Boston Injury Lawyer Blog
The family of a boy who was born with spastic quadriplegia will receive a $17.5 million medical malpractice settlement from the hospital where he was born. Because of his birthing injury, the boy will be disabled for life.
According to the birthing malpractice case, the hospital and the obstetrician were negligent during labor and delivery. While the doctor was cleared of liability, the hospital was ordered to pay $18.27 million but the family agreed to a slight reduction to close the case for good and avoid an appeal.
In another birthing injury case involving lifelong disabilities, the parents are seeking compensation after their child experienced hypoxia, depriving the baby of oxygen during labor and delivery.
Also during labor, the mother experienced artificial membrane rupture and tachysystole, with excessively frequent uterine contractions. She was given Pitocin, which is used to induce labor, even with her existing contractions. Evidence of hypoxia, hypoxemia, and acidosis were allegedly evident on the fetal heart rate monitor yet medical staff did not perform an emergency C-section and the mother gave birth vaginally.
The newborn was diagnosed with severe hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, which is brain damage from oxygen deprivation. He was also diagnosed with cerebral palsy, seizures, respiratory distress, metabolic acidosis, muscle weakness, permanent injuries, developmental delays and other disabilities.
At Altman& Altman, LLP, our Boston birthing malpractice lawyers know how devastating it can be to have your child sustain lifelong injuries and disabilities because of negligence that occurred during labor or delivery. Our Massachusetts medical malpractice law firm is here to help children and their families pursue the damages they are owed for the harm they have suffered.
Birthing malpractice cases can be complex, which is why you want an experienced Boston injury lawyer handling your case. We also handle cases where a mother sustained serous injuries or died during childbirth caused by medical carelessness, recklessness, or other reasons that could and should have been prevented. Parents may even wish to sue for emotional injuries that they sustained because their child was injured.
Other reasons for filing a Boston medical malpractice case related to childbirth include wrongful birth, which involves doctor not warn about impending birth defects prior to delivery, and wrongful pregnancy, which may be brought if parents attempted to avoid pregnancy via abortion, pregnancy testing, or sterilization but conception still occurred because of errors made by the medical staff.
Birthing injuries may lead to a lifetime of devastation and high medical costs for a family, and compensation should reflect that toll. Just last month, a state court rejected an appeal to have a $20.6 million birthing malpractice verdict overthrown. The child was deprived of oxygen after the hospital induced labor but did not perform an emergency C-section despite signs that one might be necessary. The baby was diagnosed with spastic diplegic cerebral palsy, which affects mental and physical development.
More Blog Posts:
Man expected to file medical malpractice wrongful death case after wife, twins, die during childbirth, Boston Injury Lawyer Blog, September 16, 2014
Xarelto injury lawsuits sue bayer and Johnson Johnson, Drug Injury Lawyers, September 15, 2014
Semi-truck crash lawsuit cites cell phone driving in pedestrian accident that killed a woman and her two children, Boston Car Accident Lawyer Blog, April 6, 2015
