There are a number of things that can go wrong during a pregnancy, particularly
because of medical negligence (carelessness). One of these complications is placental abruption. The placenta is attached to the wall of the uterus during pregnancy. It supplies the baby with vital nutrients as well as oxygen.
According to the Mayo Clinic, placental abruption occurs when the placenta partially or completely separates from the inner wall of the uterus before delivery. This can potentially decrease or block the baby’s supply of oxygen and nutrients and cause heavy bleeding in the mother. It typically occurs in the third trimester, but can occur as early as 20 weeks of gestation.
When this occurs, the baby can stop receiving sufficient oxygen. Even when the abruption is partial or when the placenta is not totally detached, the situation can become dire. It is important that your doctor and medical team carefully monitor the situation and be prepared to perform an emergency cesarean section (C-section). If a C-section is delayed or not performed, there is a significant risk of the child experiencing lack of oxygen and suffering severe birth injuries including hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and cerebral palsy.
Risk Factors for Placental Abruption
There are a number of factors that can increase the risk of placental abruption and require diligent monitoring by the medical staff:
• Preeclampsia or maternal high blood pressure
• Trauma to the abdomen
• Infection of two membranes of the placenta and the amniotic fluid
• Pregnancy involving multiples
• Uterine abnormalities
• Advanced maternal age (over 35 years of age)
• Induction of labor
Placental Abruption and Medical Malpractice
Medical professionals are required to follow a certain standard of care to prevent or minimize the chance of placental abruption, particularly in women with known risk factors. Doctors should monitor the health of both mother and child and be ready to intervene very quickly if placental abruption occurs. Failure to take these steps and failure to monitor amounts to medical malpractice.
A birth injury is any type of injury or harm to a baby that occurs during or after the delivery. When placental abruption occurs, babies can potentially suffer injuries including HIE, cerebral palsy and other types of irreversible brain damage. If your child has suffered a birth injury because of medical negligence (carelessness) you may be able to seek compensation by filing a birth injury lawsuit. Such compensation can help cover medical treatments, expenses related to care, mobility equipment and ongoing therapies.
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. Also, 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 many cases where New York City Health and Hospital Corporation facilities deliver babies who are born with cerebral palsy or brachial plexus palsy (Erb’s palsy) stemming from negligence (carelessness), and/or medical malpractice in the labor and delivery etc. of the children.
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 and/or medical malpractice 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.
Other TOLL FREE phone numbers for us are:
1-800-RADIO-LAW, 1-888-WYPADEK, OR 1-800-LAS-LEYES
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