#chorioamnionitis

Most cases of brain-damaged newborns not due to mismanaged deliveries

A study by researchers at Loyola University Medical Center and Loyola University Chicago is providing new evidence that the vast majority of babies who are born with severe brain damage are not the result of mismanaged deliveries.

Lead author Jonathan Muraskas, MD, and colleagues examined the medical records of 32 full-term infants who developed severe cerebral palsy and mental retardation. The records indicate that this brain damage occurred after the babies were born, and despite proper resuscitation.

Despite appropriate obstetrical and pediatric-neonatal management, the presence of chorioamnionitis or fetal anemia can result in "devastating outcomes," Dr. Muraskas and colleagues wrote.

The study is published in the Journal of Perinatology.

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NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - May 10, 2013) - The New York medical malpractice attorneys at the law firm of Fitzgerald & Fitzgerald have been representing clients who have been injured while receiving medical care since 1971. They handle cases involving medical malpractice, birth injury, cerebral palsy cases, autism cases and other matters that arise out of allegedly substandard medical care. The firm hereby announces that it has won a jury verdict in the amount of $2,550,000.00 on behalf of a client who was seriously injured while in the process of being delivered.

The medical malpractice lawsuit was filed on behalf of a female infant plaintiff and against a defendant hospital. The case was filed in the New York County Supreme Court. It was assigned a case number of 94238A and it sought damages that would compensate the plaintiff for losses incurred as a result of serious injuries suffered while being cared for immediately before, during and after her birth that included cerebral palsy, a seizure disorder, developmental delays and mental retardation. 

According to the court documents, the infant plaintiff was delivered at the defendant hospital via C-section when her mother was at 27 weeks of gestation. On the previous day, the mother reported to the hospital for a prenatal checkup complaining of irritating vaginal discharge. She was given suppositories and sent home. 

The court documents went on to state that on the following morning, the mother returned to the hospital reporting pains. No contractions were noted at the time of her admission to the defendant hospital, but an emergency C-section was scheduled for later that afternoon after the mother was diagnosed with chorioamnionitis. The mother was also discharging fluid that emanated a foul odor, and the fetal heart monitor recorded decelerations.

The court documents pointed out that the infant plaintiff was delivered at 2 pounds, 4.5 ounces and she was diagnosed with respiratory distress syndrome. She was immediately admitted to the NICU and was intubated. After being admitted to the NICU, the plaintiff was diagnosed with cholestatic jaundice, clinical sepsis, and metabolic acidosis. She remained hospitalized for a period of five months before being discharged.

At trial, the attorneys at Fitzgerald & Fitzgerald successfully argued that the defendant departed from generally good and accepted medical practice by failing to: (1) timely diagnose sepsis; (2) diagnose the significance of late decelerations and fetal bradycardia; (3) diagnose respiratory distress and acidosis; (4) prevent pre-term labor and premature delivery; (5) timely perform the cesarean delivery; and (6) diagnose jaundice & hyperbilirubinemia. The jury returned a verdict of $2,550,000.00 in favor of the plaintiff.

About Fitzgerald & Fitzgerald  Fitzgerald & Fitzgerald is a law firm comprised of New York medical malpractice lawyers who have been representing clients harmed by the negligence of medical professionals overseeing births since the firm's inception in 1971. The attorneys at the firm handle New York birth injury cases, New York medical malpractice cases, New York cerebral palsy cases, New York personal injury cases, auto accident cases and other types of litigation matters that involve injuries inflicted upon individuals who need legal help. 

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Contact Information

Contact Info Fitzgerald & Fitzgerald Doris Herrmann [email protected] 800-323-9900 http://www.lawfitz.com/