In South Florida, many obstetricians have stopped delivering babies and caring for high-risk patients in an attempt to avoid rising medical malpractice premiums.

The decreasing number of available obstetricians is causing longer waits to see a doctor and a severing of doctor/patient relationships.

The Palm Beach County medical society is projecting a 30 percent decrease of obstetricians. They also project that the need for obstetricians will grow by 7 percent in three years.

With fewer doctors on hand and long waiting times for appointments, major medical problems can go undetected. This can lead to devastating consequences during the birth of a child, possibly leading to serious birth injuries.

Birth injury attorneys are working on cases that involve the life-long suffering that occurs after serious birth trauma.

A 16-year-old boy in Florida was awarded over $30 million in a birth injury lawsuit on April 7th. The lawsuit stems from brain injuries that the boy sustained as a result of a delayed cesarean delivery.

When the boy’s mother was in labor, the hospital staff was well aware that the baby was in distress, with the umbilical cord wrapped around its neck. Despite knowing that the baby was being deprived of oxygen, the hospital staff waited the entire day before a cesarean delivery was performed.

The Florida jury found that the hospital was 85 percent responsible for the child’s life-long injuries, while his doctor was 15 percent responsible.

The decision brought an end to the five week trial and three day jury deliberation. The lawsuit was originally filed against the hospital 14 years ago.

Cases like this are being worked on by birth trauma lawyers.

The University of Otago recently publishing findings in the neuropathology journal Brain Pathology that show a new approach to preventing cerebral palsy in newborns suffering from birth trauma.

The new approach focuses on newborns that have been deprived of oxygen. Nearly one out of six of every 1000 children born suffer from birth injury due to low oxygen levels. This form of birth injury can lead to life-long disabilities such as cerebral palsy.

Treatments for birth injury are only moderately successful. The new research published by Associate Professor Dorothy Oorschot from the Department of Anatomy and Structural Biology, shows that the combination of two common therapies may be highly effective in treating birth injuries.

The two treatments include inducing moderate hypothermia and administering an antioxidant. Alone, the treatments show only moderate improvement. Oorschot’s research indicates that the combination can actually help rescue nerve cells that have been damaged and restore motor function.

The research was conducted on an animal model and the research team is now beginning to focus on how to refine the new treatment for the best possible results.

Currently, birth trauma attorneys are working on cases in which life-long disability has resulted due to medical negligence during birth.