New York Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog

This lawsuit was brought by a couple whose baby had been born with spina bidifa. There suit alleged that the doctors involved the pre-natal care did not tell the mother what the reason was for a blood test offered to her during her pregnancy. She had no idea the test was to determine the risk of her unborn baby having spina bifida.

When this case went to court, the judge indicated that there was plenty of evident the father suffered from emotional distress and that both the parents were entitled to damages for this as well, said the doctor. Further, the court said that if the mother had known about the results of the test prior to birth, her decision would not have been speculation.

A video of the baby at birth shown during the trial was quite telling and spoke for itself about the consequences of the mother not knowing about her child’s disease. In other words, there was no prejudice and the video dealt in facts alone. Based on what the jury saw, the court did not feel that the $5 million award was out of line for economic damages and that the $7 million for non-economic damages was fair.

The true bottom line of this lawsuit is that the doctors practicing in Queens and Staten Island did not give the couple all the information they needed to make an informed decision on whether or not to continue with the pregnancy or terminate it.

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When it’s time to give birth, the parents are excited and anxious for everything to go well. When they don’t and their child suffers permanent disabilities because of a hypoxic brain injury, a lawsuit usually follows.

In this case, the parents filed a med mal lawsuit against the hospital and the doctor who delivered their baby girl. The claim states that the doctor ruptured membranes in her head and didn’t use the proper resuscitation techniques and then compounded the whole mess by failing to perform a C-section immediately, reported the doctor. As a result of this gruesome series of errors, the baby did not get enough oxygen to her brain and was born with cerebral palsy, unable to hear properly and with learning disabilities.

The parents filed a claim asking the court for compensatory damages for their baby’s suffering, pain, disability, disfigurement and her inability to ever be able to enjoy a normal life, explained the source.

While it is true that cerebral palsy may happen without the doctor making any medical mistakes, it is equally clear that if the doctor does follow the proper and accepted standards at birth, the child’s brain would not have been deprived of oxygen.

Since the baby “was” deprived of air at the crucial time, the med mal lawsuit may result in compensation for the baby’s disabilities. Fair compensation is not possible without the dedicated and skilled assistance of a doctor. Hospitals in Manhattan and Staten Island try to avoid these situation.

This lawsuit was brought by a couple whose baby had been born with spina bidifa. There suit alleged that the doctors involved the pre-natal care did not tell the mother what the reason was for a blood test offered to her during her pregnancy. She had no idea the test was to determine the risk of her unborn baby having spina bifida.

When this case went to court, the judge indicated that there was plenty of evidence the father suffered from emotional distress and that both the parents were entitled to damages for this as well, said the judge. Further, the court said that if the mother had known about the results of the test prior to birth, her decision would not have been speculation. Medical malpractice seems to be present here.

A video of the baby at birth shown during the trial was quite telling and spoke for itself about the consequences of the mother not knowing about her child’s disease. In other words, there was no prejudice and the video dealt in facts alone. Based on what the jury saw, the court did not feel that the $5 million award was out of line for economic damages and that the $7 million for non-economic damages was fair, reported the source. Hospitals and doctors in Queens and Staten Island are aware of this case.

The true bottom line of this lawsuit is that the doctors did not give the couple all the information they needed to make an informed decision on whether or not to continue with the pregnancy or terminate it. This is medical malpractice.

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A stay in the hospital can be an emotional and traumatic experience for most anyone. This is especially true when you or someone you love must be continually monitored due to an illness or injury. A New York Medical Malpractice Attorney also claims that their very lives often depend on the monitoring equipment being fully functional, and on hospital staff paying close attention to any indications that something may be happening that will require their attention to be focused on the patient.
All have learned that the best-case scenario of when an alarm sounds from a medical monitoring device, it may by ignored by medical personnel. There are also cases that have been reported of these life-saving alarms may not be sounded at all. Some recent reports in the investigative media have specified more than a few problems with this life-saving system--Problems that have cost some people their lives, and has forever altered others.
Sources have told a NY Medical Malpractice Attorney that when these alarms are ignored by hospital staff, it may be referred to as “alarm fatigue.” Medical personnel are confronted by as many as 1,000 alarms a day, in some cases. That is an astounding number, and while there are many of the alarms that indicate that a patient is in distress, there are also many more of these alarms that are false. Medical personnel are people too, and people tend to become conditioned or desensitized to external stimuli when that stimulus is persistent in its duration. Just to note that some medical equipment emits constant beeps in addition to alarms, which further adds to this desensitization. Hospitals in Westchester County and Staten Island would do well to study this case and make sure they don't suffer the same fate.
Human error is not the only contributing factors to alarm fatigue, however. Medical equipment manufacturers must also bear responsibility and should constantly strive to improve their products in order to reduce, or even better to eliminate, these false alarms.
When medical personnel allow alarm fatigue to set in, thereby allowing them to ignore these kinds of alarms, they are negligent in the performance of their duties and should be held accountable. These persons are charged with the safety and well-being of those who are at least temporarily unable to care for themselves, and are held to a higher standard of ethical and legal conduct.

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