Articles Posted in Prenatal Care Negligence

As people decide to have children at an older age, fertility clinics have grown in popularity. In addition, medical advances related to fertility have been a focus on medical researchers. For example, the NIH reports that the amount of research dollars related to fertility has grown from $78 million to $86 million over the last few years. However, as more people seek the services of fertility specialists, there are growing risks for New York birth injuries and prenatal care negligence. There is a current case pending before a New York court of appeals that revolves around the potential liability of a fertility clinic as it relates to genetically defective eggs.

The plaintiffs are two separate couples who allege that a New York fertility clinic, through the clinic’s fertility doctor, provided eggs that led to their children being born with genetic disorders. Both children have what’s known as Fragile X syndrome, which is a disease that can cause mental and physical developmental issues. The plaintiffs’ complaint alleges that the defendants, the fertility doctor and his clinic, failed to test the women who donated the eggs in question to assess whether those women were carriers for Fragile X syndrome. The damages relate to the expenses of caring for a disabled child.

The primary issue in the case is whether the claim is time-barred by New York’s statute of limitations for medical malpractice claims. Generally, the statute of limitations for a claim is 36 months from the date of the alleged act of malpractice.

Childbirth injuries can be caused by innumerable factors, but the most common reason for a childbirth injury is pre-term birth. Sometimes the patient shows warning signs or symptoms that she might be experiencing pre-term birth. The patient’s doctors have the responsibility to recognize those symptoms and act accordingly, or as formulated under New York law, perform medical services in accordance with the applicable standard of care. The plaintiff in a New York birth injury lawsuit claimed that her physicians did not heed the early warning signs, and as a result, her child was born deaf and with vocal cord damage. The jury agreed, awarding her $26 million in damages after a month-long trial.

The plaintiff conceived twin girls via in vitro fertilization. However, the plaintiff began showing signs of preterm labor only five months into her pregnancy. The plaintiff visited the Brooklyn medical center, where she was being treated, and complained of painful cramping and brownish fluid releases, which suggested signs of internal bleeding. During her two visits, the plaintiff was seen by a resident rather than an attending doctor. Both times, she was discharged. The plaintiff’s experts argued that the doctors could have prevented what happened next if they would have ordered bed rest or prescribed to her hormones that can suppress premature labor. The plaintiff had a sonogram one week later and learned that her cervix had shortened from three centimeters to one centimeter.

The plaintiff delivered twins later in the month while they were premature.  One of the twin sisters died a month after childbirth. The other twin suffered hearing loss and vocal paralysis, allegedly as a result of the medical center’s negligence.