Birth injuries are never an easy experience, especially when those injuries result from preventable acts of negligence committed by the medical professionals in whom you placed your trust during such an important time. While families are tasked with rebuilding their lives and finding ways to manage life-altering repercussions, it is also important to understand they have legal rights when birth injuries are preventable – rights that can not only provide them with a sense of justice, but also the compensation and resources they need to navigate their futures.

At Shrager & Sachs, our Philadelphia birth injury lawyers are passionate about serving as the advocates and support system families need during difficult times. Backed by decades of combined experience and a reputation for handling challenging medical malpractice cases, we understand the vital role we play in guiding birth injury victims through their personal and legal journeys, and why it becomes so critical for families to assert their rights as a means to seek the justice and compensation to which they are entitled.

Monitoring an unborn baby’s heart rate during labor and delivery can alert nurses and medical staff to potential complications and medical emergencies that must be promptly addressed. Should a baby’s heart rate become too high or too low, for example, it may indicate fetal distress caused by oxygen deprivation and the need for an emergency C-section.

In order to ensure a baby is tolerating the birth process and identify any complications, nurses and staff use electronic fetal heart rate monitors. These devices provide readouts that must be interpreted by attending medical staff. Should they fail to read fetal heart rate, or interpret readouts properly, they can miss signs of distress and opportunities to avert serious, neurological injuries that could have otherwise been avoided.

In December, an Amtrak train from Portland, Oregon derailed off a bridge outside of Tacoma, Washington, killing 3 victims and injuring over 60 others. In the wake of the tragic crash, initial investigations have showed that the train was traveling nearly 50 miles per hour over the speed limit when the incident happened – a discovery many safety advocates say should never happen with the advent of new technology and policies.

In recent years, train accidents like the Washington Amtrak derailment have happened frequently across the U.S., often with devastating results. This includes a 2015 Amtrak derailment in Philadelphia that killed 8 victims and injured more than 200 passengers, and a Metrolink collision in Chatsworth, California that resulted in 25 deaths and 135 injuries. In both of these crashes, engineers had become distracted. Federal officials also stated they could and should have been prevented.

Our attorney, Robert L. Sachs, Jr. recently joined the Rideshare Law Group project. The Rideshare Law Group is made up of personal injury lawyers who have a passion for providing legal assistance to people who have been injured in rideshare accidents and are not sure how to handle the complications that often comes with these types of cases.

When rideshare companies are involved in an accident case for one of their drivers, insurance settlements and injury claims become even more complicated than your standard accident case. Not only do these cases become more complex when rideshare companies are at the table, but the accident victim tends to get offered an unfair settlement amount that won’t even cover their injury expenses.

The attorneys at the Rideshare Law Group take on cases all over the country and have familiarized themselves with rideshare insurance policies and the practices that are commonly used by these companies when they offer an accident victim an unfair settlement award.

Hospitals are an important piece of our health care industry, and they play an important role in treating patients who often require serious or immediate care. While we can’t expect hospitals to successfully treat every patient all of the time, we can certainly expect them to take reasonable measures in protecting patients from preventable harm – it’s their legal duty. Unfortunately, two hospitals in Philadelphia fell short in that regard.

According to recently released data from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), two Philadelphia hospitals are being penalized for excessively high rates of infections and injuries among patients treated at those facilities. Albert Einstein Medical Center in North Philadelphia and Pennsylvania Hospital in City Center are among more than 750 health care facilities nationwide being penalized through a program established under the Affordable Care Act (the Hospital-Acquired Condition Reduction Program), which was designed to decrease preventable injuries, infections, and blood clots in the American healthcare system. Under that program, facilities like Pennsylvania Hospital and Albert Einstein Medical Center will receive reductions in Medicare payments.

In recent blogs, we have discussed how corporations, lobbyists, and politicians push for legislative changes that restructure our civil justice system in a manner that benefits themselves – even when it comes at the expense of everyday Americans and victims of negligence. Prime examples of these changes relate to tort reform, which have succeeded in state legislatures across the country passing unfair laws that limit the amount of compensation victims are able to recover after being harmed by negligent health care providers.

Today, more states than not impose some type of damages cap on medical malpractice cases. Most of these states limit non-economic damages – which are the types of intangible losses victims and families suffer after preventable injuries, such as mental anguish, loss of quality or enjoyment of life, and their pain and suffering. Some even limit total damages that can be recovered, including economic damages. Should one particular bill making its way through Congress be passed (the “Protecting Access to Care Act”), these caps could be placed on medical malpractice and nursing home injury cases nationwide.

The unfortunate truth is that money is continually flooding into American politics – and that money can be traced back to lobbyists and corporations that have financial interests in limiting how much they pay to the victims they harm, or the victims harmed by their insurance policy holders. The powerful combination of money and rhetoric have succeeded in getting tort reform initiatives and damages caps to pass in many states, but advocacy efforts are beginning to strengthen, raise awareness, and prompt much needed change.

Cancer diagnoses are never welcomed news, but when timely and accurate, they provide the opportunity for patients to seek the treatment they need and better their prognosis. Unfortunately, medical professionals who provide substandard care during diagnostic testing can strip patients of that opportunity, enable the progression of their condition and suffering, and decrease their chances of recovery.

Because medical malpractice is an area of law which places accountability on health care providers in whom we place our trust, and holds them liable for providing substandard care, victims of cancer misdiagnosis may have the right to seek legal action. Due to the challenging legal and medical issues involved, cancer misdiagnosis cases demand the attention of proven and experienced attorneys.

Our medical malpractice lawyers at Shrager & Sachs fight for patients and families that have suffered at the hands of negligent medical professionals across Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, and beyond. Our team understands the elements of proving medical negligence, as well as ways to navigate challenges inherent to complex medical information and disputes over quality of care and liability. Because we know these cases are ones of significant emotional turbulence, we treat clients compassionately, and fight aggressively on their behalves.

Accidents involving commercial trucks and tractor-trailers are known for their increased potential for causing severe damage and serious injuries. As a result, many victims harmed in these wrecks face extensive physical and financial setbacks – including economic and non-economic damages caused by medical expenses, lost income, and their pain and suffering, among others. For this reason, it becomes vital that injured victims and families understand the merit and potential value of their cases, and that they take any settlement offers made by trucking companies or their insurance providers with warranted skepticism.

If you are involved in an accident and suffer property damage or injuries, you will rely on your insurance company (or the other party’s insurance company) to provide financial coverage. However, most of the time, the insurance company doesn’t want to pay a settlement, and will use tactics to avoid paying what you deserve. Our firm has a thorough knowledge of insurance policies. We can use our experience to fight for the compensation you deserve for medical bills, lost wages, pain and suffering, and other damages.

You Don’t Have to Settle Right Away

After a car accident or personal injury incident, insurance companies may try to pressure you into accepting a settlement as soon as possible. They will offer you a dollar amount for the damages caused by the accident, and will try to get you to settle quickly without having to hire a lawyer or go to court. This may seem enticing to people who just want to put the accident behind them. However, it is a bad idea. If your injuries turn out to be more severe than you thought, or other unexpected costs from the accident start piling up, you will be unable to receive more compensation after signing the settlement release.

Birth injuries and birth defects can result in permanent medical conditions that require expensive and long-term treatment for your child. Thus, pursuing compensation against the physician responsible is necessary to seek justice and obtain a financial settlement. However, parents may not be able to file a medical malpractice lawsuit for birth defects. What is the difference between a birth injury and a birth defect?

Birth Injuries Occur During Labor or Delivery

Birth injuries are often preventable, and have several causes. If the doctor pulls on the baby the wrong way, uses forceps or medical instruments improperly, administers the wrong amount of medication to the mother, or performs other unnecessary or incorrect procedures during labor and delivery, the child could suffer harm. You have the right to file a medical malpractice lawsuit for injuries your baby suffered due to your doctor’s negligence or carelessness.