Dallas Personal Injury Lawyer - Birth Injury

Male Infant Death More Likely

RLF Staff — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 09:44:30 GMT

Boys have about a 20 percent higher chance of dying by the age of one than girls, according to research released Monday. Though the gap has lessened in the past decades because of medical practices like increased Caesarean sections and intensive care units for premature babies, there is still a disparity between the genders.

Some of this may be attributed to the data showing that boys are 60 percent more likely to be born prematurely. Conditions such as neonatal respiratory distress syndrome are linked to pre-term birth - occuring in infants whose lungs are underdeveloped - and making it difficult for the baby to breathe. Becuase they have larger bodies and head sizes, baby boys also face a greater risk of birth injury and/or mortality. The data was consistent across several industrialized countries.

Birth injury can often be avoided if doctors take necessary precautions before, during and after delivery. Even so, these birth injuries are common - and as the research shows - more common among male infants. Has your child suffered a birth injury because of negligent or improper medical care? Contact a birth injury attorney to discuss your legal options.

Read the Reuters Story.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by RLF Staff

Colorado vs. New Zealand - Medical Malpractice Liability

RLF Staff — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 14:38:04 GMT

An interesting column by Senator Bob Hagedorn in the Rocky Mountain News looks at what he considers limitations and shortcomings of the medical malpractice systems in the state, as well as the nation, and compares those systems to one in place in New Zealand.

Some of his outlined shortfalls in what he refers to as a lawsuit-based status quo include: Physicians are poorly policed with little prevention of future errors; Large sums of money are wasted - and are not used to meet medical needs of uninsured families; the conflict created undermines the doctor-patient relationship; and access to health care is further restricted as doctors avoid higher risk practices like baby delivery (or are opting for 'easier' methods in such practices). One example he shared was that, "obstetricians are increasingly performing Caesarean sections to avoid being blamed for an infant's cerebral palsy. And, in fact, the incidence of Caesarean sections has grown from 5 percent to more then 30 percent of all births since the 1970s. Caesarean sections are far more expensive and more dangerous for most women than natural birth. Children with cerebral palsy often have extraordinary needs that cost their families huge amounts of money and time. These needs must be met regardless of the cause. "

His suggestion: Follow New Zealand's example. He said that the country successfully compensates patients while ensuring the accountability among physicials by providing compensation to injured patients regardless of fault. This is a separate process from the one in place to identify medical errors and improve quality of care. The accountability system includes various disciplinary actions but emphasizes learning from mistakes and improving the system to prevent repeated problems.

What do you think? Should the systems be separate? Should all injured patients be compensated before cause is considered? Should doctors be held more accountable by legal recourse and uncaped awards or simply be subject to "disciplinary action" as done in New Zealand. Please leave a comment. If you would like to know more about your current legal options when it comes to medical malpractice and/or birth injury, contact a medical malpractice attorney today.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by RLF Staff

Botox for Cerebral Palsy Goes Under Review

RLF Staff — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 06:46:43 GMT

Washington officials is warning doctors about using Botox for cerebral palsy children. Botox is most commonly used on adults to smooth out wrinkles, but has also shown positive results in chilrden with cerebral palsy. Although the government has never officially approved botox injections to treat cerebral palsy, it has been shown to increase mobility in children and adults with cerebral palsy.

The two drugs, Botox and Myobloc, use botulinum toxin, which blocks nerve impulses to muscles, causing them to relax. The FDA says in rare cases, the toxin may have spread beyond the injection site to other parts of the body which could result in paralysis of respiratory muscles and difficulty swallowing.

Although an official review has not been completed, the FDA said the deaths and other problems could be from an overdose. The maker of Botox said children with cerebral palsy have far larger doses injected into their muscles than the doses given to adults seeking to lose their wrinkles.

But the FDA warned that it also has reports of side effects in people of all ages who are given the drugs for a variety of conditions.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by RLF Staff

Botox Injection Could Help Cerebral Palsy Patients

RLF Staff — Fri, 11 May 2007 06:55:43 GMT

New research suggests that injections of botulinum toxin A (Botox) enhanced benefits from occupational therapy for children with cerebral palsy affecting one limb.

In the study, Dr Remo N Russo, from Flinders University in Daw Park, South Australia, and colleagues randomly assigned 43 children with hemiplegic (one-sided) cerebral palsy to receive four sessions of occupational therapy (over 4 weeks) alone or in combination with a shot of Botox in the affected limb.

They reported that children treated with Botox showed a significantly better improvement in body structure and activities participation at 3 months compared with the children who were not treated with Botox.

Self-perception was also enhanced in the Botox group.

By 6 months, no differences were seen between the groups in activities participation or self-perception, but the benefit of Botox on body structure was still apparent.

"This study adds to previous studies investigating the effects of injection of botulinum toxin in the upper limb of children with cerebral palsy, but is unique given the findings related to improvement in self-worth,".

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by RLF Staff

Cerebral Palsy Lawsuits Are Decimated by Egregious Damage Caps

Robert Wolf — Mon, 24 Jul 2006 10:45:08 GMT

Imagine being held underwater for a minute and then being allowed to come up for air - briefly - only to be involuntarily dunked underwater repeatedly. Your brain will go without oxygen for extended periods of time, which can cause severe damage to a healthy adult. Now, imagine the same nightmare scenario when it is an infant in the process of labor and delivery. If the baby survives at all, the lifelong brain injuries can be nothing short of devastating. Even worse - in many situations, this tragedy could have been prevented by more timely intervention from nurses and physicians.

Ever since damage caps went into place in Texas for lawsuits filed on or after September 1, 2003, one of the largest classes of victims of these damage caps are also some of the youngest and most fraile victims - children suffering from cerebral palsy birth injuries.

Whether it's a lifetime of care due to the need for a feeding tube, speech therapy, physical therapy, vision therapy, or the need for multiple wheelchairs, auditory and speech devices, or other mobility devices, the medical needs of a child suffering from cerebral palsy can reach the millions of dollars. In Texas, there are provisions which at least allow for some of the medical needs of children suffering from cerebral palsy (also known as "CP") to be awarded in lawsuits.

However, the damage caps do not account for the hourly and daily suffering of these children. In many instances, a child's brain may function such that the child does have significant intelligence and knows what he or she is *supposed* to do, but that child's body won't allow it. As the saying goes, the mind is willing, but the body is unable.

Imagine going through life in this personal , physical prison where you are already sneered at and made fun of by your peers. But in addition to that daily torture, you have to endure the reality of knowing that you desperately want to perform tasks that most everyone else takes for granted, but you are unable to do so. Yet, you can't understand why your body is not responding to simple commands. That is daily life for far too many children suffering from cerebral palsy.

To account for this lifetime of pain and suffering, Texas Courts allow, in most circumstances, for a whopping award of - I hope you're sitting down for this - $250,000. Even if the child's essential medical needs are taken care of, this paltry $250,000 would barely allow for anything special for a child who is suffering from such a devastating illness (that would be less than all of 80 cents per hour to compensate a child's pain and suffering for the first 35 years of his or her life).

I'm sure we've all seen articles how in other parts of the country, there have been lawsuits which should not have been filed, and on some rare occasions, juries have awarded what seemd like large sums of money to people who were not really injured.

But, as a result of pressure from insurance companies, the Texas legislature sought to enact and lobbyist paid big money to mislead the public with a "new era" of tort reform. However, the people who have been punished the most are those who need assistance the most. If a physician and/or nurse doesn't act appropriately during the labor and delivery process, and a child suffers a lifelong devastating brain injury, that child should certainly be entitled to recover considerably more than 80 cents per hour for the daily pain that he or she suffers.

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Robert Wolf

Plano Teen Can File Birth Injury Lawsuit

Staff Writer — Mon, 02 Jan 2006 10:45:51 GMT

The Wisonsin Supreme Court ruled Friday that one of our clients can file a birth injury lawsuit claiming the Wisconsin doctor and hospital are responsible for denying the client's brain of oxygen in the moments before and after his birth, which led to the child developing cerebral palsy.

Cerebral palsy lawyer Jeremi Young represents the family. The defense argued the lawsuit was past the statute of limitations, but the Court ruled that Wisconsin malpractice statutes of limitations do not fully address developmetally disabled children.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has the full story: Birth Injury Lawsuit

Originally posted at InjuryBoard by Staff Writer