Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010
Parents file $20M lawsuit for wrongful birth
A Baltimore couple filed a wrongful birth lawsuit Monday after a sonogram showing fetus abnormalities was sent to a doctor with the same name as the treating obstetrician.
Jessica Young only learned of her baby’s problems days before Antonio Jesse McLeod was delivered prematurely last July with a hole in his diaphragm, among other complications. A lawyer for Young and Antoine McLeod, the baby’s father, estimated Antonio’s “lifetime of care” could cost the couple more than $20 million.
The lack of information prevented McLeod and Young from “making an informed decision” about bringing Antonio to term earlier in the pregnancy, Michael B. Snyder said.
“Had they known at the time they did the sonogram, the family would have made the difficult decision to terminate the pregnancy,” said Snyder, of Snyder & Snyder in Pikesville.
The lawsuit names as defendants American Radiology Services and its insurer, The Johns Hopkins Health System Corp., as well as Dr. Karen Y. Perkins, Young’s ob-gyn.
A spokesman for Hopkins said lawyers there have not yet seen the lawsuit. A call to Pikesville-based American Radiology Services was not returned. Efforts to reach Perkins, whose practice is based in Randallstown, were unsuccessful.
Young first saw Perkins in December 2008 and underwent her first sonogram at American Radiology that same month, according to the complaint. A sonogram report was sent to Perkins’ office, according to the complaint. The doctor referred Young to American Radiology for another sonogram in March 2009, according to the complaint.
The second sonogram showed fetal abnormalities, including the possibility of Antonio’s stomach being in his chest cavity. But a report was sent to Dr. Karen E. Perkins, a family practice doctor in Baltimore, rather than Perkins the ob-gyn, the lawsuit states.
Dr. Karen Y. Perkins called American Radiology several days later to learn the results of the sonogram and was told “everything was OK and normal,” the lawsuit states.
Young went to Mercy Medical Center in early July after experiencing contractions; a sonogram showed an “abnormally large amount of amniotic fluid,” the lawsuit states.
Perkins sent Young to American Radiology on July 13, when an ultrasound showed the hole in Antonio’s diaphragm, the lawsuit states. The sonogram report also noted “again” that the stomach appeared to be in the chest and the heart was on the right side of the chest, the lawsuit states.
Perkins told Young about the sonogram findings the following day and explained the mix-up with the March sonogram, the lawsuit states. The doctor also told the mom-to-be the baby would probably need surgery soon after birth, the lawsuit states.
Antonio was born July 18 at the University of Maryland Medical Center and immediately placed on a ventilator, the lawsuit states. He was transferred to Hopkins, where he was given cardiac and respiratory support and experienced liver and kidney failure, among other ailments, the lawsuit states. The hole in his diaphragm was repaired when he was two weeks old, the lawsuit states.
Second suit against Hopkins
Separately on Monday, Snyder’s firm filed another lawsuit against Hopkins, this one on behalf of a Baltimore woman who alleged a botched surgical procedure left her partially paralyzed. Elizabeth Wright was treated for bleeding in her lungs in January 2009. The problem returned a month later, however, and Wright returned to Hopkins for additional treatment.
Doctors once again attempted to seal off arteries supplying blood to the lungs. Tests during the procedure showed it was affecting blood flow to the spinal artery, the lawsuit states. Doctors continued trying to seal off the lung arteries “despite this alarming new discovery” but closed the spinal artery instead, the lawsuit states.
The surgery cost Wright the use of her left leg and caused numbness on her left side, according to the complaint. Snyder said Wright is confined to a wheelchair and that her long-term care expenses and lost wages could total more than $10 million.
The Hopkins spokesman said lawyers there also had not seen Wright’s lawsuit.
While the lawsuits involve different plaintiffs, Snyder saw a common thread.
“These cases are so upsetting and emotional because they deal with lives which have been truly devastated,” he said. “In both cases, the injuries were absolutely preventable had the health care providers acted within the standards of care.”
Reprinted from the Maryland Daily Records–Written By Danny Jacobs
Daily Record Legal Affairs Writer
Tags: wrongful birth
Posted in Litigation Team Articles | 12 Comments »
Wednesday, June 23rd, 2010
Many highly successful plaintiff lawyers develop practices that often require no more travel than it takes from their office or the closest jurisdictional courthouse. However, with law firms such as our own, that have sought to fight injustice at the highest corporate echelons across the country and succeeded, the reality of having to fight malfeasance on the enemies “home turf” often becomes a reality. As this office prepares to wage a passionate and righteous war against one of the largest insurance companies in the country, our lawyers are getting emotionally prepared to live out of suitcases and hotel rooms for several months in anticipation of a case we all feel extremely passionate about. The thought of being away from home for significant periods of time is at once daunting and also exciting. This type of travel can be taxing, but can also be more stimulating than running back and forth to district and circuit court, day in and day out for years. One is obviously no better than the other, but we chosen to “go to the fight” in some cases whether it requires extensive travel and the sacrifice of “home” or not. For the time being, there is a buzz in the air that maybe be similar to playing a championship game on your opponents “home field”, an “away game”. Either way, we are getting psyched and fired up as preparations are being made to bring justice to a large group of undeserving victims of corporate injustice, racism and corruption in another state. Let the games begin!
Jason Timoll
Posted in Litigation Team Articles | 1 Comment »
Monday, June 21st, 2010
Often times, the law regarding medical malpractice claims in Maryland and when you can file these claims becomes confusing. Please don’t hesitate to call or email us if you have questions regarding your potential medical malpractice claims. We are experienced Medical Malpractice Lawyers and we are here to advise you on your potential claims. The Law gets even more confusing when you are dealing with a child suffering from a disability or condition such as cerebral palsy.
Some people believe that if a cerebral palsy related medical malpractice suit is not filed shortly after birth, then there is no case. This is not correct. The time in which someone has to file suit in a medical negligence or malpractice case is governed by whats known as the statute of limitations, which is different among the states. In Maryland, for example, the parents of a child injured from medical malpractice generally can file their case up to three years from the date the injury was discovered, but no more than five years from the date the malpractice was committed. Children in Maryland, however, have a longer time to file suit. In general, a child has until his/her 21st birthday to file a medical malpractice suit. There are exceptions to these rules, however, which may limit or extend the time to file suit, so you should always speak with a qualified cerebral palsy lawyer to determine the statute of limitations for your case. Even if these guidelines dissuade you or your loved one from filing suit, you should check with us anyway, just to be sure. Please call or email the experienced Maryland Cerebral Palsy and Medical Malpractice lawyers at Snyder & Snyder today to discuss your legal rights. If you have any questions about the Statute of Limitations in your potential case, please do not hesitate to call us.
Tags: medical malpractice, medical malpractice lawyer
Posted in Litigation Team Articles | 1 Comment »
Monday, June 21st, 2010
One thing you are always sure to find amongst a major disaster is a good lawyer to help out the “little people”. The BP oil spill in the Gulf Coast is the largest environmental disaster on American soil, affecting Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama and Florida for the time being. It is likely that if the spill is not contained soon, it will affect the rest of the coast line as well as many other businesses across the country. So what do you do if your business has been decimated by a disaster that should have never happened? What do you do when you can no longer sustain your family because your livelihood no longer exists? What else, you find a good lawyer and call them.
With the technology that exists today, it seems that you may not even have to make the call. Lawyers all over the country are flocking to the Gulf Coast region in order to help out their fellow citizens, or jump on the bandwagon, whichever you prefer to say. Advertising that we have never dreamed of, is spreading across the nation. All along the major roads throughout the Gulf Coast region, billboards are popping up with names of law firms across the country, offering services to the people and companies who were affected by the spill. Some of the billboards are respectable, but others go well beyond tacky and maybe downright immoral. It is a mad rush to see who will represent this downtrodden group of people.
On the internet, websites are going up by the hundreds, offering assistance to everyone and their brother. Many firms are actually calling residents and walking door- to- door to local Gulf Coast businesses, with one law firm actually opening up a store-front location on the beach with a big sign reading “Oil Spill Law Firm This Way”. Is it over the top, or do the citizens of this country need as many sharks in their corner as possible? Now that the $20Billion fund has been set up as part of the Governments way of controlling the disbursements, it looks like it will be up to Pay Czar Kenneth Feinberg to figure out who gets what, but the “little people” still need a lawyer to help them out.
It is important to contact a lawyer who not only has experience in environmental disasters, but also has experience going up against these oil giants, who can and will railroad plaintiffs unless they are properly represented. What is also important to remember is you need to find a firm that not only has experience going up against the oil giants, but winning as well. If you need some sound advice from our firm, please do not hesitate to call. After coming off a $150Million verdict against ExxonMobil, the lawyers at Snyder and Snyder may be able to help you navigate this process to come out on top.
Contributed by Daniel J. Miller, Esquire
Snyder and Snyder
Posted in Litigation Team Articles | No Comments »
Monday, June 21st, 2010
This past week, President Obama announced that Ken Feinberg would be the independent “3rd party” to be in charge of the dispersing of a $20 Billion escrow fund developed to compensate people and businesses harmed by the BP oil spill. With an extremely large amount of claimants’ likely seeking compensation and reimbursement, the task ahead of Feinberg is nothing short of daunting.
Last year, Feinberg was given the title of “Special Master for Compensation.” With this title came the responsibility of determining the executive pay of many of the top employees of companies receiving federal bailout money. The job ahead in regards to the BP spill in the Gulf however is quite a different type of challenge. Feinberg will be faced with gut wrenching stories by all claimants, but each different and unique. Family businesses that have been around for over 100 years are on the brink of bankruptcy, restaurants relying on tourism are empty, fisherman who make a living on the gulf are docked, and many families are having problems paying their mortgages. To hear these claims and be able to discern a monetary value takes intelligence, patience, and confidence (among many other traits). What these cases will take more than anything however is time, and time is the one thing that these people do not have. For all these reasons, Kenneth Feinberg is the appropriate choice.
Beyond determining how the bailout money will effect top company executives, Feinberg has been involved in some of the more emotionally charged payouts in American History, most notably being in charge of the government’s compensation fund for victims of the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. Years later, Feinberg was involved in the dispersing of funds to the victims of the Virginia Tech attacks. With these two roles (as well as many others not mentioned), Feinberg was given the duty to hear the stories of tragedy and the effect on the victims, all the while still make appropriate and responsible determinations on the financial value to those victims. The BP compensation fund will present those same challenges. Kenneth Feinberg has proven time and time again, that he will be prepared to deal with all issues that may arise, and most importantly, to make determinations in a timely manner so that people can continue their way of life as best possible.
Posted in Litigation Team Articles | No Comments »
