Posted on August 14, 2018 in Medical Malpractice

A newlywed couple is suing two Cooley Dickinson Hospital (CDH) doctors over an alleged improperly performed birth that left their newborn daughter permanently injured with cerebral palsy. The couple filed the lawsuit in early 2016 in the Hampshire Superior Court. According to the lawsuit, the doctors, Jay Sprong and Lisa Stephens, neglected to explain the risks of a vaginal birth after a previous Cesarean delivery (c-section).

The newborn's mother was admitted to Cooley Dickinson Hospital in 2013. She alleges that when her water broke, one of the doctors told her she could continue with a vaginal birth without mentioning any risks to her baby. The infant, however, showed signs of cardiac distress with her heart rate dropping as low as 50 beats per minute. The lawsuit points out that the doctors should have called for a c-section delivery.

The court pleadings explain that the mother's uterus ruptured, allowing baby girl to “float in a blood-filled abdominal cavity.” According to the pleading, this is because the doctors neglected the signs that the baby was in distress.

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 Posted on August 14, 2018 in Medical Malpractice

In Illinois, the lead plastic surgeon Dr. Shah of A New You clinic in Cook County will potentially pay $50,000 for grossly violating a woman's privacy by intentionally posting pictures of her breast augmentation online and causing her emotional distress.

The woman, who has chosen to be identified only as Jane Doe, visited the suburban clinic on an early afternoon in December to speak to Dr. Shah about a tummy tuck and a breast augmentation surgery. During the consultation, Jane Doe agreed to have the surgery, where Dr. Shah took photos of her exposed breasts with an iPhone to document the progress of her surgery. Although Jane Doe had signed a consent form during her consultation expressing that she did not want her photos used for public advertising, the clinic posted her pictures on their website anyway. The woman says she immediately recognized herself from the "highly distinctive freckle pattern on her chest which is easily recognizable by friends and family" and has been "humiliated" by the release of the photos, suffering "intense fear that her close family members" would discover them. The photos were up for an entire year before the she discovered them.

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 Posted on July 20, 2018 in Medical Malpractice

Birth injuries due to physician negligence can have long-lasting, even permanent, effects on a child's quality of life. When a child is injured before, during, or shortly after birth because of a medical professional's negligence, his or her parents may pursue compensation for their related damages through a medical malpractice claim.

Below are a few common birth injuries associated with physician negligence. These are not the only injuries a child can suffer at birth. Others include Bell's Palsy, subconjunctive hemorrhaging, and caput succedaneum.

Broken Bones and Soft Tissue Injuries

A newborn can suffer broken bones and soft tissue injuries anywhere in his or her body due to rough handling by the medical professionals attending the birth or because of conditions like shoulder dystocia, which occurs when one of a baby's shoulders is trapped behind the mother's pubic bone during birth.

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 Posted on July 20, 2018 in Medical Malpractice

Before you can have a medical procedure performed, you must provide the doctor with informed consent. This is because you have bodily autonomy, the right to control what happens to your body. Many medical procedures carry some level of risk of adverse side effects or complications, and a key component of bodily autonomy is having the right to decide for yourself whether a specific medical procedure's benefits outweigh these risks.

Obtaining a patient's informed consent before performing a procedure is part of the standard of care for everything a doctor does. In most cases, performing a procedure without obtaining the patient's informed consent beforehand is an act of medical malpractice.

Required Steps for Obtaining Informed Consent

To obtain a patient's informed consent to a procedure, a doctor must:

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 Posted on July 05, 2018 in Birth Injuries

Cerebral palsy is one of the most commonly cited birth defects associated with acts of medical malpractice. Any error on the part of a doctor or another type of healthcare provider, such as a nurse or a hospital's administration staff, can be considered an act of medical malpractice if another professional in the same position would not reasonably have taken the same action, and the unreasonable action resulted in a victim's injury, worsened condition, or premature death.

Cerebral palsy is a movement disorder caused by injury to the developing brain. People who live with cerebral palsy can exhibit exaggerated reflexes, uncontrolled motions, stiff and weak muscles, and poor coordination.

Injuries Sustained Before and During Birth

The majority of cerebral palsy cases are caused by injuries sustained before birth. These include:

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 Posted on July 01, 2018 in Slip and Fall

The indoor slip and fall hazards you face are consistent throughout the year. Wet tiles, broken steps, and unsecured carpets can cause injuries 12 months out of the year. Outdoor slip and fall hazards, on the other hand, tend to vary by the season.

Some of these hazards are weather-related, like ice and snow during the winter. Others are present all year, but only an issue to consider during certain seasons because they are related to the activities people enjoy at specific times of year. Below are a few of the slip and fall hazards you can face during the summer months. If you are injured by one due to another party's negligence, you may pursue compensation for your damages through a personal injury claim.

Wet Tiles

For many, summer means it is time to hit the pool. Many pools are surrounded by tiles, which can become quite slippery when they are wet.

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 Posted on June 19, 2018 in Car Accident

There are many, many ways you can be injured in a car accident, and not all of them are physical. Following an exceptionally traumatic car accident, you can experience post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), a condition characterized by debilitating anxiety surrounding a specific event. You can suffer from PTSD after a car accident regardless of whether you were physically injured.

PTSD is treatable. If you experience one or more of the following symptoms after being involved in a car accident, discuss them with your doctor to get appropriate treatment.

PTSD Symptoms

Sometimes, PTSD symptoms are difficult for the victim to recognize. This is true with many mental conditions, like depression and anxiety. When an individual suffers from PTSD, he or she can experience:

• Anxiety;
• Irritability;
• Social isolation;
• Self-destructive behaviors;

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 Posted on June 15, 2018 in Car Accident

Car accidents do not only cause physical injuries. They can also cause victims to suffer psychological injuries, sometimes alongside physical injuries and in other cases, alone.

Post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is one of the psychological ways a car accident victim can suffer after being involved in a collision. It stems from the trauma of being put through an extremely stressful situation. Like other psychological disorders, it can be difficult to recognize PTSD symptoms when you do not know what to look for. Below are a few PTSD symptoms that can arise after a car accident. PTSD is treatable with medication and psychotherapy. If you think you are suffering from PTSD after a car accident, seek help.

Self-Destructive Behaviors

An individual with PTSD can exhibit self-destructive behaviors, behaviors that sabotage happiness and recovery. A few examples of self-destructive behaviors include:

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 Posted on June 08, 2018 in Catastrophic Injuries

When you hit your head in a slip or fall, you can suffer a traumatic brain injury (TBI). TBIs are divided into two broad categories - open head injuries, which are injuries where the skull is penetrated, and closed head injuries, which are injuries where the skull is not opened. As you can imagine, an open head injury has obvious symptoms. A closed head injury often does not, and because of this, many slip and fall victims who suffer closed head TBIs do not realize they are injured and do not seek the medical care they need. Familiarize yourself with the symptoms of a closed head TBI so you can recognize them in yourself or another victim.

If you slip and fall, seek medical attention for your injury as soon as possible. An accurate diagnosis will enable you to receive the medical care you need, which depends on the severity of your injury.

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 Posted on June 08, 2018 in Car Accident

When you are involved in a car accident, the steps you take in the moments immediately after the collision play a big role in your personal injury claim's success later. Even if you are not sure if you will file a personal injury claim, take the following steps anyway. After receiving a diagnosis from your doctor, you might have a different opinion on whether pursuing monetary compensation for your damages is necessary.

Make Sure You and All Others are Safe

The very first thing you should do is check on everybody involved in the collision. If you or somebody else needs emergency medical care, call 911. In critical situations, prompt treatment can be the difference between life and death.

Call the Police

Call the local police to have an officer dispatched to the scene. Once the officer arrives, fill out a police report with him or her.

Take Copious Photographs

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