Maryland Medical Malpractice Attorney Blog

Most of us have probably heard of Zika and know it is most often transmitted through mosquito bites and unprotected sex with infected people.  Zika is also linked to birth defects.

This is not a blog post about Maryland law or medical malpractice.  But we are interested in the health of babies. This is something that people need to understand.

Zika Virus

The recent decision by the New York Supreme Court Appellate Division in J.H. v. New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, 169 A.D.3d 880 (NY App. Div. 2019) answers the question of whether a plaintiff can serve late notice of a claim upon a hospital operator. At issue, specifically in J.H., is whether a plaintiff, when there are actual knowledge and an absence of prejudice on part of the defendant, can be granted leave to serve a late notice of a claim despite lacking a reasonable excuse.

New York Law

Under New York’s General Municipal Law § 50–e[1][a], service of a notice of claim is a condition precedent to bringing suit against a public corporation and requires that the notice is served within 90 days after the claim accrues. Unless leave of court is made, late service of the original notice of claim is a nullity. Additionally, after the statute of limitations has run courts lack the authority to deem that late notice of claim timely served nunc pro tunc. The statute of limitations under General Municipal Law § 50–e[1][a] provides that the limitation period for commencing a tort action against a municipal corporation is one year and 90 days, however, in cases such as J.H., the statute of limitations does not expire after one year and 90 days because a plaintiffs infancy tolls the statute of limitations for 10 years.

The U.S. has long had the highest rate of maternal fatalities during childbirth of any country in the developed world.

STOP.  Read that again.  We are inundated with so many statistics these days that we lose sight of the ones that matter.  This one matters. This is insane.

The rate of maternal injuries and deaths during childbirth in U.S. hospitals has been steadily increasing over the decade. For their part, hospitals have insisted that this increase was largely out of their control and not a reflection of any declining quality of care. Hospital advocates suggest that poverty rates and an increase in pre-existing maternal health conditions are to blame for these morbidity rates.

A recent study identified several specific conditions during pregnancy that appear to increase a baby’s chances of suffering hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) which is a very serious type of childbirth brain injury. This research helps advance our understanding of HIE’s causes, which will allow improvements in prevention and treatment.  This is what we have to work towards — getting the science and the medicine better so we have less oxygen-deprived children during the birthing process.

What is hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy?

Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), is a brain injury resulting from a lack of oxygen and blood flow to the baby’s brain. It can lead to seizures, difficulty feeding, low muscle tone, organ dysfunction, and breathing difficulties. HIE may cause long-term neurologic disabilities such as cerebral palsy, intraventricular hemorrhages, and learning disabilities.

Do midwives have the midwives — basically nurses — have the medical knowledge and insight to provide consultation for mothers or help them make decisions that are a matter of life and death?

My feeling is that some do and some don’t.  But I think, on balance, why not have an OB/GYN?  If you are having a child, you want to mitigate risk.  The best way to mitigate risk is to find the best doctor you possibly can to guide you through pregnancy and deliver your child.

• Why midwives are both easier and harder to sue

Since cerebral palsy (CP) is associated with children, much of the data comprises infants and young children. There is little information on difficulties that adults with cerebral palsy face as they get older. However, a recent study fills in this lack of data. Published in JAMA Neurology, it concluded that adults with cerebral palsy are more likely to be diagnosed with depression and anxiety.

The study                               

Conducted by British, American, and Irish researchers, they used data from the United Kingdom’s Clinic Practice Research Datalink primary care database. Their data spans the years 1987 to 2015. The researchers examined 1,705 adults, ages 18 to 99, with cerebral palsy who also received depression and anxiety diagnoses. They compared each adult with CP to three adults without CP. The researchers chose these individuals based on the same age, gender, and primary care practice as adults with CP. The data covers about 7% of the country’s population. It comprises clinical events, prescriptions, referrals, and hospital admissions.