Fact Sheet: Medical Malpractice
No expectant family in New Jersey or elsewhere looks forward to the birth of their child anticipating that a serious birth injury will occur. Although many births in the United States occur without any complications, a significant number result in a birth injury to the mother or child:
- Slightly less than seven out of 1,000 males are born with a birth injury, and slightly less than six out of every 1,000 females are born with a birth injury;
- Children born at privately-owned, non-profit hospitals are slightly more likely to suffer a birth injury than children born at private, for-profit hospitals; and
- Although rare, some birth injuries result in permanent brain damage and other injuries to the newborn.
A serious birth injury can require the parents to pay for continued medical care and treatment for the child for the rest of the young boy’s or girl’s life. Even minor birth injuries can require additional medical treatment. Where a birth injury is caused because a doctor, nurse, or other medical professional was careless, however, the negligent individual can be held responsible for these costs along with any other individual or entity who contributed to the birth injury.
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Common Types of Birth Injuries
Some birth injuries are very minor and require little to no follow-up care in order to resolve themselves. Even more serious birth injuries may result in only temporary damage. But there are some catastrophic birth injuries that can result in permanent disability or disfigurement for the child. Some of these birth injuries include:
Cerebral Palsy
It is estimated that about two to three out of every 1,000 children are born by cerebral palsy. Symptoms of this disorder include weak muscles, muscle spasms, and retardation in motor skills development. There is no cure for cerebral palsy.
Spinal Cord Injuries
The spinal cord can be damaged during delivery if the doctor mishandles the child or improperly uses forceps to help extract the child. Spinal cord injuries often result in paralysis and/or neurological difficulties for the child.
Perinatal Asphyxia
Perinatal asphyxia occurs when the child does not receive enough oxygen through the blood supply from the mother or when the child’s breathing is obstructed during the delivery. Depending on how long the child is deprived of oxygen, permanent neurological damage can result.
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A birth injury lawsuit prosecuted by an experienced birth injury lawyer is your best opportunity for recovering the compensation you need to adequately address the complications and pain you and your child suffered as a result of the birth injury. Cohen, Placitella & Roth, P.C. is committed to helping birth injury victims recover this compensation through the legal system. Contact us for experienced and compassionate assistance today.
Investigating Birth Injuries Requires Resources
The aftermath of a birth injury can be confusing and scary terrain for a family. If they are to recover compensation for the birth injury they or their child sustained, they will need to locate, interview, and assure the appearance of important witnesses at trial. They will also need to locate, preserve, and present corroborating evidence so as to support the testimony of their witnesses. Doing this requires the expenditure of time and resources.
Although your first-hand experience and observations in the delivery room are a crucial part of your birth injury lawsuit, oftentimes your testimony alone is not enough to enable you to receive compensation. You need the testimony of others who were in the delivery room or who have knowledge of the factors that contributed to your or your child’s birth injuries. You will also need other medical professionals – other doctors and nurses, for example – to review your medical records and be able to say with some measure of certainty that your or your child’s injuries were caused by the carelessness or inattentiveness (the “negligence,” in other words) of your attending physician or some other person involved in the delivery.
As mentioned above, your medical records are vital to supporting your claim of medical negligence and can be very helpful for other medical professionals who will need to review your case and testify on your behalf at trial. Aside from your medical records, records from any follow-up treatments you needed to undergo can help you prove the extent of your injuries, including pain and suffering you and/or your child may have sustained. Finally, hospitals and members of the medical community may have certain procedures or standards that are to be followed when a child is delivered. Locating and securing these can help determine if the medical professional in your case should have acted in a particular manner but did not do so.
Many families who just suffered a birth injury do not have the time, the resources, or the knowledge to conduct a proper and thorough investigation into the causes of their or their child’s birth injuries. But at Cohen, Placitella & Roth, P.C., we have been helping birth injury victims recover compensation for over 40 years. We have the resources, experience, knowledge, and compassion necessary to fully investigate your case and give you the best chance at recovering compensation through a settlement or trial.
Cohen, Placitella & Roth, P.C. offers a FREE CONSULTATION.
Contact us today to discuss how we can helpRed Bank
127 Maple Avenue
Red Bank, NJ 07701
Phone: (732) 747-9003
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Over 40 Years of Outstanding Results and Hundreds of Millions Recovered for Our Birth Injury Victims and Others
For over 40 years the Red Bank birth injury lawyers at Cohen, Placitella & Roth, P.C. have been helping New Jersey birth injury victims recover financial compensation following their or their child’s birth injuries. Some of our notable successes have included the following awards:p>
$14.5 million
$14.5 million for a child who suffered permanent brain damage as a result of a doctor’s failure to properly manage the child’s post-operative care.
$3 million
$3 million for a woman blinded as a result of a careless mistake by her anesthesiologist.
$15 million
$15 million for a child who sustained permanent brain damage as a result of a doctor’s negligent error.
Multi-Million Dollar
Numerous other multi-million dollar awards based on medical negligence, including birth injuries, improper diagnosis or treatment, surgical errors, and anesthesia errors.
While results in prior cases do not guarantee similar results in your case the following listing of recent case victories should hopefully provide you with the assurance that we are experienced and know how to get you the compensation you deserve.