Labor and Delivery Negligence

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: 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: 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 6, 2011

Brain Damaged Boy Wins Lawsuit

by Stephen Bilkis

An 11-year old boy from Solihull, England, has won a lawsuit, sources tell New York Birth Injury Attorneys. The suit stems from a lawsuit that his parents filed on his behalf due to hospital staff negligence that led to brain damage. Hospitals in Westchester and Suffolk Counties try to take every precaution to prevent this from happening.

Although the boy was born full-term even if by caesarian section, the problems began a few days afterwards. A spokesperson found that for three days after the boy was born that staff failed to properly monitor the child and did not investigate why he was becoming increasingly sleepy, floppy, and was not properly feeding. Sources reported to the New York Birth Injury Lawyer that by the time staff had taken a glucose sample, his blood sugar had dropped to a dangerous level and the infant was also suffering from hypothermia.

Once these issues were discovered, he was transferred to a neonatal unit and given a dextrose drip, but the brain damage at this point was irreversible. The boy now suffers from significant physical and emotional impairment, and cerebral palsy.

Published on: September 11, 2011

Hospital Challenges Birth Injury Ruling

by Stephen Bilkis

The National Maternity Hospital is set to appeal to the Supreme Court concerning a finding that the hospital is liable for severe and permanent brain injuries suffered by a young boy because of its “substandard and negligent” management of his birth.

The young wheelchair-bound boy sued the NMH for injuries sustained during his birth. The judge found that had he been born just a half-hour earlier, he would not have suffered the irreversible brain damage.

According to a New York Birth Injury Lawyerthe decision to appeal means the boy, who is now six, will have to wait at least another two years before he knows if he can collect on any damages from the hospital. His case is the longest birth injury case on record; the hearing began in March of 2007, and ran for 54 days, with judgment given just last week.

Published on: August 28, 2011

Spinal Misalignment in Children Requires Help

by Stephen Bilkis

A New York City Birth Injury Lawyer has reported that many babies undergo severe birth trauma experiences each year, which can lead to debilitation spinal misalignment and even nervous system breakdown. Even though the nervous system’s maturity plays a vital role in a child’s developmental wellbeing, there are times when lagging development can be overlooked as the cause of lingering health problems. Medical researchers as well as chiropractors have found that birth trauma is one of the first causes of critical gaps in nervous system development. While many may think of birth trauma as happening only in situations involving an emergency delivery or a delivery hampered by in-utero problems, the fact is that birth trauma can happen in a variety of situations, not all of which may be a result of emergency delivery or other traumatic experience. If you suspect that your child’s birth trauma may be triggering a nervous system issue, reports a New York Birth Injury Lawyer, be sure to get several medical opinions on the matter. Hospitals in Nassau and Suffolk Counties are on the lookout for these problems and take many steps to avoid the bad result. Many chiropractors refer to nerve system interference as “Vertebral Subluxation Complex,” or VSC. This sad and often debilitating health issue is one that unfortunately affects many babies each year, encompassing all ethnicities, locations, and situations.
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Published on: August 20, 2011

Childbirth can often be one of the first causes of a debilitating health issue.

by Stephen Bilkis

Hospitals in New York City and Long Island must be aware of the following situations.

As a NYC Birth Injury Lawyer mentioned earlier, Vertebral Subluxation Complex, which is a birth trauma-related spinal misalignment and nervous system issue, happens when the nerve signals from the brain to the rest of the body are interrupted. Childbirth can often be one of the first causes of this debilitating health issue. Since, 2004, the infant mortality rate in the United States has been on the rise, reports a New York Birth Injury Lawyer. This may be due in part to complications that arise from high-tech as well as high-risk pregnancies, as these situations also typically merit the use of high-tech (and thus potentially high-trauma) birthing methods. Infants who come out of a birth trauma situation alive have to be checked for Vertebral Subluxation Complex immediately to ensure that proper treatment and rehabilitation can take place. This is vital to the normal growth and development of the child. In addition to traumatic birth methods, there are other things that can cause the onset of Vertebral Subluxation Complex, including a fall or jolt (both in-utero and after birth) as well as minor post-birth physical traumas. Additionally, exposure to chemicals, prescription and non-prescription drug use, and even mental stressors have been known to bring on Vertebral Subluxation Complex and its related issues. As relayed by a New York Birth Injury Attorney, these exposures and subsequent health concerns can be very harmful if not dealt with immediately via preventative and focused care. If a problem like VSC has occurred because of a birth trauma, it is important to discern the root of the problem as quickly as possible. Labor and delivery negligence can result if these concerns are not taken seriously.

Your life and the life of your child are precious and if there was medical malpractice, someone needs to be held responsible. Only a dedicated and skilled New York Birth Injury Attorney can ensure you get justice. 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 10, 2011

Family awarded $1.35 million after their son suffers severe brain damage due to a delivery full of unnecessary mistakes

by Stephen Bilkis

A small child has been awarded $1.35 million in a settlement due to permanent and severe brain injuries sustained during birth.

Four years ago a family’s dreams of having a normal child were crushed. They went to their local hospital in labor and began what they thought was a routine birth experience. Several hours passed before their nightmare began.

According to New York Birth Injury Lawyers, the doctor on staff failed to notice the child’s heart rate was rapidly dropping until it was too late. Experts agreed a Cesarean section should have been performed hours before the birth.

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.