Category Archives: Birth Injury
New Study Links Maternal High Blood Pressure to High Levels of Air Pollution
It turns out that for pregnant women, one of the best ways to avoid pre-eclampsia — or maternal hypertension — may be living in an area with low levels of air pollution. A new study out of the University of Florida at Gainesville found that pregnant women who live in neighborhoods with high levels… Read More »
UK Family Wins £4 Million After Medical Errors Cause Daughter’s Serious Brain Injury
The recent case of a girl in the United Kingdom highlights the serious harm that can come from birth injuries caused by preventable medical errors. Earlier this month, Hollie McDowall’s family was awarded £4 million ($6.46 million) by the High Court to compensate them for her serious brain injury, attributed to mistakes made by… Read More »
New Study Highlights a Method of Treatment That Could Prevent Retinopathy of Prematurity
For infants with the condition of retinopathy of prematurity — also known as “baby blindness” — a new study provides hope that their condition will not be permanent. Retinopathy of prematurity occurs when the blood vessels in a baby’s eyes do not develop normally. The blood vessels become weak and may result in bleeding…. Read More »
Michigan Jury Awards Mother $13 Million in Birth Injury Lawsuit
Recently in Flint, Michigan, a Genesee County jury awarded a woman nearly $13 million in her medical malpractice lawsuit against Genesys Regional Medical Center. In her suit, Libbey Bryson claimed that due to preventable medical mistakes, her daughter was born without the use of her right arm and with other deformities. Bryson gave birth… Read More »
New Study Finds a Link Between Cerebral Palsy and Autism
Cerebral palsy is already a serious condition requiring lifelong treatment. Now a new study has found a link between cerebral palsy and higher rates of autism. Currently, in the United States, one in every 323 eight-year-old children has cerebral palsy (compared to 500,000 to 800,000 people overall). The study by the U.S. Center for… Read More »
New Study Suggests That Maternal Weight Is Linked to Maternal Hypertension
While the causes of preeclampsia, or maternal hypertension, are usually unknown, one recent study suggests that one cause can be linked to this condition: obesity. A study published by the University of Edinburgh in BJOG: An International Journal of Obstetrics and Gynaecology found that women with a higher BMI experience more complications and in-patient… Read More »
Pennsylvania Woman and Her Child Win $4 Million Award for Birth Injury Caused By Medical Negligence
Recently, a jury in Lehigh County, Pennsylvania awarded a woman and her daughter $4 million for a birth injury attributed to an obstetrician’s negligence. The doctor ignored Erin McCarthy when she expressed concerns that her daughter might be too large to deliver vaginally. McCarthy’s daughter, Chloe, was born in 2009 at Lehigh Valley Hospital…. Read More »
Recent Article Argues That Birth Injury Lawsuits Are Beneficial, While Tort Reforms May Be Harmful, to the Medical Profession
A recent article challenges the notion that big malpractice awards, for birth injury or otherwise, automatically cause problems for the medical profession. While the article focuses mainly on New York malpractice law, it is instructive for medical practitioners in every other state, including Maryland. Unlike Maryland, New York does not have a cap on… Read More »
Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Rules That Illinois Mother Is Time-Barred From Filing a Medical Malpractice Claim in Arteaga v. United States
A Seventh Circuit case from earlier this year highlights the importance of learning about the statute of limitations before you file a medical malpractice lawsuit for birth injury. In Arteaga v. United States, an Illinois mother was barred from filing a claim on behalf of her child due to a provision in the Federal… Read More »
Teen Who Went Blind As a Newborn Due to Medical Neglect Is Now Thriving
Retinopathy of prematurity, also known as “baby blindness,” is a serious condition that causes blindness in babies born earlier than 30 weeks of gestation. This is due to the fact that their blood vessels have not yet formed — or formed abnormally if the premature babies were given oxygen that was not properly monitored…. Read More »
