New York Medical Malpractice Lawyers at Fitzgerald & Fitzgerald Negotiate $5 Million Settlement

NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwire - Jan 23, 2013) -  The New York medical malpractice lawyers at Fitzgerald & Fitzgerald have been representing clients who have been harmed by substandard medical practice since 1971. The firm handles cases that include birth injury lawsuits, cerebral palsy lawsuits and several other types of litigation that involve medical negligence. The firm hereby announces that it has successfully negotiated a settlement in the amount of $5 million on behalf of a child client who suffers from cerebral palsy, spastic quadriplegia and other conditions that were allegedly the result of the defendant's negligence.

Specifically, this New York medical malpractice lawsuit was filed in the Bronx County Supreme Court against a defendant hospital. The lawsuit was given a case number of A06143, and the case sought damages from the hospital based on allegations that the defendant hospital's staff departed from good and accepted medical practice in the care of infant plaintiff in failing to diagnose arrest of labor, administering Pitocin when it was contraindicated, failing to stop the Pitocin when there was evidence of a non-reassuring fetal heart rate, and using vacuum extraction.

The case concerned a child who was born at 25 weeks of gestation at the defendant hospital. These court documents stated that the mother of the plaintiff child had not had an eventful pregnancy. The documents indicated that the mother had not had any surgery during pregnancy nor did she suffer through any injuries or illnesses during this 25-week period.

On the day of the plaintiff child's birth, the mother began to experience labor pains and her water broke. She reported to the defendant hospital where she, according to the court documents, requested a C-section birth. The hospital staff allegedly told the mother that they were going to try to deliver the baby vaginally. However, the child experienced fetal distress during the birth and the child was ultimately extracted via emergency C-section.

The court documents went on to state that seven months after the child was born, an MRI revealed what was described as 'significant' brain damage including trauma that was inflicted on the basal ganglia and other parts of the brain. Ultimately, the child was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, spastic quadriplegia, mental retardation, and asthma. The documents further indicated that the child is nonverbal and confined to a wheelchair, and that he is only able to eat foods that are mashed and pureed. The defendant hospital, rather than proceed to litigation, decided to agree upon a settlement amount of $5,000,000.00 to close the matter.

About Fitzgerald & Fitzgerald
Fitzgerald & Fitzgerald is a law firm comprised of New York medical malpractice lawyers who have been representing clients harmed by the negligence of medical professionals overseeing births since the firm's inception in 1971. The attorneys at the firm handle New York birth injury cases, New York medical malpractice cases, New York cerebral palsy cases, New York personal injury cases, auto accident cases and other types of litigation matters that involve injuries inflicted upon individuals who need legal help.