It’s difficult enough to read about injuries to young children, but imagine when children are injured right as they are being brought into this world. The labor and delivery process is supposed to be a miraculous and happy event, but can quickly turn into a traumatic event when medical complications arise. The dangers are posed both to the mother and newborn child. There’s no doubt that New York mothers are aware of the dangers of giving birth. but no one expects the worst to occur.
One family in Ohio suffered the worst when a hospital obstetrician failed to perform a C-section in a timely manner. Their child suffered a permanent brain injury as a result. The hospital is now paying the couple over $5 million as part of a settlement for the medical negligence claim filed against the hospital over six years ago.
Details of the event show that the mother went to the hospital in labor during the afternoon hours. Her son was born over 12 hours later through an emergency C-section. According to the Ohio Court of Claims, the obstetrician in charge of the delivery took too much time in trying to decide whether to perform the operation.
Additionally, the court heard testimony from other doctors who disagreed with how Pitocin was administered to the mother during her labor. Pitocin is a drug that works to increase contractions and in this case, the increased contractions apparently diminished the amount of blood and oxygen that reached the unborn child.
The child is now seven years old and has a profound brain injury. According to the couple’s attorney, the young boy requires 24-hour care. The obstetrician in the case has since retired from practicing medicine.
Although the circumstances seem tragic, the family is fortunate that both mother and son survived the incident. This case is also an excellent example of the type of recovery that is possible through a malpractice claim. The amount awarded to the family will help cover medical expenses and the full-time care that he needs. A New York birth injury lawyer works to try and recover similar compensation for any family who has been impacted by such a birth injury.
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Family awarded $5 million in birth injury case
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Jay W. Dankner
JAY W. DANKNER was born, raised and educated in Brooklyn, New York. After graduation from law school in 1973, he joined the firm of the legendary, Harry H, Lipsig, under whose tutelage he learned the intricacies of civil litigation and trials. He tried and won his first case against General Motors in a case involving a design defect within weeks after his admission. Thereafter, he focused his attention on the emerging and developing field of law known as products liability litigation.
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