Injuries to infants are common. Some injuries are results of unpreventable incidents. However, other injuries occur because of the negligence of medical professionals. Physicians are tasked with performing medical actions that can prevent these types of injuries from occurring. A birth injury case, case number 17-cv-06133, in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey, has implications for New York birth injury claims.
The plaintiff went into labor and was admitted to a medical center, where the medical staff determined that the child was in a breech position. The plaintiff, however, alleged that the doctor did not perform an ultrasound to confirm this guess, and the failure to order an ultrasound was a substantial factor in causing the newborn baby’s death, according to the plaintiff’s complaint. The doctors medically induced the plaintiff’s labor, and the plaintiff’s obstetrician delivered the baby. The obstetrician was unable to determine the baby’s orientation in the birth canal. Therefore, he delivered the plaintiff’s child in a breech position. The defendant doctor made at least five failed attempts at intubation while the baby’s heart rate fell and attempted resuscitation for a half-hour before the baby was pronounced dead, due to respiratory failure.
The United States government was named as a defendant in the lawsuit because the doctor named as a defendant was a Public Health Service doctor. The United State government is seeking indemnification from the defendant doctor for any liability that attaches from the underlying medical malpractice claim. The United States government alleged that the defendant doctor had a duty to exercise the degree of skill and care that is required of health care, medical, and nursing professionals under similar circumstances in making all diagnoses, examinations, tests, and treatments, and not to abandon the plaintiff in any way.
The United States government’s third-party complaint noted that the person largely at fault was the doctor who tried to intubate the baby after delivery when the baby was not breathing properly. It was this doctor’s actions that led the government to seek indemnification for costs that arise out of this lawsuit.
Regardless of the cause and nature of your child’s birth injury, you owe it to yourself and your family to seek legal representation. We are happy to help you understand your situation in a free, no-obligation consultation. We can determine if your child’s injury resulted from medical negligence. If so, we will fight aggressively on your behalf while you focus on caring and providing for your loved ones. We represent patients and their families in Syracuse and all over Upstate New York. Call us to discuss your case at 833-200-2000 or contact us via our online form.
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