There is an old saying that sometimes, "the cure is worse than the disease." While often said tongue-in-cheek about medical side-effects, this saying seems all too true for more than 100 former patients who are suing Brookdale University Hospital and Medical Center in New York. The complaints include many birth injury cases, and at least 10-15 patients in these cases have died possibly due to malpractice and negligence.
Many problems can arise during labor and delivery. Umbilical cord issues, fetal distress, shoulder dystocia (where the mother’s pelvic bone blocks the baby’s shoulder from being delivered), decreased oxygen to the baby’s brain or hypoxia, are just a small list of common emergency situations that can occur.
All of these complications, as well as others, demand the doctor and staff to make quick decisions and act on them immediately to prevent birth injury or death. If problems are not noticed and addressed swiftly and correctly, problems such as bone fractures, brain damage, developmental delays, Erbs palsy, and cerebral palsy, let alone infant death, can occur.
Many of these birth injuries do not simply fade away after a few days, weeks or even years. The child and their families will often be faced with a lifetime of disability, along with mountains of healthcare and medical expenses. Most of the time, these problems can be traced back to judgmental errors and inattention on part of the medical staff. Given the sheer volume of cases against Brookdale University Hospital, this happens all too regularly among their staff.
Most people are ill-equipped to afford a future such as this, nor should anyone have to. During medical procedures, especially "routine procedures" such as childbirth, it is the responsibility of the doctor and staff attending the procedure to make sure their patients make it through safely. If they fail in this because of malpractice or negligence, it is they who should be held accountable, not you and your family. Your responsibility in this matter is to contact a competent and dedicated malpractice attorney to bring them to justice and win your family’s future back. If you are faced with a similar situation, contact the birth injury attorney at Snyder and Snyder for a free consultation.