Postnatal / NICU Negligence

The Neonatal Intensive Care Unit of a hospital is specially designed for newborns and premature babies that need extra attention and care. Typically a newborn is sent to the NICU within twenty-four hours of delivery due to complications during the delivery process or due to a premature birth. Babies in the NICU are already at a higher risk for problems due to their precarious health status, but the risks can be compounded by NICU or postnatal negligence. Some common neonatal intensive care errors are:

• Failure to respond to high bilirubin levels
• Failure to treat jaundice
• Medication dosage errors
• Failure to monitor blood cord gases
• Improper ventilation settings
• Negligent documentation or charting
• Inattention or distraction

The consequences from NICU negligence can be devastating and long lasting. If your child has suffered injury due to postnatal negligence, it is important to talk to a competent medical malpractice attorney about your options.

Florida Postnatal and NICU Negligence Attorneys

Lisa Levine focuses in the areas of medical malpractice that affect women, including failure to diagnose breast and cervical cancer, plastic surgery errors, birth injuries, delivery room negligence and defective drugs used by women. She prides herself on her dedication to women’s health issues, and has been featured on Good Morning America and NBC News.

Mark Glassman focuses a great deal of his practices on injuries resulting from defective and dangerous drugs, as well as pharmaceutical litigation, and wrongful death litigation. Mr. Glassman has been involved in pharmaceutical cases involving the infamous diet drug, Fen-Phen, and his cases have been highlighted in professional journals such as The Daily Business Review and Contractor Magazine.

NICU Information Center

• What factors put children into the NICU?
• What are the steps to a medical malpractice case?
• How we can help

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What factors put children into the NICU?

There are a variety of reasons and circumstances for a child or baby to be placed into the NICU. The most important factors deal with the mother’s condition, the delivery room and the condition of the baby.

Some maternal factors include:

• Age of the mother (younger than 16 or older than 40)
• Multiple births (twins, triplets or more)
• Too much or too little amniotic fluid
• Drug or alcohol exposure
• High Blood Pressure (Hypertension)

Some delivery room factors include:

• Fetal distress
• Breech delivery
• Forceps or C-Section delivery
• Cord was around the baby’s neck
• Meconium present (baby’s first stool passed during pregnancy into the amniotic fluid)

Some baby factors include:

• Birth Defects
• Low birth weight
• Resuscitation in the delivery room
• Respiratory distress
• Infections
• Seizures

Some of these complications and issues cannot be avoided even with the most vigilant physicians and hospital staff. However, early detection of problems can go a long way in assuring a positive outcome for your child. Due to maternal, delivery and baby factors, the baby in the NICU is at a heightened risk for infections and medical errors. It is essential for hospital staff, nurses and doctors to make sure nothing else occurs to further challenge your baby’s recovery.

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What are the steps to a medical malpractice case?

First you need to seek counsel from experienced malpractice attorneys who can tell you if your particular situation qualifies as negligence. Most times complications do occur and physicians follow the correct procedure and a negative outcome still results. In some cases though, negligence is the key factor in the negative outcome and in those cases you need to get appropriate legal advice in order to determine your options. For the most part, in a medical malpractice case you must prove 4 things:

1. There was a doctor/patient relationship that gave rise to a reasonable duty of care
2. The doctor breached the reasonable duty of care
3. You sustained an injury
4. The injury was directly caused by the doctor’s breach of the reasonable duty of care.

Generally expert witnesses will be employed to testify to the reasonable duty of care. If a reasonable neonatologist or OBGYN doctor would have diagnosed the problem then it can be considered negligent if your neonatologist or OBGYN failed to diagnose the problem. The plaintiff or the person bringing the case must prove the negligence directly caused the injury in order to be successful.

Possible damages in a prenatal medical malpractice suit include compensation for:

• Medical bills for you and your child
• Possible lost wages
• Pain and suffering or emotional distress

It is important to talk to a lawyer about bringing prenatal cases in your jurisdiction. Tort reform has capped or disallowed compensation for punitive damages in some locations. Only an attorney can evaluate your case and tell you the likelihood of winning the case and the amount of possible damages to expect.

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How we can help

The attorneys at Levine & Glassman, P.A., are experienced and knowledgeable about all kinds of malpractice law, including postnatal and NICU negligence. We will take the time to listen to your concerns and give your case the attention it deserves. If you or your child have been injured due to postnatal or NICU negligence, you have a limited time to file your claim. You should call (954) 332-6100 or fill out our online case evaluation form immediately to schedule your free consultation.

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Resources

When your baby is in the NICU Information Guide – provides information about the NICU.

Levine & Glassman, P.A. | Florida Postnatal and NICU Negligence Attorneys

If you or a loved one has suffered injury due to postnatal or NICU negligence, you need to ensure you are well represented. The complications suffered could have been avoided and may have lasting consequences that can affect the quality of life for years to come. The attorneys at Levine & Glassman are experience medical malpractice attorneys and are able to ensure that you receive fair compensation for the damages you or your loved one suffered. If you are anywhere in Florida, including: Fort Lauderdale, Miami, West Palm Beach, Boca Raton, or the surrounding areas of Broward, Miami-Dade, or Palm Beach counties, contact Levine & Glassman for an analysis of your medical malpractice case.