Preeclampsia is a serious medical complication that can affect some pregnant mothers, and is characterized by a rapid and dangerous increase in blood pressure. It can also result in the formation of excess protein in the mother’s urine increasing the risk of seizure, stroke, multiple organ failure and birth injuries for the child. Unfortunately, there is no cure from preeclampsia complications other than giving birth.
However, there are tests that a doctor can administer to help diagnose the condition. It is important that the medical provider monitors the mother and child’s condition diligently throughout the pregnancy. If you have suffered from complications of preeclampsia that was not diagnosed and treated by a doctor, and it resulted in your child’s birth injuries, it is important that you speak with a skilled New York birth injury lawyer to better understand your legal rights and options.
What is Preeclampsia?
Preeclampsia is a complication of pregnancy that leads to high blood pressure, excessive levels of protein in urine or other signs of organ damage. This is a condition that typically develops after 20 weeks of pregnancy in women whose blood pressure had been in the standard range. When left untreated, preeclampsia can potentially lead to serious or even fatal complications for both the mother and the child.
When the mother is diagnosed with preeclampsia, early delivery of the baby is often recommended, which might necessitate a cesarean section (C- section). The requirement for an early delivery will typically depend on the severity of the preeclampsia and the duration of the pregnancy. Preeclampsia treatment includes careful monitoring and medications to lower blood pressure and manage related complications. If a physician fails to recognize the symptoms and fails to treat them properly or fails to order a necessary C-section, this can result in complications including birth injuries.
What Are the Risk Factors for Preeclampsia?
There are a number of risk factors that make some women more susceptible to preeclampsia including:
- Multiple fetuses
- Being under 20 or over 40 at the time of pregnancy
- First pregnancy
- Obesity
- History of certain medical conditions such as uncontrolled high blood pressure, type 2 diabetes, kidney disease, migraine headaches, etc.
- Family history of preeclampsia
Birth Injuries Caused by Preeclampsia
Preeclampsia can cause fetal distress and a condition known as hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy or HIE, which occurs when the oxygen supply to the baby is limited or cut off. This may result in irreversible brain damage or cerebral palsy. Preeclampsia may also result in premature birth and increases the risk of placental abruption, where the placenta separates from the inner wall of the uterus before the baby is delivered. This condition leads to severe bleeding and may be life-threatening for both the mother and child. Failure to properly diagnose and treat preeclampsia or a failure to take the steps necessary to prevent birth injuries is considered medical negligence (carelessness). When this occurs, several parties involved can be held liable including, but not limited to, the doctor, hospital, nurses, technicians, etc.
Contacting an Experienced Lawyer
The experienced New York personal injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Kenneth A. Wilhelm can help you better understand your legal rights and options, and also fight hard to recover just compensation for you. One of our clients secured a $2,850,000 verdict in an Erb’s palsy (brachial plexus palsy) case that was reduced by the appeals court to $1,846,000 because the verdict was so large. This was the highest amount upheld by the appellate (appeals) courts for many, many years. In addition, we recovered $1,400,000 for a newborn who lost motion in the arm during birth due to doctors applying incorrect force on the baby’s head. One of our clients obtained a verdict for $43,940,000 and another of our clients got a verdict for $23,500,000, both in medical malpractice cases.
We have seen cases where New York City Health and Hospital Corporation facilities deliver babies who are born with birth injuries such as cerebral palsy and brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) due to negligence (carelessness) and/or medical malpractice that occurs in the labor and delivery stages. The following list identifies some of these hospitals (operated by New York City Health and Hospital Corporation):
• Jacobi Hospital aka Bronx Municipal 1400 Pelham Parkway South Bronx, New York 10461 718-918-5000
• Lincoln Hospital 234 East 149th Street Bronx, New York 10451 718-579-5000
• North Central Bronx Hospital 3424 Kossuth Avenue Bronx, New York 10467 718-519-5000
• Coney Island Hospital 2601 Ocean Parkway Brooklyn, New York 11235 718-616-3000
• Kings County Hospital 451 Clarkson Avenue Brooklyn, New York 11203 718-245-3131
• Woodhull Hospital 760 Broadway Brooklyn, New York 11206 718-963-8000
• Bellevue Hospital 462 First Avenue New York, New York 10016 212-562-5555
• Harlem Hospital 506 Lenox Avenue New York, New York 10037 212-939-1000
• Metropolitan Hospital 1901 First Avenue New York, New York 10029 212-423-6262
• Elmhurst Hospital 79-01 Broadway Elmhurst, New York 11373 718-334-4000
• Queens Hospital Center 82-68 164th Street Jamaica, New York 11432 718-883-3000
Please contact us TOLL FREE 24 hours a day, 7 days a week at 1-800-WORK-4-YOU (1-800-967-5496). WE CAN EVEN COME TO YOU. There is no attorneys’ fee unless we recover money for you. We can also help with personal injury, lead poisoning and medical malpractice cases including, brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) and cerebral palsy cases in New York, New Jersey, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, or Florida. If you have been seriously injured in any of the 50 U.S. states, please call us and we will try to help you with your case.
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