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Author: mslaw

The Continued Increase In Maternal Birth Injury Deaths

Maternal Birth Injury Deaths

The dramatic and escalating number of pregnancy-related maternal deaths in the U.S. during the past couple of decades can be summed up in one word: unacceptable. Current research shows that pregnancy-related maternal birth injury deaths have continued to increase.1,2,3 It is a disturbing scenario, particularly given the many developments and advances in medicine and medical care aimed at saving lives. Even more disturbing is when dangerous pregnancy-related medical situations are preventable, yet result in provable maternal birth injury medical malpractice deaths. The numbers tell a sobering story. According to the CDC, the number of reported pregnancy-related maternal deaths in the United States...

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Burden of Proof In Birth Injury Medical Malpractice Lawsuits

Burden of Proof In Birth Injury Medical Malpractice Lawsuits

Like every type of personal injury lawsuit in Florida, birth injury medical malpractice lawsuits require that the victim (the injured plaintiff or that plaintiff’s representative) prove that negligence occurred, and as a result, damages resulted. This is known as the burden of proof. Under Chapter 768 of the Florida statutes, the burden of proof requirement is as follows:1 768.725 Punitive damages; burden of proof.—In all civil actions, the plaintiff must establish at trial, by clear and convincing evidence, its entitlement to an award of punitive damages. The “greater weight of the evidence” burden of proof applies to a determination of the amount of...

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A Sharp Eye On Justice: Behind Miami Attorney Bo Sharp’s Latest Record-Setting Birth Injury Settlement

Judgement Award Settlement for Personal Injury Settlements

Noted Miami Attorney Richard "Bo" Sharp, Esq. of Mallard & Sharp, P.A. is no stranger to success when it comes to achieving justice and securing fair compensation for victims of birth injury medical malpractice negligence. In 2017, he served as lead counsel in the $33.8 million Dixon v. USA victory, the largest medical malpractice verdict in Florida that year and the largest medical malpractice verdict ever recovered in Miami-Dade County to date. The case involved a male infant who was the victim of malpractice, and as a result suffered severe injuries due to the delivering doctor failing to address a...

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Previously Rejected Medical Malpractice Birth Injury Lawsuits

Brachial Plexus Birth Injuries

Statutes of limitations. Case overload. Lawyer inexperience or preferred cases. These are only a few of the reasons why medical malpractice birth injury lawsuits might be rejected by a lawyer or legal team. In some instances, it can leave victims and parents (or surrogates) of medical malpractice birth injuries in tight spots with regard to securing legal help within the legally allotted time frame. This is especially true when legal help is sought too close to the time the statutes of limitations are set to expire. Today more than ever, time is of the essence in seeking legal help for potential...

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A New Deadline On General Negligence Lawsuits

General Negligence Lawsuits

What constitutes negligence? It’s a question often asked, and has important legal bearings when it comes to filing lawsuits. Cornell Law School defines negligence as follows:1 “A failure to behave with the level of care that someone of ordinary prudence would have exercised under the same circumstances. The behavior usually consists of actions, but can also consist of omissions when there is some duty to act (e.g., a duty to help victims of one's previous conduct).” The signing of House Bill 837, Civil Remedies, into law on March 24, 2023 imposes a new deadline on general negligence lawsuits from four years to two years (active duty service members are exempt from this provision).2,3...

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Maternal Birth Injury Deaths: 2023 Update

Maternal Birth Injury Deaths

The number of maternal birth injury deaths in the U.S. has risen at an alarming rate over the past few years.1,2 And while Covid-19 is often the presumed culprit, the virus itself may in fact be only one factor that has created an offshoot of other causes and risks. For example, changes in hospital and birthing center staff, including physicians, specialists, and other staff members, as well as changes in protocol, often require that individuals undergo additional training. This is particularly likely in cases in which individuals change professions within the medical field or are new to medicine. This can...

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Are We Too Late To File A Birth Injury Lawsuit?

Birth Injury Lawsuit

Time is of the essence in medical malpractice negligence birth injury lawsuit cases, partly due to how Florida law is structured. The Florida Statute of Limitations (Chapter 95, Florida Statutes), allows only two years from the date medical malpractice negligence (including malpractice involving birth injuries) is discovered, or should have been discovered with the exercise of due diligence.1 The statute also notes in detail that in no event can a legal action be commenced later than 4 years from the date of the incident or occurrence out of which the cause of action accrued, with the exception that the 4-year...

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Three Causes of Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy HIE Birth Injury

HIE Birth Injury

A decrease or lack of oxygen or blood flow to an infant’s brain, known as birth asphyxia, can lead to hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy HIE birth injury, a form of brain dysfunction.1,2 HIE may be recognized by a number of symptoms, including breathing problems, unusual muscle tone, a lack of common reflexes, and seizures, among other things.1  It can occur at any point before birth, after birth, or during labor and delivery. In some cases, it is due to medical malpractice negligence in the form of an HIE birth injury. Three causes of HIE are: 1) umbilical cord compression or prolapse, 2)...

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Brachial Plexus Birth Injuries

Brachial Plexus Birth Injuries

Brachial plexus birth injuries are those involving a network of nerves that can affect an infant’s shoulders, arms, or hands, or any combination thereof, and may even affect an infant’s eyes.1  Unfortunately, despite the many advances and improvements in childbirth-related healthcare over the past several decades, the number of brachial plexus birth injuries has continued to rise.2 In some cases, such injuries are due to medical malpractice negligence. They may result in short-term or long-term physical problems, depending on a number of factors. Brachial plexus birth injuries —  particularly those that persist long term — can be caused by  maternal health...

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Episiotomy Birth Injuries

Episiotomy Birth Injuries

Among the numerous types of potential medical malpractice negligence birth injuries are those involving episiotomies. An episiotomy is a common procedure in which an incision is made through a mother’s or surrogate’s perineum during childbirth.1 In some cases, episiotomies result in episiotomy birth injuries that affect a mother (or surrogate), a baby, or both. For example, according to doctors Wise and Kodner in an article in Clinical Gynecology, the rate of a mother experiencing a sphincter injury due to a midline episiotomy during vaginal delivery is up to nine-fold that of a mother who does not have an episiotomy.2 Potential episiotomy...

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