“Bottar Law, PLLC is presently prosecuting several New York medical malpractice lawsuits concerning the wrongful death of an infant from Group B streptococcus,” said Michael A. Bottar, Esq., a Syracuse birth injury lawyer. “Even though GBS is the leading cause of infectious death in infants, it often goes untreated. Many pregnant mothers do not receive Penicillin when they should and the delayed diagnosis of GBS can be deadly.
In an effort to decrease the number of GBS infections, the Centers of Disease Control and Prevention released guidelines in 2002 which required that all women undergo vaginal-rectal screening for GBS colonization between 35 and 37 weeks of gestation. Recently, the CDC released the 2010 Group B strep guidelines which modified the manner in which women presenting in preterm labor are to be treated. Under the 2010 guidelines, doctors are required to obtain a GBS culture when the woman presents to the hospital and start an antibiotic regimen. If the woman progresses into full labor, the antibiotics should continue through delivery. If, after observation, medical staff determine that the woman is not in labor, then the antibiotics should be discontinued. No longer should antibiotics be continued for 48 hours.
An abdominal delivery (i.e., a cesarean section) does not eliminate the risk of GBS transmission. Group B strep can be passed from mother to baby even through intact membranes and in the absence of labor (although the risk is low). This is why antibiotics should be administered at least 4 hours before delivery.
If you were never tested for GBS, or tested positive for GBS but were not treated with antibiotics, and your baby was born with signs and symptoms of early onset GBS (e.g., breathing problems, blood pressure instability, heart rate instability, kidney problems, sepsis, or meningitis), you may benefit from speaking with a New York attorney with a practice limited to medical malpractice and birth injury claims.
The trial lawyers at Bottar Law, PLLC, have decades of experience investigating, prosecuting and trying to verdict all types of medical malpractice cases, including those concerning babies diagnosed with early-onset and late-onset GBS. If your child has been diagnosed with a disability following a group B strep infection, you and/or your family may be entitled to compensation for lifelong health care, medical expenses, medical bills, loss of income, and pain and suffering.
To discuss your case or concerns with an experienced Central New York medical malpractice and birth injury lawyer, contact Bottar Law, PLLC at (315) 422-3466, (800) 336-LAWS, or by e-mail at info@bottarleone.com.