Category Archives: Brain Damage
Forceps Safer Than Vacuums Or C-Sections?
Despite falling out of favor in recent years, forceps-assisted deliveries may actually be safer for newborns than C-sections and vacuums, according to a recent study. C-sections are being performed in around one-third of all births, according to 2007 statistics. That is compared to 21 percent a decade before. Vacuums are being used far more frequently in difficult births as well. The reason for the increase in the use of methods other than forceps in difficult births is not easy to determine, as statistics do not show that these other methods are safer, according to Dr. Erika F. Werner, at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. Dr. Werner is the head of a study using data on more than 400,000 births to first-time moms. The study found that those delivered with forceps were 45 percent less likely to suffer a seizure than those born via vacuum pump or C-section. Seizures at birth…
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Posted in Birth Trauma, Brain Damage Tagged birth injury attorney, birth trauma Comments Off on Forceps Safer Than Vacuums Or C-Sections?
More Premature Babies, More Brain Damage
Over 60,000 babies are born each year weighing less than 3.3 pounds. Modern medicine is allowing most premature babies to survive, but many will suffer some form of brain damage. “That means that overall rates of cerebral palsy and other neurodevelopmental disabilities are on the rise,” says David Rowitch, chief of neonatology at the University of California, San Francisco. According to Rowitch, lack of oxygen is the chief cause of brain injury in premature infants. White matter, where the “communication highways” reside, carrying messages through the brain and to the body, is damaged by oxygen deprivation. Rowitch originally discovered the white matter damage by examining dead infants, but recently has been able to take over 250 premature babies through an MRI by using a special incubator designed to go through the scanner. This allows scientists to detect damage to white matter immediately. Now that scientists can detect the damage, they…
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Posted in Birth Trauma, Brain Damage, Cerebral Palsy, Premature Birth Tagged Birth Defects, birth trauma lawyer, brain injuries, premature babies Comments Off on More Premature Babies, More Brain Damage
Michigan Family Awarded $130 Million For Daughter’s Brain Damage
A doctor’s negligence can cause unprecedented harm in the delivery of a child, and the harm can last a lifetime. A jury considered this timeframe in Michigan on Tuesday when they awarded the family of a brain-damaged girl what might be the largest medical malpractice verdict in Michigan History. The family of a 15-year old Markell VanSlembrouck, a quadriplegic girl resulting from a brain injury acquired at birth, was awarded $130 million in damages after a three-week trial where the family alleged negligence by the delivering doctor. Markell was larger than expected from gestational diabetes, but rather than perform a cesarean, Dr. Andrew Halperin from Beaumont Hospital in Royal Oak chose to induce vaginal delivery. The delivery resulted in a broken clavicle and brain damage. Quadriplegia followed, requiring round-the-clock care. The VanSlembrouck’s attorney says the award represents the cost of caring for Markell through 2077 and her lost wages, and…
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Posted in Birth Defects, Birth Trauma, Brain Damage Tagged Birth Defects, birth trauma lawyers, brain injuries Comments Off on Michigan Family Awarded $130 Million For Daughter’s Brain Damage
