When a child is born at an Illinois hospital, it is vital for the hospital and its staff to act properly in relation to post-birth care. If a hospital and its staff are negligent in the providing of post-birth care, it can result in infants getting seriously hurt. Some examples of negligence that sometimes occurs in connection to post-birth care at hospitals are: failure to properly evaluate an infant’s condition, failure to properly diagnose problems an infant is experiencing and failure to provide proper treatment to an infant.
A jury recently reached a verdict in a case involving post-birth care. The case was from another state.
The case involved a boy who was born at a hospital in New York six years ago. The boy’s family alleged that, after the boy was born, doctors and nurses at the hospital committed negligence by:
- Failing to conduct proper examinations of the boy.
- Failing to properly respond to concerns that were expressed about yellowing that was occurring to the boy’s skin.
- Failing to provide the boy with jaundice treatment.
- Discharging the boy too soon.
According to the boy’s family, these negligent actions resulted in the boy not receiving treatment for severe jaundice he had in time to prevent it from causing serious brain damage. As a result of the brain injuries the boy suffered, he currently does not have use of his legs and arms and has no speaking ability.
A medical malpractice lawsuit was brought against the hospital in connection to these allegations. The jury in the case ruled against the hospital and awarded the boy a monetary judgment to the tune of millions of dollars.
As this case illustrates, negligent post-birth care can sometimes lead to children suffering serious brain injuries. Such injuries can result in a child having life-long care needs and a child’s family facing substantial care costs. Thus, it is very important that hospitals are held financially accountable when they or their staff commit negligence in relation to post-birth care.
Source: New York Daily News, “Disabled Brooklyn boy awarded $25 million in untreated jaundice case against New York Methodist Hospital,” Doyle Murphy, Nov. 19, 2013