When you are expecting a child, you can read all the books you want, but you still have to depend on your doctor to ensure that you take all the right steps to ensure the health and safety of your unborn child. With proper testing and screening, your doctor can tell you if your child will likely be born with a birth defect, such as Down Syndrome, Spina Bifida or Sickle Cell Anemia. If your doctor fails to use reasonable care to either conduct appropriate screening, or negligently interprets test results, you may have a claim for “wrongful birth” of a special needs child.

There are a number of different types of screening tests you can have administered. Some are invasive, but many are not. If circumstances warrant, you may be a candidate for what is known as amniocentesis, or for chorionic villi sampling. With amniocentesis, the placenta must be punctured to obtain a sample of your amniotic fluid, which encapsulates the fetus. With chorionic villi sampling, medical professionals will take a sample of your chorionic tissue for screening.

The less invasive procedures include:

  • ultrasounds;
  • genetic tests;
  • nuchal translucency tests; and
  • maternal blood serum screening.

As a general rule, you should expect to have prenatal screening throughout the course of your pregnancy, starting in the first trimester. Some of the least invasive types of procedures can be conducted fairly early in your pregnancy, but can provide critical information about the potential viability of your pregnancy, or may be cause to engage in more complex testing and monitoring over the course of gestation.

If your child is born with what should have been a detectable birth defect, you may have a claim against the doctor for misreading test results or for failing to order necessary tests. You may also have a claim against a lab, if there was an error in administering the test.

Contact Taylor & Boguski

At Taylor & Boguski, we have more than 70 years of combined experience representing people across New Jersey with medical malpractice and personal injury matters. For a free initial consultation, send us an e-mail or call us at 856-200-8989.

Recovering Compensation for Dental Malpractice

When you seek treatment from a dentist, regardless of the nature of your condition, you expect that the dentist and the dentist’s office will provide a certain minimum level of care. Unfortunately, in far too many situations, that does not happen. Some studies show that 15% of medical malpractice claims include some level of dental malpractice. If you have been negligently cared for by a dental technician, a dentist or any employee at a dental office or dental care facility, you have a right to seek damages for all your losses.

What Does Dental Malpractice Look Like?

Many of the components of dental malpractice are similar to other types of medical malpractice. Dental malpractice can include:

  • Performing the wrong type of procedure, or working on the wrong tooth
  • Negligence in providing anesthesia
  • Failure to properly diagnose a condition, or misdiagnosis of a condition
  • Failure to use minimally accepted standards of care during a dental procedure

In a study conducted by the insurance company CNA, claims paid for dental malpractice between 2005 and 2008 were pretty equally divided. Cases involving crowns included 14.2% of all claims paid, while surgical extractions (13.7%), root canal therapy (13.6%) and simple extractions (12.1%) accounted for similar percentages of claims.

Common examples of dental malpractice injuries include:

  • Temporary or permanent loss of sensation in your tongue, jaw, chin or lips, including loss of sense of taste
  • Temporary or permanent structural injuries to chin, lips, tongue or jaw caused by negligence in surgical or other procedures
  • TMJ (temporo mandibular joint) problems caused by dental work
  • Failure to treat or diagnose oral cancer
  • Hypoxia or wrongful death due to negligent administration of anesthesia
  • Loss of teeth due to failure to diagnose or treat periodontal disease
  • Infection or injury resulting from misuse of dental tools, including drills, picks, lasers and implants

If, as a result of dental malpractice, you have been unable to work, have incurred significant medical expense, or have experienced substantial pain and suffering, you can seek damages for those losses.

Contact the Law Office of Taylor & Boguski

To schedule a free initial consultation with experienced New Jersey family law attorneys, contact Taylor & Boguski by e-mail. To learn more about our practice, visit our practice area overview page.

Anesthesia Errors in the 21st Century

Since its introduction in the mid-19th century to the present day, anesthesia has become notably safer. The first anesthetic compounds were explosive, dosages were not established, and unexpected negative effects included fatal aspiration of stomach contents.

Today, anesthesia is administered by anesthesiologists (MDs) and certified nurse anesthetists (CRNAs) with extensive specialized training in the field. The operating room (OR) is equipped with devices that monitor blood pressure, blood oxygen levels, and actions of the heart and lungs during surgery. The anesthesiologist can choose from a range of drugs proven to be safe and reliable.

Why do patients still die from anesthesia?

Despite the abundance of knowledge about anesthesia drugs and their effects on humans, about allergic reactions and antidotes and about techniques and devices to keep airways clear during surgery, deaths and serious injuries still result from anesthesia. Some are unpredictable and inexplicable. Others, resulting from human error, are medical malpractice. And still others are the result of defective drugs or medical devices.

It is critical that the patient’s airway remain open to receive oxygen. During general anesthesia (when the patient is unconscious, paralyzed and can’t breath normally), the anesthesiologist protects the airway by inserting an endotracheal tube into the trachea (windpipe). If the doctor carelessly inserts the tube into the esophagus instead of the trachea, the patient’s oxygen level will drop and the patient will suffer cardiac arrest and, if the airway is not cleared within four to six minutes, brain damage. A well-equipped OR will have a device to verify correct placement of the endotracheal tube. When a procedure is done in an office, the risk of error rises.

Anesthesia is an entire branch of medical science, not just a class of (potentially toxic) drugs. The anesthesiologist, nurse anesthetist, and anesthesia assistants are responsible for observing the patient, noting any unanticipated changes after administration of a drug and responding accordingly. Fatigue, stress, inattention, or poor training may result in operating room staff’s failure to identify an emergency and take appropriate measures.

One of the earliest noted causes of anesthesia-relate death was aspiration of stomach contents; it continues to threaten patients today, especially those who are pregnant, obese, or have bowel obstructions. Special techniques will protect those patients. Another human error is overuse of a sedative during a minor procedure, causing a patient to stop breathing and die. Strong sedatives are often administered by poorly trained staff in a doctor’s or dentist’s office. After the anesthetic is stopped, the anesthesiologist’s or anesthetist’s failure to administer drugs to reverse the paralyzing effect may result in the patient’s failure to resume breathing.

Mechanical devices used during administration of anesthesia are very reliable, but the doctor/nurse anesthetist is responsible for going through a checklist to ensure the device is working properly and avoid death or injury from failure of the anesthesia machine, ventilator, or monitor.

A family that has lost a loved one, or a patient who suffered brain injury or another serious injury as a result of an anesthesia error, may be entitled to compensation from the hospital, anesthesiologist, anesthetist, or manufacturer of defective medical equipment. If a survivor is considering a personal injury claim, it is important to work with a law firm with the resources to pursue a complex, expensive case, and a successful record in personal injury law.

Contact us for a free attorney consultation, or visit our Practice Areas page for more information about Taylor & Boguski.