How Doctors Make Mistakes During Newborn Metabolic Disorder Screenings
Each year, babies are born in hospitals all across the country who are diagnosed with a treatable metabolic disorder. In many cases, through newborn screenings, this condition can be identified and treated quickly without any further complications. Unfortunately, a doctor may have made a mistake during the screening process or failed to inform a family that this test is available. Without proper screening, a child may pass away or become permanently disabled due to a metabolic disorder.
Parents who are suffering from the devastating news of their newborn, can rely on an attorney at Wieand Law Firm, LLC for advice on how to seek justice. Parents may be entitled to significant financial compensation for the mistake. Even if there is no amount of money that can take back what happened, at least we can help provide you with a sense of justice for the tragic error.
Negligent Medical Care
There are a variety of ways that the doctor, medical personnel, and/or hospital could have been negligent which led to the newborn suffering. The newborn may have developed long-term disabilities or passed away because of a failure to identify and/or properly treat a metabolic disorder. If any of the following scenarios apply to what you have endured, we recommend reaching out to an attorney at Wieand Law Firm, LLC right away:
- The metabolic disorder screening sample was gathered too early. Samples should not be obtained before the newborn is 12 hours old (most commonly collected at around 24-36 hours).
- The doctor and/or nursing staff failed to collect the sample needed for the metabolic screen, due to the newborn being in a neonatal intensive care area or was transferred out to a different hospital. Medical staff are responsible for ensuring screenings do not fall through the cracks.
- The metabolic disorder screening sample was improperly handled or the samples were mixed up with another newborn patient.
- The sample for the screening was gathered after the newborn received a blood transfusion, which makes the test invalid.
- The newborn falls critically ill before the screening results have come in, and the doctor had failed to identify obvious signs of a metabolic disorder. The doctor may have also misdiagnosed the baby has only having an infection.
- The metabolic screening test was delayed because of the hospital batches multiple samples before submitting them to the lab (as a way to save money on shipping costs).
Parents must be aware that many states permit extending the statute of limitations when it comes to children, and that even if you think too much time has gone by you may still be entitled to pursuing a lawsuit for losses, damages, and pain and suffering.
One of our newborn metabolic disorders lawyers at Wieand Law Firm, LLC can consult with parents to decide the course of action in seeking monetary restitution for a doctor’s mistake. We do not back down easily from large medical companies, and will do everything we can to see that justice is sought. Please contact us so we start working on your lawsuit immediately.
