Attorney Blogs » Birth Injuries

New York Birth Injury: What is Facial Nerve Palsy?

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:02:24 +0000

Facial nerve palsy is a condition in which the patient loses the ability to voluntarily control the muscles in their face. It may be caused by birth trauma if improper pressure is put on the seventh cranial nerve, also known as the facial nerve, before or during delivery, according to the National Institutes of Health (NIH). A difficult delivery may result in facial nerve palsy, especially if forceps are used. Som [...]

New York Birth Injury: What Is Cerebral Palsy?

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:02:21 +0000

The National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) defines cerebral palsy as a neurological disorder that affects children starting in infancy or early childhood. When a child is injured during delivery, they may develop cerebral palsy as a result of the injury. Some children who catch a bacterial infection during or after delivery may also have cerebral palsy if the infection damages their brain. [...]

South Carolina Hospital Negligence Case Awards Parents

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:02:19 +0000

The Piedmont Medical Center has been instructed recently by a York County jury to pay damages due to hospital negligence amounting to over $4 million to a South Carolina couple, The Charlotte Observer reported in an article. The couple, Robin and Brice Wilson, had lost their infant daughter during her birth due to a brain injury. Sierra Wilson had been born in 2003 at the hospital but lack of oxygen caused her to [...]

Young Girl Plans Trip to China for Stem Cell Therapy to treat Cerebral Palsy

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:02:16 +0000

The British press is full of reports today about a young girl there who plans to travel to China for stem-cell treatment of her cerebral palsy. Shonia Tahiliani is eight, but she can’t walk or sit upright and can’t speak, even though she understands two languages. Her parents are raising 18,000 British pounds -- more than $35,000 -- to send her to Tiantan Puhua Neurosurgical Hospital in Beijing for stem cell in [...]

Erb’s Palsy Website Penned by Concerned Mother Refreshing and Informative

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:02:12 +0000

Here's a welcome break from the usual round of medical jargon about Erb's palsy: injurednewborn.com, a site set up by Francine Litz, the mother of a daughter with a birth injury to her brachial plexus. (In short, obstetric brachial plexus injuries leave children with one arm weakened or useless, often dangling limply with the hand turned backwards. It sometimes clears up on its own, but is often a lifelong disabili [...]

NEONATAL HERPES- A Medical Emergency

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 20:02:08 +0000

Neonatal herpes, either type I or II, is a serious viral infection of the infant which needs immediate hospitalization and treatment. Herpes virus type I is marked by the eruption of vesicle lesions on the lips or nostrils, versus herpes virus type II which has lesions located on the genitalia. If localized neonatal herpes is left untreated, the virus may become disseminated into a virulent and fatal form. Thus, ti [...]

MA Health Dept. Issues Advisory Against BPA

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:42:35 +0000

August 4, 2009 – Boston - Health officials from Massachusetts, including those from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, are urging parents to stop using plastic baby bottles and other products that contain the chemical bisphenol A, also known as BPA. Cities like Chicago have already banned BPA, among rising concerns that the chemical may produce harmful effects on infants’ brain and thyroid [...]

Study shows environmental contamination increase

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:42:33 +0000

The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) has been studying the effect of the environment on people and their health. Recently, researchers in Canada have linked male low birth rates to an increase in lower fertility and an increase in environmental contaminants. According to UPI, researchers studied the male birth weights of five million children born in Canada between 1981-2003 from records kept i [...]

Ending the Pain of Birth Injuries

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:42:32 +0000

A child’s natural development, genetics and the quality of infant care all play a role in the causes of birth injuries. If your baby experiences an abnormal birth, such as breech delivery, the risk of physical birth trauma is high.Events during delivery can also result in brain or nerve damage that leads to complications that may affect your child’s future quality of life.Any of these scenarios may leav [...]

How to Minimize Pregnancy Complications

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:42:31 +0000

Women who are trying to conceive and those who are already pregnant can follow some simple tips to promote a healthy pregnancy and to avoid complications at birth. Select a competent doctor. Get prenatal care as soon as you think you might be pregnant. Avoid toxic substances especially in the home and workplace. Quit smoking – women who smoke during pregnancy are more like [...]

Delaying labor can decrease risk of cerebral palsy

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:42:30 +0000

Massachusetts attorney Thomas M. Kiley, concentrates on legal issues surrounding cerebral palsy and birth injuries. The New England Journal of Medicine, published a report that says preterm infants born to mothers receiving intravenous magnesium sulfate — a common treatment to delay labor — are less likely to develop cerebral palsy than are preterm infants whose mothers do not receive it. Th [...]

Can Cerebral Palsy Be Prevented?

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:42:29 +0000

Massachusetts attorney Thomas M. Kiley, concentrates on legal issues regarding cerebral palsy and birth injuries. New research on these kinds of birth injuries indicates that some injuries can be prevented. The research is being conducted by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes, (NINDS) Researchers today are able to use imaging technology such as magnetic reson [...]

Research shows brains can recover from injury

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:42:28 +0000

Massachusetts attorney Thomas M. Kiley, concentrates on legal issues regarding birth injuries. Recent research funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Strokes (NINDS), shows that mice with brain injuries similar to that of premature babies can actually make new neurons to help repair brain damage. This study shows that actual recovery from a brain injury at birth can occur in the [...]

Studies link obese mothers to infant birth defects

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:42:27 +0000

Recent studies have shown that pregnant women who are obese are more likely to have babies with rare but serious birth defects, including spina bifida, heart anomalies, cleft palate, and hydrocephaly, according to a New York Times article. Massachusetts attorney Thomas M. Kiley, concentrates on legal issues associated with birth defects. According to the article, research recently published in the Jour [...]

Alternative treatments are available for cerebral palsy patients

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:42:25 +0000

Massachusetts attorney Thomas M. Kiley, wants parents of children with cerebral palsy to have hope that their children can try new alternative treatments to improve their quality of life. The Healing Center On-line, serves as a website and a clearinghouse for finding new alternative treatments for brain-injured children. According to the website, it is based on the belief that the brain along with [...]

What is the legal recourse in case of birth injury?

admin — Mon, 30 Jan 2012 17:42:24 +0000

A birth injury occurs when there is a trauma to the baby by the process of being born. The trauma usually is due to the pressure of the baby passing through the birth canal and can be caused by prolonged labor, a “breech” or legs first birth, premature birth, the use of forceps during birth, or the mother’s small sized pelvis. Some of these traumas are caused by incorrect medical [...]

Lackawanna County Obstetrician, OB/GYN Consultants Ltd. Lose Landmark Malpractice Appeal

admin — Thu, 21 Oct 2010 01:00:20 +0000

A Scranton-area obstetrician was denied an appeal in a malpractice case filed by a Pennsylvania family. According to TheTimes-Tribune.com, Mr. and Mrs. Daniel White filed a suit against Dr. Richard Behlke and OB/GYN Consultants Ltd. after their son suffered cerebral palsy caused by medical mistakes when he was born in 2001. He is also nearly blind. A common birth injury, cerebral palsy can result from medical malp [...]

Common Birth Injuries

admin — Thu, 08 Jul 2010 01:00:08 +0000

Having a baby is often a joyous event, however, complications may arise, causing lifelong defects and other issues that may affect an infant’s ability to grow and enjoy life fully. Birth injuries are caused by a number of reasons, including the baby’s position or size during labor as well as the possibilities of gestational diabetes and premature or prolonged labor. Many birth injuries in Pennsylvania are mino [...]

First Paxil Lawsuit Results in Plaintiffs Favor

admin — Tue, 04 May 2010 18:43:44 +0000

A Philadelphia jury awarded $2.5 million to a woman from Bensalem. The jury found that Paxil had caused heart problems in her 3-year-old son who required several surgeries after his birth to fix his heart. They ruled out additional punitive damages. The case was the first of about 600 lawsuits to go to trial on claims that the GlaxoSmithKline’s Paxil antidepressant caused birth defects in children whose mothers [...]

Trial Opens in Philadelphia in Paxil Lawsuit

admin — Tue, 04 May 2010 18:43:41 +0000

On September 15, an attorney told a Philadelphia jury that GlaxoSmithKline P.L.C. ignored evidence for years that its antidepressant Paxil may have caused birth defects. According to an article in The Philadelphia Inquirer, this attorney represents a woman who says that taking the drug during her pregnancy caused her three year-old son’s heart problems. The Bucks County resident, a former cheerleader for the Ph [...]