In September 2017, a Superior Court jury issued a $3 million dollar verdict against a Dover OB-GYN who was accused of causing permanent nerve damage and paralysis to a newborn’s right arm by forcefully pulling the baby out by his head during delivery.

Though the incident happened in 2008, the baby’s mother did not file a medical malpractice lawsuit until 2014 in New Castle County Superior Court, Delaware. According to court documents, Peter Wong - the OB-GYN involved in the delivery - pulled too hard on the baby’s head and neck while trying to dislodge the baby’s stuck shoulder. Monica Broughton, the child’s mother, stated that Peter Wong did not disclose the risks associated with the procedure to her beforehand.

During the trial, Peter Wong argued that he had not been medically negligent and that the baby’s injuries were as a result of the maternal forces of labor.

Read more: OB-GYN Ordered to Pay $3,000,000 in Birth Injury Lawsuit

Pregnancy and childbirth are two extremely complex medical conditions which require the care of experienced doctors. The reason for this is that there is much that can go wrong during pregnancy and childbirth, leading to birth injuries - some of which can be so severe that they are then classified as birth traumas.

Read more: Birth Injuries and Birth Trauma

What Is Cerebral Palsy?

Cerebral Palsy is a neurological condition which commonly presents through disordered movement, muscle tone, and posture. It is caused by damage affecting your child’s developing brain before and/or during birth - this is why it is considered a birth injury.

What separates cerebral palsy from other birth injuries is that its effect on functional abilities varies significantly. This means that the medical costs associated with the condition will also vary, and the emotional strain on you and your family will be affected as well. For example, some individuals with cerebral palsy may have an average intellectual capacity whereas other individuals may not.

Read more: Birth Injuries and Cerebral Palsy

Birth Injuries and Medical Malpractice

Before a medical malpractice case can be brought forward, an understanding of birth injury is required. Additionally, several criteria need to be met in order to classify as a birth injury. If these criteria cannot be met, then a case of medical malpractice cannot be made.

What Is Birth Injury?

A birth injury is a physical injury that your baby and/or the mother received before, during, or just after the birthing process.

Read more: Birth Injuries and Medical Malpractice

Statistically, not too many new parents in New York will have an infant with infantile epileptic encephalopathy (EIEE), an early childhood seizure disorder. But when children do have it, it can contribute to intellectual and developmental delays and issues with physical movements related to cognitive processing. Even when children with EIEE are on medication, frequent and debilitating seizures may still occur as much as 50 times a day. Researchers have now identified the genetic cause of this neurological disorder.

Read more: Cause of disease linked to childhood seizures identified

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