Every parent wants to make sure their new baby is delivered as healthy and well as possible. These hopes can be dashed, however, when a doctor, nurse, or another medical professional is negligent during delivery or while monitoring the child in the womb. Such negligence can result in a birth injury that may cause permanent disabilities or even death.
Whenever a child is hurt in such a manner, the parents can hold medical professionals and medical institutions legally accountable and pursue compensation for what occurred. While suing for malpractice can’t undo the harm that was already caused, it can help families deal with financial consequences from additional medical treatment and/or burial costs.
Birth Injuries that Can Lead to Medical Malpractice Claims
While there are many different types of birth injuries that can occur, the five we’ve listed below are among the most common. If you suspect or have been notified that your baby has suffered a birth injury, immediately contact a medical malpractice attorney to assess your potential for damage recovery.
Hypoxia
When a baby isn’t getting the oxygen it needs in the womb or during delivery, brain damage and organ failure can occur. When the baby is developing, it’s the medical staff’s job to monitor its heart rate and look for signs of hypoxia. When birth takes place, doctors must address issues such as placental abruption or a prolapsed umbilical cord, which can both cause hypoxia.
Infections
Newborn babies lack fully developed immune systems, which puts them at risk of severe complications from infections that would be rather mundane to a healthy adult. When doctors, nurses, and other medical staff negligently expose a baby to bacteria or communicable diseases, it can cause severe illness or even death.
Cerebral Palsy
This is a lifelong condition that can’t be cured. Individuals with cerebral palsy experience impaired ability to control their muscles as a result of brain damage during their birth. Cerebral palsy can be caused by several conditions, including hypoxia, infections, or even the incorrect use of forceps or a vacuum to extract a child during delivery.
Bone Fractures
Breaking a bone is never ideal, but it can mean lifelong disability or death to a newborn. Bone fractures occur during birth when a child isn’t oriented correctly or too much force is applied to remove it from the birth canal. For this reason, the most commonly broken bone in newborns is the collar bone, although the limbs and skull are vulnerable, too.
Brachial Plexus Injuries
The brachial plexus nerves control one’s arms and hands. When a baby is delivered, any mishandling can harm these nerves and cause several different types of injuries that often involve paralysis. One of these injuries, Erb’s Palsy, happens when an infant’s shoulders are incorrectly oriented and moved through the birth canal (shoulder dystocia).
Did Your Baby Suffer a Birth Injury? We Can Help.
Birth injuries can devastate families emotionally and financially. Parents may be unprepared to afford the cost of a disabled child that may need a lifetime of medical care, but it’s possible to get the financial support you need by taking legal action.
Our attorneys at Bertram & Graf, L.L.C. have decades of experience fighting for our clients with medical malpractice claims. We represent parents and relatives of a newborn who need to hold medical professionals and institutions accountable for birth injuries. Through dedicated legal representation like ours, it’s possible to get the recovery you deserve from the parties responsible for medical malpractice.
For more information or to schedule a free initial consultation, please contact us online or call (888) 398-2277 today.