When patients in New Mexico suffer injuries or even death as a result of medical errors, it can be devastating for the victims as well as their families, especially when the victim is an infant. If the victim is too young to hold the negligent doctor and hospital responsible for the damage they caused, the patient’s parents often step in and file a lawsuit.
Shortly after a woman delivered her baby, a doctor inserted tubes into the baby’s body. The doctor likely reasoned that intubation was necessary to ensure that the baby’s feces hadn’t entered its throat or stomach. Unfortunately, the baby suffered injuries as a result of the intubation and needed surgeries to repair the damage that it had caused. It is unknown whether the child, who is now 12 years old, is expected to completely recover from the incident.
Unfortunately, when the woman sued the hospital and doctor for negligence, the judge was unfair to her, and the jury ruled against her. The verdict was likely due to the judge’s disrespect toward the woman’s attorney. However, the state’s judicial department recognized the problem and enabled the woman’s case to be heard again; this time, a different judge is scheduled to preside. Hopefully, the woman will be granted a fair and impartial trial.
The doctor in this case may have intubated the newborn because it was the only way to save its life. However, if patients think that a doctor’s actions have caused harm to themselves or their children, they have the right to seek compensation for their injuries and to hold people accountable for their mistakes. An attorney may be able to help victims of medical malpractice.
Source: Courthouse News Service, “Retrial Ordered After Judge Belittled Lawyer,” Jeff Gorman, June 19, 2013