Hannah Tilton was born with severe mental retardation, blindness, the inability to speak, and a reliance on both a wheelchair and feeding tubes. Many of the birth injuries she sustained were the result of a lack of oxygen she suffered during the delivery.

However, a fetal monitor that had been put in place to monitor Hannah’s oxygen and read that there was a problem went unnoticed by a midwife at the Central Maine Medical Center in Lewiston, ME where the birth took place.

A medical malpractice case ensued following the birth complications. On July 1, following four hours of deliberation, a jury found that the midwife had breached the standard of care by not properly recognizing the warning signs.

As a result, the Tilton family was awarded $500,000 for the permanent impairment and loss of enjoyment of life that Hannah faces for the rest of her life, $345,000 to cover past medical expenses, and $2.3 million for her future medical and health-care costs.

For children who suffer a birth injury during delivery, there are usually a number of expensive medical equipment they must purchase, and treatments they must undergo, in order to live a more comfortable life. If you or a loved one are struggling to afford the financial costs associated with caring for a child who suffered a birth injury, contact a birth injury attorney at Sokolove Law today to learn more about the legal options that are available.

Birth Injury

Stephen Wampler was born with cerebral palsy that has always limited his movement. Nonetheless, he was able to take up the rigorous sport of mountain climbing. Following a year of training with a rope and pulley system, Wampler set out to become the first person with cerebral palsy to ever climb El Capitan, a 3,000-foot mountain in Yosemite National Park.

The climb was originally meant to show children that anything can be accomplished with the right mindset while also raising money for his Wampler Foundation, which helps children with disabilities attend outdoor camps in the Sierra Nevada mountain range.

However, his six-day climb ended up doing more than that. In addition to earning him a nomination for an ESPY Award for “Male Athlete with a Disability,” it also was chronicled in a documentary film titled Wall: The Journey Up, which will premiere at a local park later this month.

“I was so exhausted, so dehydrated, so hungry, so sleep-deprived that after day one, it’s all a blur,” Wampler said of the climb.

Wampler is an example of how individuals born with cerebral palsy, or any other kind of birth injury, can succeed in life and overcome their obstacles with the proper treatments. However, for families who may have trouble affording the proper treatments, pursuing a financial settlement through a childbirth injury lawsuit may be a viable option. Speak to acerebral palsy attorney at Sokolove Law today to learn more about your legal options.

Birth Injury

The show, titled “Rollin’ with Zach,” will premiere December 12 on OWN: Oprah Winfrey Network and hopes to raise awareness regarding cerebral palsy while also showing that those afflicted with it are able to lead productive and exciting lives.

Anner was something of an Internet star before he submitted an audition video to “Your OWN Show: Oprah’s Search for the Next TV Star,” a reality show that promised to give its winner a deal to create an original series on OWN. Some 15,000 auditions were submitted for the reality series. Anner was one of two contestants chosen to create their own show.

“Rollin’ with Zach” is a travel show where Anner “explores the country, meets new people, indulges in his favorite treats, and attempts new and exciting experiences he never imagined possible.” In each episode, Anner travels to a city and conquers a “Top Five” list of activities for that area that range from surfing and sailing to appearing as a contestant on “The Price is Right”.

Anner’s show will demonstrate that while cerebral palsy is a devastating condition, those afflicted with it can live fulfilling lives if they receive the proper care and treatment.

If you or a loved one have a child with a birth injury such as cerebral palsy, you may be able to take legal action. Pursuing a cerebral palsy lawsuit could result in a substantial monetary settlement to help fund any treatment and/or assistance your child needs for the remainder of their life. Speak to a birth injury attorney at Sokolove Law today for a free consultation.

Birth Injury

Lokomat robot-assisted walking therapy utilizes a harness that is suspended over a treadmill with robotic leg straps on it. The patient is attached to the harness and leg straps before a computer begins moving their legs on the treadmill at a controlled speed in a natural motion. The repetitive walking pattern has been found to help strengthen muscles, Improve circulation, and teach the brain walking motions.

A recent report from CBS’s New York television station profiled MacKenzie Maher, a young girl who was born with cerebral palsy that initially left her unable to walk. However, after working with doctors and using the Lokomat method in a clinical trial, she is now able to walk on her own.

“Like before I couldn’t even keep up with my family when I was walking. Now my mom says that I have to actually slow down,” MacKenzie said.

While MacKenzie was able to get her treatments funded through the Shriners, not everyone who could benefit from Lokomat therapies may be as fortunate. If you or a loved one have a child who suffered a birth injury and need money to fund medical expenses such as Lokomat therapy, contact a birth injury attorney at Sokolove Law today to learn if you may be able to pursue legal action.

Birth Injury

While a number of treatments are available for those with cerebral palsy, a new treatment from the St. Louis Children’s Hospital that has been perfected by neurosurgeon Dr. T.S. Park has become a popular option for those who can afford the treatment and make the trip to Missouri.

Dr. Park’s specialty is the selective dorsal rhizotomy, a procedure that was developed more than 30 years ago that involves the cutting sensory nerves in the bottom of the spine to relieve muscle rigidness that often is caused by cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy patients who have trouble walking are the most common recipients of the procedure and have shown considerable improvement in their ability to walk as a result.

Park is known for developing a less-invasive technique of the procedure that involves removing bone from one vertebrae to locate the spasticity-causing nerves. He has performed his version of the procedure – which has fewer long-term back complications and side effects – since 1991.

Park’s procedure has gained even more popularity in recent years as international patients, particularly ones from the UK, have begun making the long trip for it. His peers have also heaped praise upon him for the work he has put into the procedure.

“His findings are absolutely fundamental and influential,” Dr. Ralph Dacey Jr., the Washington University chairman of neurological surgery, recently told a WU magazine, according to St. Louis Today. “He is one of the few people in the world to have perfected the technical aspects of this procedure, and he has systematically studied its effectiveness and role in the overall treatment of cerebral palsy.”

Some hurdles that families who want to sign their child with cerebral palsyfor the procedure may initially face may regard financing, as the procedure is expensive. However, if your child’s development of cerebral palsy may have been caused by medical negligence or doctor error, it may be worth pursuing a cerebral palsy lawsuit.

Speak to a birth injury attorney today to learn more about a lawsuit that could result in a substantial monetary award to help fund medical treatments, such as a selective dorsal rhizotomy, for the rest of your child’s life.

Birth Injury

Tyler Sexton was born in February 1986, 12 weeks earlier than expected. Soon after the birth, his lungs collapsed and posed such a danger that his parents were told that he would probably not live. Even after pulling through the ordeal, he was eventually diagnosed with spastic diplegia, a form of cerebral palsy. He was 18 months old when his parents noticed that he was not able to sit up or crawl very easily. Because the cerebral palsy affected his lower extremities, doctors predicted that he would spend the rest of his life in a wheelchair.

However, Tyler committed himself to proving doctors wrong and worked with a physical therapist beginning at age three when he received his first walker.

“It was just embedded in me,” Tyler said. ”My parents instilled in me such a perseverance. If Mom and Dad say I can walk, then I can walk.”

After spending years improving his balance and muscle control through therapy and undergoing 16 surgeries, Tyler learned to walk on his own. He also learned to get around independently with the help of a Segway and his golden retriever service dog named Danny. After graduating magna cum laude from the University of Southern Florida in 2007, Tyler enrolled in the University of Sint Eustatius School of Medicine to become a doctor.

Despite application denials from interviewers at other medical schools and warnings that patients did not want a doctor who was disabled, Tyler graduated from medical school this June with a medical doctorate in hyperbaric medicine.

Currently an adjunct professor at the university, he has already passed the medical boards and is currently interviewing for residencies. He and his mother have also written a book, God Bless These Little Legs, documenting his battle with cerebral palsy.

“I am an example that all things are possible, and I can tell a patient that I know how they feel and mean it,” he said.

If you or a loved one have given birth to a child with cerebral palsy, there are treatment options available that may be able to help the child overcome some of the disabilities they are facing and lead a normal life. Speak to a birth injury attorney at Sokolove Law today to learn whether it is possible to bring a lawsuit  against a doctor or medical center that may have caused the birth injury.

Birth Injury

According to Mashable.com, three-year-old Noah Rahman was born with “moderate” cerebral palsy that limited his speaking and cognitive abilities, while also hampering the fine motor skills in his upper and lower body.

In an attempt to improve his movement, Noah was given an Apple iPad when he turned two and quickly began using the device for 1-2 hours every day to read and write in English, Arabic, and Spanish while also playing with various apps.

Within a year, doctors began noticing significant improvements in Noah’s abilities. While his cognitive and motor abilities had been diagnosed as progressing 12 months slower than usual when he was two-years-old, both had caught up and returned to normal progression levels within four months of using the iPad. This stunning progress was attributed to the fact that the iPad is a more intuitive device in terms of communication skills than a computer mouse.

“Touch has made it exceptionally accessible — everyone has an iPad, everyone has an iPod,” said Michelle Diament, cofounder of the disability news website Disability Scoop. “If you’re someone with a disability, having something that other people are using makes you feel like part of the in-crowd.”

Furthermore, the variety of inexpensive touch-to-speak apps, education tools, and games on tablet devices have also been used with increasing regularity as a means of communication, therapy, and behavior monitoring for children with similar challenges.

If you or a loved one have a child who suffered a childbirth injury and requires various forms of treatment to help improve movement and cognitive abilities, medical bills can often pile up very quickly. Contact abirth injury attorney at Sokolove Law today to learn more about possible legal action you can take to potentially get a monetary settlement from the doctor who caused the birth injury.

Birth Injury

MediGait, a company headquartered in Haifa, Israel, and founded by Israel Institute of Technology professor Yoram Baram, recently conducted a clinical trial for its new product: the GaitAid. The device consists of a pair of virtual reality goggles with headphone to provide audio and visual stimulation, as well as small unit that is clipped onto the patient’s pants.

Movements tracked by the unit are recognized and replicated through the goggles and headphones to give the illusion of movement.

The clinical study tested the product on 10 children with cerebral palsy, and 10 similarly aged children who were not born with birth injuries. During the study, children used the device to walk along a 10-meter path for 20 minutes. After a break, the children walked the path again, but this time without the device and while being measured for improvements in their muscle abilities.

Results from the study found that all children in the study who had cerebral palsy “gained a significant improvement” in the ability to walk, while the children with no birth injuries showed no difference.

Furthermore, the degree of improvement was found to be proportional to the rate of disability, meaning that children who had a greater difficulty walking prior to using the device ended up benefitting from it the most.

The paper describing the study is already available online, and the findings were recently accepted for publication in the Neuromodulation Journal.

If your child was born with cerebral palsy, finding the right medical care and rehabilitation options are a primary concern, no matter the financial costs. If you believe your child’s birth injury was caused by medical negligence, there may be legal options worth pursuing that could result in a substantial compensation. Speak to a birth injury attorney at Sokolove Law today to learn more.

Birth Injury

In Gibbstown, N.J., local contractor Lovett Contracting is facing legal action and potentially stiff fines from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as a result of the alleged improper clean-up and removal of asbestos-containing materials used in a former DuPont Chemical gunpowder plant. The lawsuit alleges Lovett was in violation of the federal Clean Air Act and the National Emission Standard for Hazardous Air Pollutants regarding asbestos. The EPA is seeking $32,000 per day and per violation as well as court costs, which can ultimately amount to hundreds of thousands of dollars of violations for the contractor.

According to The Gloucester County Times, the EPA allegations listed six violations, including failure to take required precautions in demolishing or removing about 5,000 feet of piping and 3,000 feet of pipe insulation with dangerous amounts of asbestos that could be exposed to the air. Once airborne, the asbestos becomes a hazard to employees and the local community alike.

While the contractor had no comment to local media, EPA spokesman Elias Rodriguez said, “Asbestos is a known carcinogen, and inhalation of asbestos fibers can cause serious health risks.” He noted, “Using water and equipment such as glove bags and other containment measures prevents the release of asbestos fibers and minimizes the chance of exposure.”

However, high government penalties will not save the lives currently in peril because of this added risk of developing asbestos-related cancers. All these fines can do is punish the offenders. They can not take away the pain, suffering and struggle manymesothelioma and asbestosis victims face on a regular basis. Workers are regularly put at risk during these massive asbestos clean-up projects, with little upfront protection.

Isn’t it time to ban this deadly substance? Join us and help us ban asbestos now.

Asbestos

Unfortunately, a ban is only step one in the fight to beat asbestos-related diseases. Asbestos once was used so widely that it exists potentially everywhere. It can turn up in places you’d least expect it — in the ceilings and floors of buildings that were built before 1980, in duct tape, caulking and textured paints, and even in car brakes and other automotive parts, just to name a few.

Given the pervasiveness of asbestos over the years, signs of the material and deaths from mesothelioma can occur for decades after a country bans its use. One needs to look no further than the United Kingdom (UK) to see an example of how a country must manage its “asbestos legacy” long after it has been prohibited.

The UK government banned asbestos in 1999 with the passing of The Asbestos Prohibitions Amendment Regulations. However, The Health and Safety Executive, a UK government body responsible for the regulation and enforcement of workplace health, safety and welfare, estimates that more than half a million non-domestic buildings on the island of Britain contain asbestos to this day.

As a result, occurrences of mesothelioma in the UK are among the highest in the world. The UK government estimates that 4,000 residents die as a result of complications associated with asbestos exposure annually. Those numbers are expected to rise, since it can take years to develop illnesses after exposure to the deadly substance. By comparison, in the United States, there are an estimated 10,000 deaths attributed to asbestos-related diseases each year.

The dramatic rise in mesothelioma deaths both at home and abroad underlines the dangers associated with even the smallest exposures to asbestos. The United States will continue to face these same asbestos-related health risks so long as the material is allowed to be used – and perhaps even long after it’s banned.

There’s no reason for our political leaders to delay in banning this deadly material. It’s time to ban asbestos now.

Asbestos