Sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) is feared by parents everywhere. Medical experts still aren’t sure exactly what causes SIDS. It is thought that infants who die of SIDS had an immature arousal center in the brain that failed to wake them up upon having difficulty breathing. Unfortunately, SIDS can occur even when parents take precautions to prevent it. It’s important to understand the risks of SIDS and to do everything possible to reduce your infant’s risk.

Know the Risks
Medical experts recommend that parents be cautious about SIDS until their children turn one year of age. However, the peak time for SIDS deaths is between two and four months. It appears that male infants, African-Americans, Native Americans, low-birthweight babies, and preemies are at the highest risk of SIDS, as are infants who are exposed to cigarette smoke prenatally or postnatally.

Avoid Co-Sleeping
Co-sleeping refers to the practice of putting a baby to sleep in the parents’ bed. While some people believe this promotes a closer bond between parent and child, co-sleeping is very dangerous because infants can easily suffocate. Instead, parents can place infants to sleep in their own bedroom, but only in a bassinette. When the infant is older, he or she can then be moved to a crib in the nursery.

Use the Right Position
It’s vitally important to only put your infant to sleep on his or her back. Sleeping on the stomach or side can prevent infants from getting enough oxygen. Back sleeping is crucial even for short naps. To prevent flattening of the head, do supervised tummy time with your baby every day.

Clear the Crib
It can be tempting to adorn an infant’s crib with crib bumpers, beautiful quilts, and soft stuffed animals. But the only thing that should be in a crib is the baby. Any object placed into the crib could pose a risk to the baby during sleep.

After a birth trauma that results in cerebral palsy, parents face many choices in helping their children overcome obstacles caused by their disabilities. Medical equipment can help children with cerebral palsy in a number of different ways, including with mobility issues. In cases in which medical malpractice leads to a birth injury, your cerebral palsy lawyer can seek compensation for the future costs associated with this kind of medical equipment. Here are some of things parents of kids with cerebral palsy should consider when choosing and using medical equipment.

Choosing Equipment
Your child’s doctor and/or a physical therapist will play a central role in working with you to select the right medical equipment for your child. Often, the doctor will refer you to a representative for a provider for a piece of equipment that may benefit your child, and that representative will evaluate your child’s case and make a recommendation based on your child’s specific needs. Some of the things that should be considered when choosing equipment for your child are expectations for growth and function, your child’s need for body and head support, his or her history of pressure sores, and whether manual or powered equipment is best. Your budget and preferences are also considerations that will help to shape the final decision.

Using Equipment
When your child gets new medical equipment, it is helpful to attend any training sessions provided by the company or recommended by the doctor, or a therapist. Know who to call when you have questions, and alert your doctor if you are not getting the expected functionality out of any equipment you choose. Adaptions may be necessary to meet the particular needs of your child.

Birth injuries are life altering for a child and also a family, but Pegalis & Erickson, LLC is here to help you get the assistance and compensation you deserve for your child, and to help you take care of your child’s special needs. Talk to a birth injury lawyer in Long Island today by calling (516) 684-2900.

Fetal distress occurs when the fetus is deprived of oxygen during labor. Typically, the doctor can determine if the fetus is in distress by monitoring the heartbeat, but when it is not discovered, it can lead to serious birth injuries. If your doctor fails to diagnose fetal distress or takes actions that cause fetal distress, and your child was seriously injured, you should investigate whether medical negligence was involved.

Fetal distress usually occurs as the result of a past term pregnancy or because of labor complications. It can be treated by delivering oxygen to the mother, increasing intravenous fluids, or turning the woman on her side. If the distress does not resolve, a cesarean delivery may be required.

If fetal distress occurred during your delivery and now your baby is suffering as a result, contact Pegalis & Erickson, LLC for a review of your case to see if medical malpractice could be to blame. Our medical malpractice attorneys have a track record of winning compensatory settlements for families who are facing the repercussions of birth injuries on Long Island . Talk to an attorney today by calling (516) 684-2900.

Cerebral palsy is a neurological disorder that hinders body movement and muscle coordination. It is most often caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain or body during labor or childbirth and can be a result of medical malpractice. Cerebral palsy is considered a birth injury because it is often linked the following preventable problems:

Untreated Health Issues in the Mother
The mother’s health is essential to the wellbeing of the child. If doctors fail to detect and treat health problems such as infections and diabetes in the mother during pregnancy, it can have devastating effects on the child.

Inadequate Monitoring of Fetal Condition
Just as the mother needs to be monitored during pregnancy and childbirth, the baby does as well. If doctors neglect to monitor the child’s heartbeat or detect a prolapsed umbilical cord, there is a chance for preventable brain trauma to occur.

Failure to Perform Necessary Procedures
In some cases the baby is too large to safely pass through the birth canal, requiring a cesarean section. If the doctor delays or fails to perform a medically necessary cesarean section, the child can experience irreversible brain damage.

If your child has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy you can contact a cerebral palsy lawyer in Long Island to discuss the possibility of filing a medical malpractice lawsuit. Please contact Pegalis & Erickson at (516) 684-2900 or online to schedule a consultation.

You may not have heard of it, but the T-Zone plays a central role in your ability to fight infection. When you touch an area in the T-Zone, the bacteria on your hands is easily transferred and can trigger an infection. The T-Zone is so important that some experts are pushing for medical personnel to be trained in avoiding the T-Zone to reduce their chances of contracting an infection and passing it along to patients.

The T-Zone consists of the eyes, nose, and mouth. These areas contain membranes that are easily breached by bacteria and they are often the gateway for infection. By not touching these areas with dirty hands, you can reduce the risk of infection. Avoiding the T-Zone can be especially important to medical workers, who have high levels of exposure to infectious bacteria.

Pegalis & Erickson, LLC represents people with a variety of medical negligence claims from hospital-acquired infections to birth injuries. If you need help with medical malpractice on Long Island, please call (516) 684-2900.

Lung cancer is one of the most common cancers, and its prevalence deserves an overview in observance of Lung Cancer Awareness Month.

Early Detection
Besides prevention, early detection is best way to identify effective treatment. The sooner you learn you have cancer and begin treatment, the higher your chance of recovery. Lung cancer screening can detect the disease before symptoms start. If a doctor fails to recommend screening or fails to correctly interpret testing which is performed, your chances of survival could greatly diminish. Sometimes lung cancer is misdiagnosed as pneumonia or other benign lung infections.

Late or Misdiagnosis
Unfortunately, lung cancer is often diagnosed too late or incorrectly. Both late diagnosis and misdiagnosis keep you from getting the treatment you need when you need it. Ways to diagnose lung cancer include bronchoscopy, biopsy, CT scan, PET scan, MRI, and bone scan. With the many options available, diagnoses should come in a timely manner.

Mistreatment
There are numerous forms of treatment for lung cancer, including surgery, radiation, chemotherapy, targeted therapy, and immunotherapy. Most patients receive a combination of treatments, which requires a team of several doctors to coordinate plans and communicate effectively. If doctors fail to coordinate treatments, you may not receive the proper care for your diagnosis.

If you or someone you know is concerned they experienced a medical error relating to lung cancer diagnosis or treatment, or other health care errors, contact Pegalis & Erickson, LLC online or call us at (516) 684-2900. We will be happy to schedule a one-on-one consult in Long Island, New York.

When you are facing breast cancer, one of the last things you want to discover is that a misdiagnosis or late diagnosis could have compromised your prognosis. Diagnostic errors don’t always apply to missed or late diagnoses but also staging. If you feel your breast cancer was not timely diagnosed, here is what you need to know about medical negligence in breast cancer diagnostics and how you can become empowered as a patient.

How do breast cancer misdiagnoses happen?
Avoidable medical errors happen daily in hospitals and doctors’ offices across the country, and breast cancer misdiagnosis or late diagnosis are among the mistakes that medical professionals make. Misdiagnosis and late diagnosis can happen at several different stages in the process. In some cases, mammograms, sonograms, or digital films may not be read appropriately. In other cases, the results of a biopsy may not be tested appropriately and may provide incorrect results. Because early treatment is so crucial for breast cancer patients, a missed diagnosis or a delayed diagnosis not only means that treatments have to be more invasive and cause more significant quality of life issues, but it could also lead to loss of life that may have been preventable with earlier intervention.

What can patients do?
As a patient, it is important to be proactive about your care. Ask questions, speak up when you have concerns, and don’t take anyone’s word simply because he or she is a medical professional. Demand follow-up testing, second opinions, and anything else you need to feel confident that you are getting the right answers about your health.

Pegalis & Erickson helps patients facing medical malpractice, including missed diagnoses, get the compensation they deserve. Dial (516) 684-2900 and talk to a medical malpractice attorney on Long Island to understand your rights.

During a stressful visit to the hospital, it’s often challenging for patients to keep track of their providers’ questions, instructions, and recommendations. It’s even more challenging, if not downright impossible, for people with limited to no English proficiency to participate in their own healthcare. This is why New York hospitals and all those receiving federal funding are legally required to provide interpreter services when they are needed to allow equal access to healthcare services. A violation of this requirement might constitute medical malpractice in the situation concerning informed consent to treatment.

Some states have also passed legislation to ensure all patients’ right to understand and participate in their own healthcare. California leads the nation with the number of these laws on the books. But unfortunately, many physicians are still unfamiliar with the mandate to provide interpreter services and language access can be implemented differently from hospital to hospital.

The medical negligence lawyers of Pegalis & Erickson, LLC handle a wide range of medical malpractice cases, including emergency room errors, birth trauma, wrongful death, and medication errors. Patients are invited to call (516) 684-2900 to speak with an attorney at our medical malpractice law firm in New York.