Syracuse Medical Malpractice Lawyer Blog

Syracuse medical malpractice lawyer Anthony S. Bottar, managing partner of Bottar Leone, PLLC, one of Upstate New York's oldest law firms with a practice limited to medical malpractice, wrongful death, birth injuries, work injuries, brain injuries, and product/premises liability, was elected president of the New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers, an organization dedicated to protecting, preserving and enhancing the civil justice system.

The New York State Academy of Trial Lawyers boasts a membership of more than 1400 judges, law clerks, law firms, lawyers, paralegals and law students, including: Syracuse medical malpractice lawyers handling cases concerning stroke misdiagnosis, failure to diagnose cancer and failure to prevent a heart attack; Syracuse work injury lawyers handling cases concerning construction site accidents, scaffolding accidents and injuries caused by a fall from a height; Syracuse birth injury lawyers handling cases concerning fetal hypoxia and ischemia, cerebral palsy and Erb's palsy; Utica brain injury lawyers handling cases concerning concussions, post-concussion symdrome and TBI; Watertown medical malpractice lawyers handling cases concerning Samaritan Medical Center negligence and Fort Drum physician mistakes; and Watertown injury lawyers handling New York State Thruway accidents.

A recent National Institutes of Health panel announced that VBACs are not as dangerous as once believed, and that OBGYNS should reduce the barriers to women who want to try vaginal birth after cesarean section (VBAC). According to Central New York uterine rupture lawyers Bottar Leone, PLLC, VBACs are still dangerous.

In 1980, the NIH released a similar report, in which it encouraged doctors to permit vaginal deliveries after a prior cesarean section incision has weakened a pregnant mother's uterus, exposing her to increased risk for rupture and hemorrhaging. VBACs rose through the 1990s from 3% to 23%, but have decreased in frequency since 1996, to 8.5% in 2006. In 1999, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) revised its guidelines to practitioners from "encouraging" VBACs to pregnant mothers, to "offering" VBACs as an "option." Shortly thereafter, as many as 30% of hospitals prohibited VBAC deliveries.

While encouraging more VBACs, the NIH panel conceded there was "moderate evidence" of a "clear increased risk of uterine rupture in trial of labor compared to an elective repeat cesarean delivery" and noted that uterine rupture "can be catastrophic and remains the most dreaded short-term complication of a trial of labor."

In terms of risks to an unborn baby, the NIH panel found "moderate evidence" of "increased perinatal mortality and low-grade evidence of increased fetal mortality." It concluded that there was "insufficient data on the incidence of hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy in cases of VBAC versus repeat cesarean sections." Hypoxia and ischemia can lead to cerebral palsy.

Continue reading "Study Will Make Central New York VBACs More Available Despite Risk Of Uterine Rupture and Baby Brain Damage" »

Normal pregnancy lasts 40 weeks. A baby born before 37 weeks is considered a preterm delivery. A baby born before 32 weeks is considered very premature. According to Syracuse New York premature birth injury lawyers Bottar Leone, PLLC, preterm deliveries are on the rise for women who conceive through in-vitro fertilization (IVF) or intracytoplsmic sperm injection (ICSI).

Danish researchers recently published the results of a study of births from 1989 through 2006. Of the 730 babies born to women who underwent IVF or ICSI, 8% were born premature and 1.5% were born very premature, compared to 5% and 0.06%, respectively, for women who conceived "naturally."

There are many health risks for premature babies. Some premies are born with respiratory distress syndrome (RDS) and need to be on a mechanical ventilator for the first few weeks of life. Other premature baby diagnoses include intraventricular hemorrhaging (bleeding in a baby's brain following birth), periventricular leukolamacia (baby brain damage), cerebral palsy, bronchopulmonary dysplasia (when a baby needs oxygen after 36 weeks), or retinopathy of prematurity (due to abnormal blood vessels in the eyes). In addition to any of the above problems, premature babies are also predisposed to learning disabilities, problems with their hearing and vision, blindness, deafness, and mental retardation. More often than not, however, premature babies grow up with no problems whatsoever.

Continue reading "New York Preterm Birth Injury Lawyer On In-Vitro Fertilization" »

Testing of a new therapy is underway at Nationwide Children's Hospital in Columbus, Ohio, which may revolutionize the way that Syracuse babies diagnosed with cerebral palsy exercise to strengthen their muscles.

The system incorporates a harness into the use of a treadmill. The harness supports the child's weight while he or she walks, which should make it easier for cerebral palsy patients to walk without the risk of falling. As children using the system learn how to walk and grow stronger, the amount of weight carried by the harness can be decreased -- essentially returning the child's body weight to their legs.

Previously, children with cerebral palsy received physical therapy only once a week. With the treadmill program, they can receive therapy several times a week. More therapy means more practice walking, and shorter periods of complete disability. More than 90% of recent participants showed improvement in walking over the course of eight weeks. Two children made remarkable advances, with one moving completely out of braces and the other moving to less supportive bracing.

Every day, at least one child in the United States is diagnosed with cerebral palsy. All too often, cerebral palsy is the result of a doctor's mistake, such as when an OBGYN fails to perform a cesarean section despite fetal distress, when a medical resident ignores ominous fetal heart rate monitor tracings, or when a labor and delivery nurse negligently increases Pitocin despite pregnancy complications.

Continue reading "Syracuse Babies Diagnosed With Cerebral Palsy May Walk Better With Treadmill Therapy Despite Birth Injuiry" »

According to the American College of Gynecologists ("ACOG"), with members including Binghamton New York obstetricians and Binghamton New York gynecologists, women should not deliver at home because a labor and delivery complication during a Central New York home birth could result in birth injury or death.

ACOG explains that labor and delivery complications can arise without warning, even in low-risk patients. Appropriate treatment for a complication, such as a shoulder dystocia or an umbilical cord wrapped around a baby's neck, must come from an OBGYN or skilled birth center capable of determining whether a cesarean section is necessary to prevent Erb's palsy, cerebral palsy or other birth injury. In high risk cases, such as vaginal birth after cesarean ("VBAC") deliveries, a complication such as a uterine rupture could also lead to the death of a pregnant mother if hemorrhaging is not treated. ACOG reports that "the safest setting for labor, delivery, and the immediate postpartum period is in the hospital, or a birthing center within a hospital complex."

ACOG also advocates against deliveries managed by midwives who are not certified by the American College of Nurse-Midwives or American Midwifery Certification Board.

Continue reading "At Home Birth Injuries High: Binghamton New York Medical Malpractice Lawyers and OBGYNs Opposed" »

On January 4, 2010, a Fort Drum woman went into labor in her home. By the time that emergency responders arrived, the woman was in labor and the baby was crowning. The baby was delivered in a bathtub and was taken to Samaritan Medical Center in Watertown, New York, for care including difficulty breathing.

Precipitate delivery, which is any labor and delivery lasting less than 2 hours, can be dangerous for the mother and fetus. Generally, a precipitate delivery involves almost constant contractions that may be very intense. The rapid contractions make it difficult for a laboring mother to find a rhythm, and subject the fetus to constant pressure which can lead to umbilical cord compression and inadequate blood flow. Compromised blood flow may lead to low fetal oxygen levels and acidosis. Acidosis can lead to fetal brain damage and lifelong disabilities such as cerebral palsy.

Rapidly born babies also have insufficient time to adjust to life outside the womb and may require assistance with breathing. Many precipitate delivery babies are born with broken blood vessels, which may appear as red spots on the skin or burst blood vessels in the whites of the eyes. Precipitate delivery may also be associated with vaginal and perineum tears, as well as birth trauma, such as delivery of a baby onto the ground or other hard surface leading to lacerations and fractures. A tumble to the ground may also lead to umbilical cord snapping and delayed delivery of the placenta. A torn umbilical cord or late placental delivery can lead to maternal hemorrhaging.

The failure to anticipate a precipitate labor may be due to medical malpractice or hospital negligence. While precipitate labor is difficult to anticipate, their are warnings signs or risk factors, including: a multipara mother with relaxed pelvic or perineal floor muscles and/or a multipara mother with a history of strong contractions.

Continue reading "Watertown Birth Injury Lawyers Review Fort Drum Baby Delivery Complications" »

Last month, Bottar Leone, PLLC partners Edward S. Leone, Esq., and Anthony S. Bottar, Esq., secured $3,250,000.00 in compensation from a group of Syracuse medical defendants. The Syracuse birth injury lawsuit sounded in Syracuse OBGYN malpractice and Syracuse hospital negligence, and alleged that the defendants collectively failed to identify signs of fetal distress, failed to respond to labor and delivery complications, and failed to perform a cesarean section before the unborn baby's brain was permanently damaged by prolonged hypoxia. Shortly after birth, the infant plaintiff was diagnosed with spastic quadriplegic cerebral palsy, further complicated by seizures, as well as hearing and vision loss.

Plaintiff's claims included allegations that the defendants: failed to appreciate a lack of beat-to-beat variability, failed to note the absence of accelerations, failed to respond to a hypertonic contraction pattern, failed to respond to minimal variability, failed to appreciate and respond to thick meconium after rupture of membranes, prescribed Pitocin in the face of a non-reassuring fetal heat rate and uteroplacental insufficiency, and wholly failed to continuously monitor for and respond to prolonged decelerations.

Plaintiff's settlement proceeds will be used to fund a trust (for future medical care), with a lifetime value of nearly $10,000,000.00.

Indian River Central School District, located in Jefferson County, New York just minutes from Fort Drum, recently received a $125,000 grant to combat teenage pregnancy. School administrators plan to use the funds to create programs that will create respect and responsibility when it comes to sexual activity.

Fort Drum (89.2 per 1,000), Evans Mills (78.7 per 1000) and Calcium (93.1 per 1,000) consistently have teenage pregnancy rates that are higher than the New York State average (58.4 per 1,000). According to the North Country Prenatal/Perinatal Council, one reason for higher teenage pregnancy rates in Fort Drum is the age of many Fort Drum couples. Statistics show that many Fort Drum soldiers marry young, often at age 18 or 19, and quickly have children. When those children reach age 18 or 19, they too marry and have children, leading to generations of young families.

There are many health risks associated with teenage pregnancy, including labor and delivery complications such as premature delivery and low birth weight babies. Premature delivery can cause cerebral palsy, respiratory and cardiovascular deficits, and disabilities from persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn. Other risks include mental retardation and difficulty controlling body temperature or blood sugar levels.

Continue reading "Fort Drum Medical Malpractice Lawyers On North Country Teen Pregnancy " »