New reports from various media sources have been calling out Philadelphia hospitals for their roles in issues relating to medications, newly-delivered babies, and their mothers. As more and more stories come out concerning infant mortality rates and accidental opioid prescriptions given to babies, law firms across Philadelphia are stepping up to the plate to defend those affected. The Weitz Firm, LLC is one of those firms, dedicated to delivering you the most current information regarding the state of healthcare in our city while also offering passionate Philadelphia medical malpractice attorneys to take on your case.
Philadelphia hospitals are being heavily scrutinized for their role in birth trauma and accidents in a new report by BillyPenn. The story follows Carolyn Santamauro, a woman who in the past few months had an emergency cesarean section to deliver her baby. While Santamauro was unconscious, the doctors and nurses attending to the birth drew her blood and assumed that she was an opioid drug user. Without knowledge of the results, the hospital put the newly-born baby on morphine as it is a common tool used on babies who are born to drug users. When Santamauro’s tests came back negative, the doctors were “shocked,” but refused to take her daughter off the morphine.
While these mistakes do happen, they can oftentimes be addressed in a strictly medical sense. What is often overlooked is the trauma endured by parents, something that sticks with them for years to come, eventually influencing future medical decisions.
According to Maureen Sullivan Gonzales, a professor at the University of Drexel, some of the problems leading to medical malpractice and medication errors fall on health insurance restrictions. Doctors will sometimes shift focus to the baby to avoid any lawsuits that may come, jeopardizing the health of the mother. This is especially prevalent in mental health (but not uncommon in physical health), where many women end up experiencing post traumatic stress disorder or postpartum depression, impacting broad areas of their lives including their abilities to have children in the future.
The problems experienced by mothers and babies are even worse in communities of color. Birth complications are 63% more likely in black-majority neighborhoods, and 32% more likely in majority Hispanic neighborhoods, according to a Blue Cross Blue Shield study. Across the entire city, infant mortality rates are one of the highest in Pennsylvania and stack up against states with infamously bad healthcare systems like Louisiana and Alabama.
Mothers and babies alike across the city of Philadelphia struggle to find adequate care in hospitals, especially during delivery. Between birth injuries, medication errors, hospital negligence, and much more, residents of the city have a need for concrete, decisive legal action to hold hospitals accountable. At The Weitz Firm, LLC, we have the experience of dealing with a myriad of different medical cases with the aim to retrieve compensation for our clients. Medical errors are costly endeavors, breaking the bank by thousands. Reach out to a Philadelphia medical malpractice attorney today at 267-587-6240 or by clicking here for a team of dedicated, compassionate lawyers.
We are highly selective in the cases we undertake to ensure that can give each client his full attention. You can schedule an appointment for a personal injury consultation at our Philadelphia office by calling us, or by filling out our online intake form.