Data from The Centers for Disease Control reveals a troubling statistic that runs contrary to what otherwise is regarded by most experts to be one of the most progressive and advanced national healthcare systems in the world.
“While there is no argument that medical technology in the U.S. has indeed advanced dramatically in the past decade,” Edward P. Milstein, partner in the top New York medical malpractice and Erb’s Palsy law firm of Dankner Milstein, P.C., said “the number of birth injuries have not decreased commensurate with advances in modern medicine.
“Far too many babies,” he added, “continue to suffer from birth injuries, such as Erb’s Palsy, as a result of medical errors not only at birth, but before and after birth.”
According to a CDC study, for approximately every 1,000 babies born in the U.S. each year, five incur injuries as a result of traumatic injuries caused by doctor, hospital and/or other healthcare worker negligence at birth. For some inexplicable reason – possibly because boy babies are typically larger in height and weight at birth than girl babies – the birth injury rate is higher for male than for female babies.
The study also revealed that birth injuries in general occur more frequently in non-profit hospitals versus their for-profit counterparts. And national birth injury statistics indicates that significantly more birth injuries occur in large hospitals (more than 300 beds) compared to small hospitals with fewer than 100 beds.
According to CDC data, six out of every one thousand births in the U.S. result in mild-to-severe birth injuries. Severe cases include such traumatic injuries as: cerebral palsy, Erb’s Palsy, speech impairment that is often irreversible, facial paralysis, spinal cord damage and bone fractures.
If you are a parent with concerns about the health of your infant after birth, or if your child begins to show signs of motion and/or developmental disorders, you should contact the New York medical malpractice law firm of Dankner Milstein, P.C. and ask to speak with one of our lawyers.
