New York Injury Lawyer Blog

The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists has relaxed its warnings regarding natural child birth for women who have previously given birth via ceserean section, the Wall Street Journal reported.

Our New York City birth injury attorneys continue to report on the increasing frequency of complications involved with ceserean births. While there are certainly times when a c-section birth is necessary to protect the life of the mother or infant, we reported on our New York Injury Lawyer Blog earlier this year that the increasing number of c-section births result in their own risks and complications. Ceserean births are at an all-time high in the United States, accounting for about one-third of all child births.

The old adage "once a ceserean, always a ceserean" is being discarded in cases where mothers with a previous ceserean birth wish to attempt natural child birth. The ACOG says women should be permitted to attempt vaginal delivery in facilities where immediate emergency care is available. In cases where those resources are not available, a mother should be "allowed to accept increased levels of risk" if informed of the potential dangers by staff.

The Journal reports that the "immediately available" language in the last guidelines led hospitals to refuse to allow women with c-section history to attempt vaginal birth. The new guidelines, which attempt to permit informed mothers to be more empowered decision makers, are being issued with the hopes of lowering the nation's c-section birthrate.

Child birth can result in life-threatening health conditions to either mother or child, regardless of the manner of birth. But this is particularly true when physicians fail to properly manage a pregnancy, miss warning signs of possible complications, or do not properly advise a birth mother of the possible risks of various medical options.

Continue reading "New York birth injury can result when mothers are not given options and complications are not properly monitored" »

New York birth mothers are at a higher risk of serious injury or death than almost anywhere else in the nation, The New York Times reported. The study, released by the New York Academy of Medicine and the New York City Health Department, reports factors like poverty, obesity and lack of insurance may be responsible.

We question that assertion. Such health factors are common everywhere. And it is the responsibility of a physician to properly monitor a pregnancy and take risk factors into consideration during treatment. Ultimately, even the study's authors acknowledged such factors could not be blamed for the deaths.

The study also pointed to the relatively small number of deaths, which average about 40 a year. But for every fatal case, there are numerous cases of serious injury to a birth mother or child. Anyone dealing with an injury involving pregnancy or child birth should contact a New York City medical malpractice lawyer to discuss their rights.

Of the women who died, 79 percent were giving birth by Cesarean section. While the procedure is often used in problem births, which could be partly responsible for the high mortality rate, Cesarean delivery also carries substantial risk of hemorrhaging and infection. As we reported earlier this year on our New York Injury Lawyer Blog, the rates of C-section births have climbed to what safety advocates have termed "epidemic proportions." The rate is at an all-time high in the United States, where 30 percent of children are delivered by Cesarean section.

New York City's analysis is being billed at one of the most sophisticated examinations of maternal mortality in the nation; it studied 161 women who died of pregnancy-related complications in New York City between 2001 and 2005.

The study found nearly half of women who died were obese and minority women were two to seven times more likely to die as a result of complications during pregnancy. The death rates were the highest in the Bronx and Brooklyn, which have large poor and minority populations. Neighborhoods with the highest death rates were Bedford-Stuyvesant and Crown Heights in Brooklyn and Jamaica in Queens. Neighborhoods that reported no deaths included Chelsea and Greenwich Village in Manhattan, Bensonhurst in Brooklyn and Flushing in Queens.

Women without health insurance were four times more likely to die. Although women covered by Medicaid, the government's insurance program for the poor, faired as well as pregnant women with private insurance.

In 2007, the last year for which statistics are available, about 16 mothers died in New York per 100,000 births. That mortality rate ranked the state fourth-worst in the nation. The national rate in 2006 was 13.3 deaths per 100,000 births. Even that rate is triple the government's 2010 target rate of 4.3 deaths.

The United States ranks behind 30 other nations.

And New York City fared even worse. The maternal mortality rate from 2001 to 2005 was 23.1, nearly twice the national average of 11.8 during the same time period.

Continue reading "New York birth mothers at risk; state reports one of the highest mortality rates in the nation" »

More than 1,500 people died accidental deaths in New York City during 2008, according to the Summary of Vital Statistics, recently released by New York City's Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and reported by The New York Times.

Infant deaths: New York City's infant mortality rate was 5.5 infant deaths per 1,000 live births -- down 20 percent from the 6,9 per 1,000 births recorded in 1999.

Surgical or medical error: 59 deaths were reported as a result of complications of surgical or medical care.

Work accidents: 90 people died as a result of occupational injuries, including:
- 10 in transportation accidents
- 26 as a result of violence in the workplace
- 29 in falls
- 31 work fatalities were attributed to construction accidents
- 3 fatal taxicab accidents
-2 deaths involving police or fire protection

A total of 1,651 deaths were classified as accidents and included:
- 299 deaths involving traffic accidents
- 171 pedestrian deaths
- 23 deaths involving bicyclists
- 14 deaths involving railway or subway accidents
- 388 deaths involving fatal falls
- 8 drowning deaths

Subtitled "The Conquest of Pestilence in New York City," the reported noted accidental deaths have declined by 8.8 percent in the last decade. But the rate of accidental deaths has not declined nearly as fast as other deaths, including homicide, which declined 17.5 percent during the same period.

Continue reading "More than 1,500 accidental deaths recorded in New York City during 2008" »

Pregnancy-related deaths appear to be on the rise nationwide and are four-times higher than the goal set this year by the federal government, MSNBC reported.

As the New York City medical malpractice attorneys at Queller, Fisher, Washor, Fuchs & Kool reported last month on New York Injury Lawyer blog, the rapid increase in c-section deliveries might be partly to blame.

In California, the state that has done the best job of tracking the death of birth mothers -- the mortality rate has tripled in the last decade. Nationwide, about 110 of every 1 million birth mothers are fatally injured by complications stemming from childbirth.

The Joint Commission, the agency that accredits U.S. hospitals, recently issued an alert to hospitals to take steps to protect the health of expecting mothers.

"It's unacceptable," Commission Dr. Mark Chassin told the Associated Press. "Maybe as many as half of these are preventable."

Complications from c-section deliveries, deep vein thrombosis, or DVT (blood clots that can kill when they break free from extremities and travel to the lungs), hemorrhaging injuries and uncontrolled blood pressure are among the health risks proving fatal to mothers during child birth.

For every death, 50 additional women suffer serious medical complications from pregnancy and delivery, according to the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

In 2006, the last year for which a year's worth of data is available, 13.3 maternal deaths were recorded for every 100,000 births. A decade ago, the rate was about 7. The federal government hopes to lower the rate to 3.3 maternal deaths per 100,000 births.

The boom in cesarean section births worldwide is leading to unnecessary surgeries that jeapordize women's health, The United Nation's World Health Organization warned this week in a report published in the medical journal The Lancet.

The New York City birth injury attorneys and the New York medical malpractice lawyers at Queller, Fisher, Washor, Fuchs & Kool represent families dealing with the injury or death of a child because of medical negligence, including problems during cesarean section delivery and because of surgical complications or failure to manage pregnancy.

Nearly half of all births in China are delivered by cesarean section-- the highest rate in the world. The report noted C-sections have reached "epidemic proportions" in many countries and raise the risk of complications for the mother, according to MSNBC.

The WHO found that 1 in 4 Asian births are the result of c-section; 35 percent of births in Latin America were the result of C-section in 2005; and 30 percent in the United States, where C-section births are at an all-time high.

Here in the U.S., C-sections are often performed on mothers who request it, despite a 2006 government warning against elective C-sections, according to the Associated Press. The WHO found that women undergoing C-sections that are not medically necessary are more likely to die or be admitted into intensive care units, require blood transfusions or encounter complications that lead to hysterectomies.

And U.S. studies have shown babies born by cesarean have a greater chance for respiratory problems.

"The relative safety of the operation leads people to think it's as safe as vaginal birth," said Dr. A. Metin Gulmezoglu, who co-authored the Asia report. "That's unlikely to be the case."

The study also noted that 60 percent of hospitals studied were motivated by financial incentives to perform surgeries.

Continue reading "Risk of New York childbirth injuries from C-section delivery" »

Stroke is one of the leading causes of death among infants and young children, and diagnosing adolescent stroke needs to be a priority in the medical community to prevent misdiagnosis leading to serious injury or death, according to an article in The New York Times.

The New York City medical malpractice attorneys and the birth injury lawyers at Queller, Fisher, Washor, Fuchs & Kool represent clients who have been seriously injured by a doctor or hospital's failure to diagnose or failure to manage a stroke injury.

Stroke, by some estimates, is the sixth-leading cause of death in infants and children; The Times cited the statistic in pointing out that doctors and hospitals need to be far more aggressive in detecting and treating children with stroke-like symptoms.

Strokes kill more than 130,000 people each year in the United States and are the third-largest cause of death behind cancer and heart disease, according to the American Heart Association.

"Front-line providers need to have stroke on their radar screen as a possible cause of sudden neurological illness in children," said Dr. Rebecca N. Ichord, director of the pediatric stroke program at Children's Hospital of Philadelphia.

Symptoms can include slurred speach, droopy eye, stiffness, and an inability or sudden difficulty in walking or standing; all signs quickly recognized as a possible stroke in adults.

Additionally, strokes are often treated with anticoagulants to prevent another stroke; misdiagnosis of a stroke injury in either an adult or child can lead to greater harm and even death.

"A stroke interrupts the blood supply that brings oxyggen to the nerve cells," neurologist Dr. Maurine Packard told The Times. "Without oxygen, the nerve cells die. The longer the blood supply is compromised, the greater the injury."

Continue reading "Misdiagnosed New York City stroke injuries a danger to children" »

Women who take years to get pregnant are more likely to have difficult pregnancies and may be at higher risk for birth injuries, ABC News reported.

The New York City birth injury attorneys and the medical malpractice and wrongful death lawyers at Queller, Fisher, Washor, Fuchs & Kool represent patients and families coping with birth injuries or the tragic death of a newborn.

The Findland study, conducted by Dr. Kaisa Raatikainen and colleagues from Kuopio University Hospital also found that women who take a long time to conceive were at higher risk for having problems during pregnancy and labor, including pregnancy-related diabetes and infections of the membranes around the fetus.

Women take longer to get pregnant as they age; up to 85 percent of fertile woman under 35 will become pregnant within one year of trying, compared to just half of woman older than 35.

Doctors and medical professionals must take into account an expecting mother's age, health and risk factors. Failure to manage pregnancy or surgical errors during birth can lead to birth-defects, long-term physical and mental developmental issues and infant death.

The report, published in the December issue of Fertility and Sterility investigated 17,114 pregnancies delivered at Kuopio University Hospital between 1989 and 2007.

Nearly three-quarters of the women got pregnant within six months, 12 percent took six months to a year, 6 percent took between 1 and 2 years and 4 percent took longer than two years to become pregnant.

The longer it took a woman to get pregnant, the more likely she was to have had at least one prior miscarriage.

After adjusting for age, health and other risk factors, researchers found that the woman who took more than 2 years to get pregnant were 51 percent to 64 percent were more likely to have adverse outcomes, including premature birth and an unhealthy baby.

Continue reading "Difficult conceptions can require special care to avoid New York City birth injuries" »

Premature infants and babies born at very low birth rates have an increased risk of behavioral problems and other mental health issues, including anxiety and depression, according to a study published in the January edition of the journal Pediatrics and reported by ABC News.

The finding is significant because, as the New York City birth injury lawyers at Queller, Fisher, Washor, Fuchs & Kool reported earlier this fall on New York Injury Lawyer blog, 1 in 8 babies in the United States are born prematurely. Despite medical advances, the U.S. continues to have one of the highest rates of infant mortality in the developed world.

Premature birth and birth injury can be the result of a failure by medical professionals to properly manage pregnancy and identify and treat complications. As this report suggests, damage caused by premature birth is not always readily apparent. A free consultation with a New York City medical malpractice attorney can help protect the rights of you and your family.

As survival rates have increased over the years for very preterm newborns, medical studies have continued to uncover potential long-term medical complications, including lower IQ and higher rates of behavioral problems.

This study found nearly half the premature children studied --49 of 104 children ages 7 to 16-years-old -- had higher rates of hyperactivity and attention problems, as well as symptoms of depression and anxiety.

Neither lower IQ scores nor a families' socioeconomic status were found to be important factors in a child's odds of behavioral or emotional issues. Instead, birth weight itself was the strongest factor, the researchers report in the January edition of the journal Pediatrics.

The finding "suggests that in children born prematurely, behavioral issues might be more biologically based and not easily compensated for by improvements in the environment," explained lead researcher Dr. Amy L. Conrad, of the University of Iowa College of Medicine in Iowa City.

It's possible that very low birth weight affected some children's brain development in a way that made them more vulnerable to behavioral problems. Conrad said that the aim of her team's future research is to help answer that question.

Continue reading "New York City birth injury lawyers note study links premature birth to behavioral problems" »

Each year, more than half a million babies -- 1 in 8 -- are born premature in the United States, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

As National Premature Birth Awareness Month comes to a close, the New York City birth injury lawyers at Queller, Fisher, Washor, Fuchs & Kool have noted two studies that found the United States has one the world's highest rates of premature birth, birth injury and infant mortality.

A report by the March of Dimes found that premature births in the United States have increased more than 30 percent in the last 25 years.

On Monday, Queller Fisher's New York Injury Lawyer blog reported the findings of a study that directly linked the nation's high infant mortality rate with the prevalence of premature births.

The report found 6.9 of every 1,000 infants born in the United States die before the age of 1 -- a rate that is higher than 29 other countries, according to a report in the The New York Times.

Premature birth is the leading cause of death among newborn babies and also poses serious health risks and long-term complications for infants. Some will spend weeks or months in a neonatal intensive care unit and others can face life-long problems, including:

-Cerebral Palsy
-Respiratory problems
-Cognitive impairment
-Vision and hearing problems
-Digestive complications

Even infants born just a few weeks premature can face more health problems than full-term babies, including jaundice, breathing problems and longer hospital stays.

The average first-year medical costs are about 10 times greater than for full-term births.

Warning signs of premature birth:

-Contractions
-Change in vaginal discharge
-Pelvis pressure
-Cramps
-Abdominal cramps with or without diarrhea

Carrying more than one baby, history of preterm birth, uterus or cervix complications and chronic health problems in the mother can be risk factors for premature birth. But birth can also be complicated by a doctor, hospital or health-care provider's failure to properly manage pregnancy, risk factors and the birthing process. A medical provider's negligence in treating pre-term labor may also be a cause of premature birth or the complications that contributed to premature birth or infant injury.

The birth injury attorneys at Queller Fisher handle cases involving Cerebral Palsy, Erb's Palsy, intra-ventricular hemorrhage, brain injury and other birth injuries.

Continue reading "Premature Birth Awareness Month puts focus on birth injury, infant mortality in New York" »

The news this month that about 1 in 10 of the world's babies are born premature sheds light on the significant medical and legal issues surrounding premature births and the frequent injuries, disabilities and hardship caused to infants and their families.

The New York birth injury lawyers at Queller, Fisher, Washor, Fuchs & Kool are often called to assist families dealing with the serious injury or death of a newborn infant. These tragic cases require special care and compassion for the families and extensive legal and medical knowledge and experience in the area of childbirth injuries.

The study released this month is the first attempt to measure a significant medical issue that is hidden in much of the world, according to The New York Times.

Released by the March of Dimes, the study reported the problem is most accute in poor countries, with the vast majority of the nearly 13 million premature infants born each year in Africa and Asia.

But the report found North America follows closely behind even these poorest nations -- and the number of premature infants born in the United States each year has increased more than 30 percent in the last 25 years.

Additionally, in countries like the United States, with sophisticated neonatal intensive care units, the emphasis is too often on headlines about miracle babies, which leads to a false sense of security and the under reporting of significant medical issues that often result from prematurity, including cerebral palsy, blindness and learning disabilities.

The report found 1 in 10 babies are born premature in the United States each year.

"These are conservative estimates," said Christopher Howson, an epidemiologist with the March of Dimes. "As shocking as this toll is, that toll will only rise."

The W.H.O. hopes to complete a more in-depth, country-by-country count next year.

The report found:
-An estimated 28 percent of annual neonatal deaths are due to premature birth.
-12.9 million babies are born too soon every year.
-North America (Canada and the United States combined) had the second-highest rate of premature birth, trailing only Africa.
-The rate of premature birth in the United States has increased 36 percent in the last 25 years.

If your family is struggling with the injury or death of an infant during childbirth, the New York birth injury attorneys and the personal injury and wrongful death lawyers at Queller, Fisher, Washor, Fuchs & Kool offer free and confidential appointments to discuss your rights. Call (212) 406-1700.