Medical Malpractice in the Treatment of Premature Babies

The birth of a premature baby is an extremely sensitive event fraught with risks to the health and wellbeing of the newborn, a fact that places heavy responsibility on all parties providing care within the various neonatal intensive care units existing in hospitals.

Due to scientific developments in this field, it is now possible to treat and sustain babies born at very early stages of pregnancy, so the claim that the risks to which these babies are exposed is an inevitable phenomenon due to their age and vulnerable condition cannot be accepted wholesale.

It is true that premature babies are exposed to significant and unique risks such as severe infections or intracranial hemorrhages that may cause irreversible neurological damage. However, there are very detailed medical protocols that regulate the manner of treatment that must be provided within the neonatal intensive care unit to prevent those risks. As has been ruled on many occasions, with regard to other medical fields as well, deviation from those written and detailed protocols that caused damage may be considered medical malpractice and impose on the treating medical entity an obligation to pay compensation accordingly.

Frequently, the claim is heard from medical entities that in this unique field of neonatal intensive care treatment there is tremendous workload such that the existing manpower is unable to provide adequate and required medical care for all needs, especially due to the fact that meticulous and close monitoring of each premature baby's condition is required.

Although the healthcare system certainly operates within a given budget framework, the courts do not accept such a claim as "gospel truth" and wholesale. The medical institution is obligated to do everything required and prepare in advance accordingly in order to provide optimal management of the neonatal intensive care unit, including allocation of skilled and available manpower.

A premature baby is exposed, as mentioned, to increased risk of infections. Normally, this fact requires meticulous antibiotic treatment from the moment of birth, as well as thorough examination of blood and urine cultures from the premature baby. Sometimes the fact that the mother also received antibiotic treatment even before delivery may cause "distortion" of the results obtained in those cultures. The medical team must therefore be alert to this possibility in order to make an informed decision regarding the nature of antibiotic treatment and the duration of its administration until all possibility of an outbreak of hidden infection is eliminated. Filing a lawsuit in this unique field requires meticulous consultation with a neonatology expert (neonatologist) with experience in managing a neonatal intensive care unit who is capable of deciphering and analyzing the medical records laden with details. This is due to the fact that often the stay in the neonatal intensive care unit may last many weeks when the nursing monitoring by nurses must be documented in an extremely meticulous and detailed manner.

Examination of the case data therefore requires high capability to decipher the course of nursing monitoring of the premature baby, composed of various and diverse components, each of which may influence making an informed decision whether to file the lawsuit or not. Ron-Festinger Law Office, which specializes in medical malpractice lawsuits, has handled during its decades of activity a considerable number of lawsuits by premature babies and their parents for damages or illnesses caused to them due to negligent treatment.

At our disposal are senior and renowned experts in the field of premature baby care (neonatology) with whom we consult in order to verify whether the treatment was negligent or not.

If in your opinion your child suffered damages and/or illnesses while a premature baby, we can examine for you whether this was caused due to medical malpractice and if the answer is positive – file on your behalf an appropriate lawsuit for compensation for the damage or illness.