim against defendant hospital for its alleged medical malpractice.

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On October 10, 1989, a mother brought her son in to the Rusk Institute for his regular evaluation for spina bifida. While they were at the institute, the medical staff noticed that the child had pain in his arm. A medical examination revealed that the child was suffering from a spiral fracture of his upper right arm. The mother stated that the child had not shown any signs of pain or injury prior to appearing at the institute for his check up. She stated that she thought that the child’s one and one-half year old brother must have caused the injury. The medical staff contend that it is beyond unlikely that such a small child would have the strength or ability to cause a spiral fracture of an upper arm. The medical experts also contend that the injury could not have been caused by the child’s spina bifida. The medical staff stated that the child would have been in extreme pain at the time of the accident and for several days following the injury. The medical staff stated that at the time that the mother brought the child to the institute, the injury was obvious and included swelling, bruising, lack of movement, and pain whenever anyone touched the arm. The medical staff contend that the injury was obvious to them and that it should have been obvious to the parents. The contention is that the parents were responsible for neglecting the child to the point of child abuse in that they did not take the child to the hospital for treatment before his appointment on October 10th.

The history of the family is that the woman was notified while she was pregnant that her child would likely be born with birth defects. She chose not to abort the infant. The infant was a little over five months old at the time of the injury. The child was born in Puerto Rico, but the family moved to New York in 1989 so that the child could have care at the spina bifida clinic at the Rusk Institute. On the regular appointment for the child on October 10, 1989, the doctor who was examining him noticed that the right arm was swollen and yellowish-green in color. He arranged for the infant to be taken to the emergency room immediately. The doctor testified at trial that a side effect of spina bifida is a propensity for fractures and that when they occur, there is minimal trauma noted. However, this is usually only below the area where the spina bifida is located on the child. The arm is above this location and the doctor stated that he had never seen a fracture associated with spina bifida in the upper extremities. The doctor stated that he could be relatively certain that the fracture was not associated with the spina bifida and that it would have required a larger amount of force to cause the fracture than what another small child could exert.

The x-rays of the child showed corner fractures in both of the baby’s knees in addition to the spiral fracture of the infant’s arm. The knee fractures were associated with the spina bifida. The arm was the result of a twisting motion that is more commonly seen in child abuse cases. The hospital social worker also observed a bruise on the infant’s cheek that the mother stated had been caused by the little brother as well. The mother told the social worker that she had noticed the swelling on the baby’s arm the day before she took him for his appointment. The social worker filed a report of child abuse because of the nature of the injury and the fact that the mother stated that she had noticed the injury the day before and had not taken the child for treatment.

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This is an action sought by the defendants for the court to dismiss the complaint based on a summary judgment. The infant plaintiff, represented by her mother and natural guardian, sought to recover damages for personal injuries allegedly sustained by the infant plaintiff due to lead poisoning, negligence and medical malpractice committed by the defendants. The court dismissed the complaint and ruled in favor of the defendants.

After her birth, the infant plaintiff resided in an apartment with a peeling paint condition with her mother and father. The infant plaintiff was seen at the hospital emergency room of one of the defendants for asthma and lead blood testing. The result of the lead blood testing showed that it is within the normal range. Subsequently, the infant plaintiff went to another hospital, one of the defendants in this case, for the treatment of skin problems. The mother was directed to bring the infant plaintiff back to see physician for a well-child visit in one month. On October 17, 2002, at which time the infant plaintiff was three years, two months, of age, she underwent a complete examination as well as a development assessment, which indicated that she had met her three-year-old milestones appropriately. The infant plaintiff’s blood was drawn for lead testing at this visit, and the result showed a blood lead level within the normal range. On 2003, when the infant plaintiff was in Connecticut, it was diagnosed that her lead blood content elevated to 24 ug/dL, i.e. above the normal range. Thereafter, the infant plaintiff together with her parents returned to their apartment and had a regular check up with the defendant’s hospital again.

On September 27, 2003, the New York City Department of Health inspected the apartment where the infant plaintiff lives and found lead paint hazards on five painted surfaces.

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The birth of a child should be one of the happiest days of anyone’s life, however, when that child is injured during their birth, it is heartbreaking. One such injury occurred on June 8, 1990 when a woman was taken to Kingston Hospital in New York. During her labor, the umbilical cord prolapsed and came out before the baby. This is a very dangerous situation because it cuts off oxygen to the infant and can cause the infant to be born with brain damage or even dead. In this case, the doctor put his arm up inside the mother to hold the baby off of the umbilical cord. The baby was in a breech position, coming out bottom first. The doctor ordered an immediate Cesarean section to get the baby out. However, it was 45 minutes before the surgery actually occurred. During that time, the doctor continued to try to hold the baby off of the prolapsed cord.

Several hours after the little baby girl was born, she was transferred to Albany Medical Center where she died on June 10, 1990. The parents of the baby filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the doctor and the hospital where she was born. They claim that the doctor failed to perform proper prenatal tests to determine the position of the infant prior to delivery. If the proper tests had been performed, the doctor would have known that the baby was breech and would have ordered a Cesarean section before she went into natural labor to safely remove the baby. They also contend that the delay in obtaining an operating room contributed to the death of their child.

The doctor from Suffolk County who delivered the baby, maintains that the child was not alive when she was born and that the only life signs were artificially stimulated by the resuscitation devices used in the hospital. The original trial court dismissed the medical malpractice lawsuit. The parents then appealed that decision to the Supreme Court. The Supreme Court agreed that the trial court should not have dismissed the initial lawsuit as it regards the causes of action for the mother. They did not agree that the father had any cause for action since he was not in any danger during the incident and would not have suffered any physical injury during the operation or the birth of the child.

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A woman gave birth sometime on October 7, 2005 at a college hospital. An obstetrician attended the birth but an obstetrical resident was the doctor who personally delivered the baby.

The woman’s delivery progressed well but her pushing had to be temporarily stopped because when the baby girl’s head was delivered, it was seen that the umbilical cord was wrapped around the baby’s head. The resident clamped the umbilical cord and cut it and then delivered the rest of the baby. The child’s head presented itself with the back of her head facing the right side of her mother’s body. The mother suffered a vaginal laceration with the birth because no episiotomy (surgical cut in the vagina to allow easier delivery of the baby) was made by the resident. They then repaired the vaginal laceration.

After the birth, the pediatrician noted a weakness in the right arm of the baby. The diagnosis was Erb’s palsy as a consequence of the baby’s shoulder getting caught in the mother’s pubic bone. With the mother’s uterus pushing the baby out and the resident pulling the baby out, the baby’s right shoulder was stretched and suffered a fracture and the nerves were pulled and injured resulting in muscle weakness in the right shoulder and right arm.

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In February of 2006, an elderly woman was a resident of the Jewish Home and Infirmary of Rochester, New York, Inc. It is owned and operated by the Jewish Health Care System of Rochester, Inc. One day, the nursing staff failed to follow procedure as it concerned this woman. She required catheterization to urinate. However, on that date, no one arrived to insert the catheter. Feeling uncomfortable, the woman attempted to get out of her bed and go to the bathroom on her to catheterize herself. However, when she stood up, her bladder vacated itself on the floor. She slipped in the puddle and fell. She was injured and complained of pain from the fall. The staff performed a few diagnostic evaluations, but continued to keep her moving. The medical staff at the home encouraged the nurses to keep her attempting to walk and going to physical therapy.

The elderly woman continued to complain of pain. She was examined by the staff doctor on at least one occasion, however, he did not perform a neurological test. In fact, her fall was never noted in the doctor’s documentation. She continued to get worse and fell again on March 12, 2006 while the staff was trying to get her to walk again. On March 15th she was in such severe pain that the staff ordered a CT scan of her back. It was discovered that she had fractured the T7 vertebrae and the test also showed a compression deformity of T11. The doctor at the facility failed to have her transferred to the hospital for treatment and failed to follow any protocols for protection of the spinal cord to guard against spinal cord damage.

On March 18, 2006, the woman’s son in law came to visit her. He is a board certified physician in the state of New York. He performed a neurological evaluation and demanded that she be transferred to a hospital emergency room immediately. At the hospital, she was diagnosed with compression fractures of her thoracic spine area. She was also diagnosed with a spinal cord injury that caused her to be paralyzed from the waist down. She lost bladder and bowel control due to the injury and would spend the rest of her natural life in a wheel chair. Her family who live in Nassau and Suffolk filed a medical malpractice lawsuit against the doctor and the facility for failing to provide appropriate care.

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A legal action was filed by a mother to recover damages for the alleged medical malpractice against the medical professionals who handled her medical care and treatment during her pregnancy. The mother asserted in her first reason of action that due to her physician’s negligent care and treatment for her entire pregnancy up to her delivery, she gave birth to an infant suffering from congenital defects. The mother further alleges that the physicians’ failure to diagnose the fetus’ congenital defects during the term of the pregnancy resulted in the infant being born with multiple life threatening congenital defects causing her to suffer substantial economic loss for medical care of the infant. On the mother’s second reason of action, she claimed that due to the negligence of her physicians, she was caused to endure pain, suffering, anxiety and the emotional distress of giving birth to a disabled child, learning that the child suffered from multiple congenital defects and emotional injury flowing from those disabilities. The mother further alleges independent personal injury resulted from the surgery necessary to remove a portion of her liver to transplant into her infant son and the emotional injury stemming from her transplant surgery. The mother claimed that if not for the negligence of the physicians, her liver transplant surgery would not have been necessary. The third reason of action in the complaint is a derivative claim of the husband for medical expenses stemming from his wife’s liver transplant surgery and the attendant loss of services.

The physicians now move for a request to dismiss the second and third reasons of action in the complaint on the grounds that emotional distress is not recoverable as a result of the birth of a child born with congenital defects and the mother’s claim for personal injury is unrelated to the care and treatment rendered by the physicians during her pregnancy. The physicians in Nassau and Suffolk state that the mother did not suffer an independent physical damages apart from those recognized in normal labor and delivery of a child and the surgery complaint was a result of the mother’s voluntary donation of a portion of her liver to her child. The physicians further assert that the derivative claim of the husband also must fail as it is predicated upon the emotional injuries claimed by the mother and also from the mother’s voluntary donation of a portion of her liver.

The complainants oppose the motion on the grounds that the physicians’ misunderstand the second reason of action as a claim exclusively for emotional injury flowing from the fact that the complainants’ son was born with congenital deformities. The complainants argue that the second reason of action seeks to recover for the physical and emotional injury of the mother related to the surgery necessary to donate a portion of her liver to her infant son, as well as the emotional damages of a parent of a disabled child, and the emotional damages flowing from the disabilities of her infant son. The complainants also argue that the derivative claim in the third reason of action flows from the physical and emotional damages of the wife as a result of the transplant surgery.

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Thirty years ago, a mother ingested a pill called diethylstilbestrol (DES) during her pregnancy which resulted in the birth of the complainant. The woman alleges that because of her mother’s uterus’ exposure to DES, the woman developed a variety of abnormalities and deformities in her reproductive system. As a result, several of her pregnancies terminated in spontaneous abortions and another resulted in the premature birth. The pre-term granddaughter suffers from cerebral palsy and other disabilities that they attribute to her premature delivery, birth injury and ultimately, to the woman’s mother’s ingestion of DES.

The action was commenced by the woman and her husband individually and on behalf of their daughter against several manufacturers of DES. After the issue was joined, the accused parties sought summary judgment to dismiss the complaint. The accused parties contended that the actions were barred by the Statute of Limitations and by the complainants’ inability to identify the manufacturer of the drug ingested by the mother of the woman. In addition, the accused parties argued that the daughter’s claims of a preconception tort presented no cognizable cause of action.

The Supreme Court agreed with the accused parties that the claims stemming from the daughter’s injuries were not legally cognizable and the court dismissed all four causes of action brought on her behalf and those asserted by her parents for their emotional injuries resulting from the daughter’s birth. The manufacturer’s motions were otherwise denied, however, leaving intact the woman’s claims relating to her own injuries and her husband’s derivative claim based upon his wife’s birth injuries.

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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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