Recently, the family of a 16-year-old boy who was diagnosed with cerebral palsy at birth has filed a lawsuit against the medical professionals who assisted in his birth. According to a recent article, the boy’s family is claiming that the delivering doctor was more concerned with the status of his BMW at the service station than he was about the delivery of the young child.
Evidently, back in March of 1998, the mother of the boy was admitted to
the hospital shortly after midnight for the delivery of her son. After
hours of labor, the doctor claimed that he was unsure of the mother’s
ability to make the final push, so he used a suction machine, attached
it to her child’s head, and pulled the baby out. As a result, the
parents claim, their child was born with cerebral palsy and other related
brain damage.
As evidence of the doctor’s negligence, the family is pointing to
cell-phone records from the day in question, showing that the delivering
doctor was on the phone with a BMW service station checking in on the
status of his vehicle just moments before the delivery. The family claims
that the doctor’s concerns over his car interfered with his judgment that day.
The child, who is now 16 years old, has the intellectual capabilities
of a two-year-old. He will require constant care throughout his life.
Cerebral Palsy and Other Birth Injury Lawsuits
Despite the years of training they receive, doctors still make mistakes. Some
birth injuries are caused by factors outside a doctor’s control, but there are
a large percentage of birth injuries that could have been prevented had
the proper preparation, diligence, and care been taken by the delivering
physician.
In these cases, the families of children born with these tragic and preventable injuries may be able to hold the delivering physician accountable for their newborn child’s injuries.
Proving Liability in Birth Injury Lawsuits
Any time a child is born with an irreversible illness, it is a tragedy.
However, the preventable birth injuries are some of the most tragic. They
are also the injuries most likely to result in compensation for the family
of the injured child.
Success in a birth injury lawsuit may depend on the plaintiff’s ability to show that the defendant did, or failed to do, something that resulted in the injury. This is not always an easy task, even when the physician is actually at fault. For example, the plaintiff in the lawsuit discussed above was able to secure the phone records of the delivering physician to show that he was dealing with a personal issue during the birth of their son. This kind of evidence is helpful when attempting to prove negligence.
Has Your Child Been Born with a Preventable Birth Injury?
If you have recently given birth to a child with a preventable birth injury,
you may be entitled to monetary compensation based on the physician’s
negligent conduct. To learn more about Maryland birth injury lawsuits,
and to speak to an attorney about your case, call (410) 567-0800 to set
up a free initial consultation with a dedicated and experienced birth
injury attorney.