8:30 Co-Chairs’ Opening Remarks

8:45 New Minefields In Obstetric Malpractice

Medical advances in obstetrics are leading to better defenses for the entire delivery team. Used effectively, they can do a complete end-run around plaintiffs’ attorneys and help deliver a defense verdict. But they require an effective knowledge of the medicine and its deployment, together with retaining the best experts to prove the case.

In this opening session, hear two of America’s finest obstetric malpractice lawyers—as they lead you through the most critical claims and defenses that are now available for American hospitals and the entire delivery team. They will demonstrate how their novel strategies—and their knowledge of the newest developments in obstetric medicine—have vaulted them to success in their cases. They will demonstrate how up-to-date medicine has helped prevent, manage and win obstetric malpractice cases.

9:45 The Absolute Key To The Perinatal Brain Injury Case: Understanding The Differences Between A Normal Infant Brain And An Injured Fetal And Neonatal Brain

It is impossible for any attorney—either plaintiff or defendant—to effectively represent a client in an obstetrical malpractice case without having a clear and accurate understanding of the differences between a normal infant brain and an injured one. In this must-attend presentation, a leading obstetrical specialist will discuss the development of the fetal and neonatal brain, exploring the physiological processes which cause maldevelopment and injury during the prenatal, intrapartum and neonatal periods. He will cover:

• How a normal infant brain develops in the first three months
• Exactly what ultrasound and MRI results will reveal about the developing brain—and what to look for in the fetal and neonatal brain scans
• How infection impacts the infant brain while it is a fetus
• How to distinguish different types of brain damage from the imaging results
• Hypoxic ischemic injury
• The appropriate diagnosis and treatment of infection, metabolic and blood disorders as potential causes of brain damage
• How to asses the cause and define the standard of care in neonatal infection and metabolic disorders of the infant brain
• Causes of brain injury:
  • fetal asphyxia
  • metabolic disorders
  • neonatal infection

Dr. Jonathan Muraskas
Professor of Pediatrics and Obstetrics/Gynecology Neonatal-Perinatal Medicine
LOYOLA UNIVERSITY SCHOOL OF MEDICINE

11:00 A Hidden Secret Of Success: How To Deploy The Latest Science And Tools To Determine The Origin And Timing Of Irreversible Brain Damage

Every attorney, plaintiff or defendant, needs to determine the origin of irreversible brain damage as well as its timing. Two of the best tools are neuroimaging and placental pathology. Neuroimaging involves ultrasound, CT scan and MRI. In this presentation, one of America’s leading pediatric neuroradiologists will explain how neuroimaging can be used to determine the timing and origin of the injury. As well, a leading North American pathology specialist will show how placental pathology can be used to determine the events and timing that led to the injuries sustained by the fetus. This is an important session for understanding how to determine the origin of brain damage and is required learning for any physician or lawyer in the field. You will learn:

• What works best: ultrasound, CT scans or MRIs?
• Markers of asphyxial brain damage
• Signs of traumatic brain injury
• Acute, profound v. prolonged partial asphyxia
• How to decipher the ultrasound, CT scan and MRI results for your case
• Dealing with the other causes of brain injury
• The role of placental pathology in determining the cause and events leading to brain injury
• The importance of examining the placenta
• Using these tools for success in a malpractice case

1:15 Understanding The Causes Of Brain Injury Not Caused By The Delivery Team—What Are They And How Do They Arise?

It is all too-often assumed that when an infant is born with brain damage, it is the fault of the delivery team and the hospital. With severe injuries and sky-high damages looming before them, this assumption must be examined very closely and critically. In this presentation, you will learn how to mount an effective defense by intricately exploring the other causes of brain injury—the ones not caused by the delivery team. You will learn how an effective plaintiff’s counsel reacts to these arguments of the common causes of non-negligent care, including:

• How genetic disorders can play a key role
• What the congenital factors are that must be looked at
• Why most cases of cerebral palsy are not caused by negligence
• How the he use of alcohol and drugs by an expectant mother can cause brain damage to the fetus
• Fetal alcohol syndrome
• The illnesses in pregnancy that can lead to brain damage
• How plaintiff attorneys deal with these defense arguments

2:45 The Role Of Cerebral Palsy In An Infant Brain Injury Case: Proving Or Disproving It Is Caused By Negligence

For many years, it was normally assumed that almost any baby born with cerebral palsy resulted from the negligence of the hospital or the delivery team. But this is no longer the case. Recent medical breakthroughs have shown that many babies with cerebral palsy have a congenital malformation of the brain, meaning that the malformation existed at birth and was not caused by the birthing process. And this is extremely important information in the defense of the delivery team when a brain-damaged infant is born. In this in-depth presentation, you will learn:

• What is cerebral palsy?
• Causes of cerebral palsy?
• Neonatal infection and brain damage
• What every lawyer needs to know about cerebral palsy and negligence and how to separate causation
• How cerebral palsy comes about from the birthing process
• How to make the diagnosis
• Realistic goals for a child with cerebral palsy
• The criteria for implicating intrapartum care to cerebral palsy
• Understanding the fetal heart rate evaluation, infection, trauma and prematurity in the development of CP

4:30 The Brain Injured Infant Case Arising From Shoulder Dystocia: How To Combat Plaintiff Allegations

Shoulder dystocia remains a significant problem in obstetric malpractice. While the injuries involved can be quite significant, the worst care scenario can lead to a brain-damaged infant. It is an area of obstetric medicine that must be thoroughly understood by attorneys if they are to successfully defend a case. In this presentation, learn:

• The key risk factors for dystocia
• How to determine how—and when—the dystocia arose to asses what might have been done differently
• Understanding the relationship between shoulder dystocia and brain injury
• What are the medical defenses available to attorneys in these situations?
• Dealing with the common plaintiff allegations
• When is a case indefensible?
• What are the questions that must be asked of the expert witnesses?

5:45 Conference Adjourns For Day 1