posted
My best friend has CP. My daughter had CP but died in infancy due to other problems.
We have no idea what caused my daughter's illness, but my friends was caused by the delivery nurse. THe parents had the option to sue for malpractice, but chose not to do so.
Medical malpractice can cause CP. If two studies show it does not, there are a lot of other studies that still show it does. Using these two studies is just the republicans grasping at straws to attempt to discredit Edwards.
Posts: 279 | Registered: May 2004
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quote: The topics of neonatal encephalopathy and cerebral palsy, as well as hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, are of paramount importance to anyone who ventures to deliver infants. Criteria sufficient to define an acute intrapartum hypoxic event as sufficient to cause cerebral palsy have been advanced previously by both The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and the International Cerebral Palsy Task Force. ACOG convened a task force that over the past 3 years reviewed these criteria based upon advances in scientific knowledge. In this review, we cover the slow but steady progression toward defining the pathogenesis and pathophysiology of neonatal encephalopathy and cerebral palsy. Four essential criteria are also advanced as prerequisites if one is to propose that an intrapartum hypoxic-ischemic insult has caused a moderate to severe neonatal encephalopathy that subsequently results in cerebral palsy. Importantly, all four criteria must be met: 1) evidence of metabolic acidosis in fetal umbilical cord arterial blood obtained at delivery (pH less than 7 and base deficit of 12 mmol/L or more), 2) early onset of severe or moderate neonatal encephalopathy in infants born at 34 or more weeks' gestation, 3) cerebral palsy of the spastic quadriplegic or dyskinetic type, and 4) exclusion of other identifiable etiologies, such as trauma, coagulation disorders, infectious conditions, or genetic disorders. Other criteria that together suggest intrapartum timing are also discussed.
Summarized: Some cerebral palsy cases occur due to events during birthing. These are thought to be due to low-oxygen events. Four criteria are required for this sort of situation: 1) a type of acid state in the arterial blood of the fetus at delivery, tested at the umbilical cord. 2) early disease noted in infants born near-term 3) certain types of cerebral palsy, 4) can't see any other factors that would have caused it.
I'm sure you can find more, this is a review of several years worth of articles. Try pub-med if you're interested. I searched for "cerebral palsy intrapartum"
Posts: 1892 | Registered: Mar 2002
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quote: Until recently, it was widely believed that asphyxia (lack of oxygen) during a difficult delivery was the cause of most cases of cerebral palsy. The ACOG/AAP report shows that fewer than 10 percent of the type of brain injuries that can result in cerebral palsy are caused by asphyxia.
posted
I agree...pretty much grasping at straws. I think medical malpractice lawyers are scary and have done more harm than good for the medical industry...but who doesn't know that? He isn't a scientist making a claim and he wasn't, at that point, a politician making public policy on it. Has he made any efforts to pass or create legislation based on these court cases and, in retrospect, "junk science?" That would be more of a concern.
quote:"At the end of the day, I verily believe we will find [the cause of cerebral palsy is] all genetic," said Eldon L. Boisseau of the Kansas-based firm Turner and Boisseau.
That rates about a 9.7 on my BS-o-meter. I don't mean to defend Edwards necessarily, because I've had to pay for my last two children out of pocket based on malpractice rates these days. And a friend of my had to get out of the business because they raised her rates even though she has never had a claim.
I know many of you will applaud, but the likes of Edwards have pretty much determined what the size of my family will be. Well, that and my husband doesn't believe health insurance is important.
Posts: 11017 | Registered: Apr 2003
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posted
I would like to know more about the specifics. There's always been a fair amount of uncertainty around the causes of many conditions (and did you notice that Worldnet snuck in a "scientific" opinion from a member of a legal firm?). I think it's likely that there was already a case to be made for malpractice in the delivery of the child - and the task then is to tie the malpractice to the condition.
*shrug*
This wasn't "David vs. Goliath" - Neither the hospital nor Edwards fit that role. It's a pretty sure bet the hospital or their insurers had a crack legal team giving this the best fight that money can buy. And they lost.
Posts: 4344 | Registered: Mar 2003
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posted
According to the website hosted by United Cerebral Palsy about 8000 new cases of CP are diagnosed each year. At 10%, 800 a year potentially being caused by medical erroris a pretty big deal.
I agree with pooka, though...I hate what malpractice suits have done to medicine these days. Great point about it determing the size of one's family! Worse, it is running good doctors out of business. In NE Ohio, it is getting harder and harder to find quality doctors to deliver babies. The doctor's can't afford to stay in business with all the insurance premiums they have to pay out. Ugh.
So for my money, my concerns with Edwards would be that he is a lower than low malpractice attorney. His use of difficult to pin down science (even experts in the field of CP don't agree on anything) is not a big deal to me.
posted
Read it again. The 10% accounts for all cases of asphyxia, not just the ones that are the fault of the doctor. Not all "complications" are the fault of the doctor.
Check out this explination (from a page which puts the number at less than 6%):
quote: The newborn infant's blood is specially equipped to compensate for low levels of oxygen, and asphyxia (lack of oxygen caused by interruption in breathing or poor oxygen supply) is common in babies during the stresses of labor and delivery. But if asphyxia severely lowers the supply of oxygen to the infant's brain for lengthy periods, the child may develop brain damage called hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. A significant proportion of babies with this type of brain damage die, and others may develop cerebral palsy, which is then often accompanied by mental impairment and seizures.
posted
Even if it were 1%, that is all one needs to pursue something. Find figures that say NO cases of CP are caused by medical malpractice and you might have something. Leave a crack in the door and a lawyer will be there. Scientifically weak, to be sure, but grounds for legal action. That was his job, like it or not. It would be like calling Bush Sr. a "murderer" because he no doubt he killed men in WW2. Distasteful job or not, it was his job. Being a slimy lawyer was Edwards. Again, if he acted on this same scientific uncertainty in his job as a politician, I would be worried. Has he?
posted
Even if it went down to less than 1% caused by doctors, that would still be a very large number of cases over the two decades Edwards was in practice. Were all his cases certainly caused by doctors? Who knows, but the understanding until very recently was that it wasn't that unlikely for it to be so, and so he argued that in these particular cases that it was so. Are we expecting him to predict what the future of medical research was to bring? He was a trial lawyer, not a research clinician.
Posts: 15770 | Registered: Dec 2001
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I know there is a lot of good money being spent by insurance companies framing the costs of malpractice insurance and health care at the feet of trial lawyers.
It's just not that simple.
I'm too tired to look it up now, but a GAO report looked at the rise of malpractice premiums. A lot of it had to do with investment losses by insurance companies, along with a decrease in the number of companies providing medical insurance (translation: when there were a lot of companies fighting for the market, it kept premiums unrealistically low.)
Rates haven't gone down in states that have enacted malpractice award caps. They tend to rise a little slower than rates in other states, but there are exceptions.
Very little attention is paid to the role that the lawyers representing hospitals play. Typically, they'll do everything they can to make the process as expensive and time-consuming as possible, even in cases that are crystal clear. (I was actually on jury duty for a malpractice case in which this was done. After years of refusing to settle and dragging the process out, the hospital settled the day before trial. The judge was furious and said this was common. In this particular case, the hospital staff had actually altered their records.)
posted
The majority of the primary-era donations made to the Edwards campaign were made by trial lawyers. Some of it was suspect, with some lawyers allegedly handing out money to employees to donate in their names, so as not to pass the limits on individual contributions. (Linkage, and no registration required linkage.)
Yeah, I know, there's legitimate cases out there that probably merit legal action. My wife was misdiagnosed for a year and a half--negligence that eventually led to her having to have open-heart surgery. But we just went through it last year out here in California with the Treavor Law Group. I'm just not crazy about this breed of lawyer.
quote: From judgments or settlements related to medical malpractice, Edwards built a personal fortune estimated at between $12.8 and $60 million.
And he did this on his own. This wealth was not handed to him. He had to convince a jury or a judge, time and again, that the facts were on his side. So, what we are talking about here is someone who has a lot of evidence in his favor that he is smart and capable. A winner.
Wow. He sounds like a great person to represent the US' interests here and abroad. It sounds like he would make an awesome VP. Thanks for the link, Doc!
Posts: 13123 | Registered: Feb 2002
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And if, for some reason, he were to have to step down from the race, there is also the other John Edward, who fit every one of your qualifications for success!
He also did this on his own. His wealth was not handed to him, either. He had to convince an audience, time and again, that the facts were on his side. So, what we are talking about here is also someone who has a lot of evidence in his favor that he is smart and capable. He must be a winner, too!
Be sure and keep him in mind!
Posts: 1894 | Registered: Aug 2000
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posted
I highly suggest reading the numbers in that pdf. They make the case that trial lawyers are a major burden on the insurance industry suspect.
Posts: 15770 | Registered: Dec 2001
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