A report out of Boston, MA today. A Suffolk County jury has determined that the damages owed to this family are $23.8 Million for cerebral palsy. The case involved obstetricians from Mass General Hospital.

www.wrgb.com

The NY Court of Appeals has held that a mother cannot recover damages for the emotional distress she suffered as a result of giving birth to a disabled child.

This case grew out of a ruling in NY last year that allowed a mother to sue for emotional distress when her baby was stillborn or she miscarried. The reasoning used then was: There was no other way to hold the medical professional liable under then New York Law if the baby died because of malpractice. That case is Broadnax v. Gonzalez and Fahey v. Canino, 2 NY3d 148 (2004)

But the court said Tuesday that when the child is born alive and can bring a malpractice action for injuries that occurred in the womb, post-birth damages are available only to the infant.

Therefore the mother has no independent claim.

You can read the case here: Sheppard-Mobley v. King

Source: Parental Nuturing can help premies survive
at 2005-09-16 14:26:13

I love this. So often the emphasis is on high tech medicine and the latest breakthroughs designed to fight cancers or increase survival for brain injuries. Here is a study that suggests that simply allowing parents to interact with premies and "nurture" them may increase their survival chances and reduce the risk of brain injury and cerebral palsy.

Results from a study performed at Royal Children's Hospital in Melbourne indicate an emphasis on parental nuturing to reduce postpartum white matter injury and lower the babies' susceptibility to cognitive and motor diseases such as cerebral palsy. ...

The results show that the stress of living the first days of one's life in a neonatal intensive care unit affects frontal brain regions, especially the extent and reversibility of white matter damage. Tender loving care in the form of more cuddling and other positive interactions with parents soon after birth improves the baby's behavior and brain structure, Inder sa

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Brain Injury Occurrence and Mortality in New Hampshire
at 2005-09-16 14:26:13

One out of every 250 residents in New Hampshire suffers a Traumatic Brain Injury resulting in death or hospital based treatment each year.

For every one Traumatic Brain Injury death, 26 people are hospitalized or receive acute care treatment in a hospital ER.

Falls and vehicular accidents are the leading cause of traumatic head injury deaths and hospitalizations.

This and a substantial amount of other useful data on the occurrences and mortalities related to traumatic brain injuries has been provided by New Hampshire Brain Injury Association, the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Developmental Services, and the New Hampshire Brain and Spinal Cord Injury Advisory Counsel. The report, entitled "Traumatic Brain Injury and Spinal Cord Injury Occurrence and Mortality in New Hampshire" contains a substantial amount of information available to the publ

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A Concussion? How Bad Could It Be?
at 2005-09-16 14:26:13

We often hear the word "concussion" used when people bang their heads on an object, or when they are hit on the head. But Stedman's Medical Dictionary defines the term "concussion" to mean, "An injury to a soft structure, especially the brain, produced by a violent blow and followed by a temporary or prolonged loss of function." This is a good example of why lawyers need to use medical experts to educate themselves, and the jury, to provide a better understanding of a client's injuries.

It seems that we hear the term "concussion" used in many situations that are probably not technically correct. In representing injured clients, lawyers are required to be very cautious about what terms are used, and what those terms mean. This is especially true when it comes to complex injuries involving the brain.

The phrase "Traumatic Brain Injury" may elicit an image of a much more severely injured person than the word "concussion." However, both terms might

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