A Detroit, Michigan jury awarded a child with Erb’s Palsy a significant verdict in a Michigan birth injury lawsuit last week.  The lawsuit was filed in the Wayne County Circuit Court on behalf of a child against an OBGYN and St. John Hospital.  The lawsuit  alleged that the child’s condition of Erb’s Palsy was due to the negligence of the hospital and a physician at the time of delivery.  The child, now age 3 1/2, suffered serious and permanent injuries as a result.  The child will need specialized care for a lifetime and will have lifelong disabilities as a result of the medical negligence.

The jury awarded damages for the lifetime of the child.  When converted back to present value, the amount is approximately $600,000.00.  The money will most likely be placed in a trust fund or structured annuity to help care for the child’s special needs.  There will also most likely be attorney’s fees and other sanctions imposed by the court against the hospital.  The defendants rejected a mediation award of $275,000 prior to the trial and will be penalized as a result under the Michigan Court Rules.  It is unknown whether the defendants will file an appeal of the verdict.

Our Michigan birth injury lawyers handle cases involving cerebral palsy injuries.  This can be a very serious condition and can affect a child throughout his or her lifetime.  There are occasions in which this injury could have been prevented and this can give rise to a child birth injury medical malpractice lawsuit.

Cerebral palsy is a condition of the brain that occurs due to a permanent brain injury either before, during or after birth. This condition causes lack of muscle control and mobility. Where cerebral palsy is not a progressive disease, however, its effects are known to change with time. The exact cause of this condition is unknown. There is evidence that links the disease to the health history of both the mother and child, and any accidents causing brain injury. Cerebral palsy is mostly diagnosed immediately after birth, but the discovery can even be made at a later stage of childhood.

Causes of Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is the name given to a group of disorders that hinder mobility. This disease is caused by a brain injury before, during or shortly after birth. The brain damage can be result from a variety of conditions such as:

• Infection during pregnancy – toxoplasmosis, cytomegalovirus and rubella severely damage the nervous system of the fetus, resulting in cerebral palsy
• Rh Incompatibility – this can cause jaundice. In this condition, immune system of mother attacks the fetus
• Jaundice – this can result in brain damage
• Oxygen shortage – this can also cause brain damage to the child
• Toxicity – use of drug or alcohol can damage the brain of the fetus
• Stroke – this can occur if mother suffers from coagulation disorders
• Bleeding – bleeding in the brain of the boy after birth can damage the brain
• Kidney/Urinary Tract Infections – can also damage the brain, causing cerebral palsy

Symptoms of Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is accompanied with a number of symptoms such as:

• Spasms
• Visual impairment
• Hyperactivity
• Learning disorders
• Seizures
• Cure & Treatment

There is no cure for cerebral palsy. However, a number of therapies are offered for the treatment of this condition. It can be very difficult to live with this condition. Still, it is possible to be successful in coping with cerebral palsy.

Contact a Michigan Cerebral Palsy Malpractice Lawyer

If an infant suffers cerebral palsy due to medical mistakes and negligence, it can give rise to a medical malpractice lawsuit.  Cerebral palsy is a serious medical condition that can affect the social, academic and vocational pursuits of your infant. The treatment for cerebral palsy can result in significant expense over the period of a lifetime. Such type of damage requests are included in a medical malpractice lawsuit filed for the case of anoxic brain injury.

It is essential to contact our office as soon as possible so that we can obtain your child’s complete medical chart to determine whether there was negligence involved in the treatment.  There are strict time delays for filing medical malpractice lawsuits in Michigan so it is essential to contact an experienced lawyer as soon as possible to see if your child has valid case.

A jury recently awarded a 25 year old woman with cerebral palsy a verdict of $43 million dollars against the hospital where she was born.  The jury found that the negligence of the hospital caused her cerebral palsy.  She is confined to a wheelchair and has very limited communication abilities.  She is unable to live independently.

The amount is the total amount of the award into the future and not the present value of the judgment.  The award included compensation for home health care expenses, pain and suffering, medical expenses, and lost earnings.  The suit alleged that the woman suffered her brain injuries as a result of lack of oxygen and other negligent care at the time of her birth.

Our Michigan birth injury lawyers handle cases in which a baby suffered injuries due to hyrdrocephalus. Hydrocephalus is a medical condition whose primary characteristic is the excessive accumulation of fluid in brain. It comes from the Greek words ‘hydro’ meaning water and ‘cephalus’ meaning head. The water is cerebrospinal fluid, a fluid that surrounds the spinal cord and brain. Excessive accumulation of cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) causes an abnormal widening of spaces inside the brain called ventricles. This widening of the ventricles puts harmful pressure on the brain tissues.

Signs and Symptoms of Hydrocephalus

The symptoms of hydrocephalus vary with disease progression, age and human differences in tolerance to this condition. For instance, a baby’s ability to tolerate the pressure on the brain differs from that of an adult. The skull of an infant can manage to expand and bear the CSF buildup.

In infants, the most common signs of this condition include:

• Unusually large size of head
• Rapid increase in circumference of head
• Vomiting
• Irritability
• Sleepiness
• Seizures
• Downward deviation of eyes

Treatment of Hydrocephalus

Hydrocephalus is most commonly treated by inserting a shunt system. The shunt system diverts the CSF flow from the brain to another part of the body where it is absorbed as normal circulatory process. The system consists of a shunt, catheter and valve. One end of the catheter is placed inside the brain within a ventricle, and the other end is usually placed in the abdominal cavity. It may also be placed in another part of the body such as heart chamber or areas surrounding the lungs.

Contact a Michigan Hydrocephalus Malpractice Lawyer

A newborn who has hydrocephalus that is not timely treated and diagnosed by a hospital or physician can suffer permanent and irreversible injuries.  In such circumstances, the failure to properly treat the newborn can give rise to a medical malpractice lawsuit.  Hydrocephalus can affect the social, academic and vocational upbringing of the infant. These often require services that amount to a significant expense over a child’s lifetime and are sought as damages in a medical malpractice lawsuit.

It is essential to contact our office as soon as possible so that we can obtain your child’s complete medical chart to determine whether there was negligence involved in the treatment.  There are strict time delays for filing medical malpractice lawsuits in Michigan so it is essential to contact an experienced lawyer as soon as possible to see if your child has valid case.

Our Michigan birth injury lawyers handle cases involving shoulder dystocia injuries.  This can be a very serious condition and can affect a child throughout his or her lifetime.  There are occasions in which this injury could have been prevented and this can give rise to a child birth injury medical malpractice lawsuit.

Shoulder dystocia is a case of dystocia wherein the anterior shoulder of the newborn can’t pass the pubic symphysis after the delivery of the head, or needs considerable manipulation to pass the pubic symphysis. Shoulder dystocia is diagnosed only when the shoulders of the infant fail to deliver after the fetal head. In this condition, the chin presses against the perineum walls.

Signs of Shoulder Dystocia

Turtle sign is a commonly described feature, characterized by the appearance and retraction of fetal head that resembles a turtle withdrawing into the shell. The red puffy face indicating facial flushing is also a sign of this condition. This happens when the shoulder of the baby is stopped by maternal pelvis.

Procedures of Shoulder Dystocia

Several obstetrical measures are adopted in order to facilitate the delivery when this condition occurs:

• Suprapubic pressure
• McRoberts maneuver
• Application of pressure on the anterior shoulder, bringing the fetus in an oblique position with head towards vagina (also called the Rubin II maneuver)
• Wood’s screw maneuver (also called the opposite of Rubin II maneuver), causing the anterior shoulder to turn to the posterior and vice versa
• Barnum’s maneuver (also called Jacquemier’s maneuver, allowing the delivery of the posterior shoulder first; this enables the forearm and hand to be identified and pulled gently.
• Gaskin maneuver, involving the movement of the mother to all-fours position, causing the pelvic outlet to widen (named after Ina May Gaskin, Certified Professional Midwife)

Some measures are even more drastic; these include:

• Zavanelli’s maneuver; the fetal head is pushed back in by performing a cesarean section
• Intentional clavicular fracture, reducing the shoulder diameter and allowing it to pass across the birth canal
• Symphysiotomy, making the birth canal opening laxer by breaking the tissue between the pubes bones, allowing the shoulders to pass through.
• Hysterotomy that allows the delivery of the obstructed shoulder

Management of Shoulder Dystocia

For most obstetrical nursing units in North America, management of shoulder dystocia has now become a focus point. Various courses are offered to nurses wherein they perform routine drills to prevent any delivery complications for both mother and fetus.

Alarmer

This is a common treatment algorithm used in most health care facilities:

• A – ask for help
• L – leg hyperflexion
• A – anterior shoulder disimpaction
• R – rubin maneuver
• M – manual delivery of posterior arm
• E – episiotomy
• R – roll over on all fours

Complications of Shoulder Dystocia

The prime concern of shoulder dystocia is the upper brachial plexus nerves damage. Excess tension can tear the nerve roots, resulting in complete dysfunction of the fetus. The ventral roots are at greatest risk of injury as these endure the greatest tension.

Contact a Michigan Shoulder Dystocia Malpractice Lawyer

If an infant suffers shoulder dystocia due to medical negligence, it can give rise to a medical malpractice lawsuit.  Shoulder dystocia may affect a child socially, academically, and vocationally throughout childhood and even into adulthood.  The child may require physical therapy, medical procedures, and other services that can be a significant expense over the course of his or her lifetime.  These types of damage requests are included in a medical malpractice lawsuit filed for the condition of shoulder dystocia.

It is essential to contact our office as soon as possible so that we can obtain your child’s complete medical chart to determine whether there was negligence involved in the treatment.  There are strict time delays for filing medical malpractice lawsuits in Michigan so it is essential to contact an experienced lawyer as soon as possible to see if your child has valid case.