Syracuse Personal Injury Law Blog

Having a baby is supposed to be a joyous time, but for some New York parents, this wonderful time turns into sadness because of a birth injury. According to HealthcareBusinessTech.com, around 30 percent of birth injuries are preventable. Prevention starts with good care plans developed by caregivers.

A group of hospitals came together to start using something called the Premier Perinatal Safety Initiative. Under this initiative, the focus was placed on increasing team communication between all the caregivers working with a pregnant mother. In addition, each team worked using a care bundle, which included a set of four directives. These directives outlined specific things each team must do during the care of the mother. These could be things like performing certain exams before administering medications known to cause complications or carefully assessing the baby’s weight.

Among the hospitals that participated in the initiative, saw a reduction in birth traumas of 22 percent with a 15 percent decrease in injuries to mothers. Claims for injuries went down by 39 percent in a four-year period, too.

It is commonly thought that in the case of a birth injury or medical malpractice claim, only the doctor can be held accountable. In actuality, the hospital, nurses, other medical staff and even the pharmaceutical companies can be held accountable.

When it comes to birth injuries, hospitals can be held responsible for their own negligence as a corporation or vicariously liable for the negligence of their medical staff or employees. A hospital is responsible for hiring staff with the proper credentials, education, training and verification and also of providing the appropriate training to its staff. If a hospital hires an employee without looking into the employee’s credentials, education and training then it can be held liable. This is also the case where the hospital knows that an employee is not competent but allows them to perform in the hospital.

Hospitals are required to have an appropriate number of staff and nurses at all times in case of emergencies. Hospitals can also be held accountable when their medical facilities fail to protect the baby or mother from harm or is the cause of harm. It can also be held liable if tests are not properly performed, if medical records were not properly organized, or if the hospital did not allow treatment to the patient on the basis of their religion, gender, race or their ability to pay.

It is widely known that a negligent doctor ultimately takes the fall in case of a birth injury attributed to medical malpractice. In actual sense, both the hospital management and nurses can be held accountable in case complications arise during the delivery process of a newborn child.

Since the hospital management is responsible for the hiring of new staff, it is in their best interests to adhere to strict regulations regarding verified credentials, training, verification and education of new and existing employees. The absence of such prudent requirements can inexplicably lead to medical malpractice with a birth injury the worst case scenario. To aggravate the situation, certain hospitals opt to hire unqualified workers, yet they can abruptly affect the hospital’s reputation sooner rather than later. Hospitals dedicated to effective service delivery should possess adequate staff, comprising of doctors, nurses and cleaners at all times to accommodate the regular influx of patients.

In the absence of such professionals, a hospital can be sued for endangering an infant or mother during critical emergency procedures. Incomplete tests can also throw a spanner in the works by piling more charges to the guilty party. As a victim, it is irrefutable that your physical and mental wellbeing might never be the same again. Whether it’s a serious injury such as a uterine rupture, a brain injury or even a stillbirth from an expectant woman, hoping for a full recovery might seem like a daunting task, to say the least. The substantial medical expenses will be catered for by compensation upon a conclusive inquiry. Medical misdiagnosis isn’t a far-fetched idea when a negligent doctor prescribes the wrong medication courtesy of poorly organized medical records.