The carelessness and negligence of medical personnel can impact the health and well-being of your child. The consequences of their actions may be short-term, or in the most extreme cases, may persist for life. Our personal injury law firm has seen just how severe these impacts can be – for both the injured child and their family.

Here are some of the most common injuries sustained during birth:

The harm done to the brain is the most severe kind of injury. If your baby is deprived of oxygen during birth, he or she could suffer from what is called hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy or HIE. If your baby is deprived of oxygen for too long, it can lead to the impairment of multiple brain functions. Your baby may also suffer from a hemorrhage – blood vessels leaking into the brain – and seizures.

Other birth brain injuries include jaundice and the development of the disease into kernicterus, which can lead to strep infection and meningitis. The leading birth brain injury is Cerebral Palsy (CP). It affects nearly 800,000 children, and can develop as a result of infections, oxygen deprivation, and infant stroke.

These types of injuries can occur during or before delivery. Nerve injuries include facial nerve damage, which is evident when a newborn cries and their face appears lopsided.

The brachial plexus is a nerve network in the shoulder that transports sensory and movement signals from the spinal cord to the arms and hands. Damage can cause pain, numbness, or weakness in the arms and hands.

The brachial plexus is vulnerable during delivery, with larger babies facing an increased risk for injuries. Babies in a breech position or babies whose labor lasts a very long time are also at risk for brachial plexus injury.

Because the phrenic nerve controls the diaphragm and regulates the breathing process, damage to it can be devastating. Difficulty breathing is a common symptom, as are issues with hiccups. The most serious potential impact, however, is diaphragm paralysis – a condition that prevents a baby from breathing on their own.

While birth injuries seldom result in paralysis, it is possible. Paralysis occurs when the body’s connection to the brain is damaged. There are several types of paralysis, such as complete, partial, generalized and localized. Depending on the type, paralysis may impact the following: breathing, blood flow, organ function, ability to speak/swallow, and more.

Bones can be fractured during delivery. Collarbone fractures are common, and many times the injury is not recognized until a few days after the birth. Fractures of the upper arm will cause pain to your baby, and your physician will need to apply a loose splint to limit movement.

The improper use of forceps can cause injury to the skin. Swelling and bruising are normal if a breech delivery is required. However, the medical professionals involved in the delivery should be qualified to carry out these procedures without doing harm to the baby. THose lacking sufficient training can leave permanent marks and injuries on your baby, some of which may cause severe pain.

Has your newborn baby suffered any of the injuries listed above? Contact  birth injury lawyers at our trusted personal injury law firm today.

In the beginning, you may only suspect that something isn’t quite right. A baby can’t articulate the location or intensity of their pain, of course, but if they show constant irritation, then a thorough examination is needed. If the results show that your baby has a severe health condition, then we recommend an independent investigation.

Do not count on the admission of fault by anyone from the medical team that delivered your baby. Before you are discharged, make sure you have copies of all the medical documents related to the birth as well as the subsequent examinations of your baby.

To find out what happened, you will need to hire a birth injury lawyer. Such lawyers have experience handling cases like yours. They understand the challenges involved in getting to the bottom of what happened to your baby. The lawyer you hire will review the documents you obtained and ask you to recall the events surrounding the birth of your child. They will also inquire about any subsequent conversations you had with your medical team.

Your birth injury lawyer will then launch their investigation into the medical team. They will employ skilled in-house professionals to do this. The professional history of each person on the team will be reviewed and scrutinized. The procedures and policies of the hospital in which you delivered will also be analyzed and assessed.

Your attorney will also interview each member of the team. All the documents related to your pregnancy and the birth of your child will be subpoenaed by your lawyer and reviewed by medical experts.

If your physician or a member of their medical team made an error or acted negligently or carelessly, your lawyer will find out about it. You will then have grounds for taking legal action against them.

Your medical malpractice lawyer will verify if the medical team that delivered your baby was clearly in the wrong. Your attorney will also verify if their malpractice led to the injury of your newborn. If yes, your medical malpractice lawyer will gather the evidence necessary to compel them to settle.

If the medical professional and their institution are unwilling to settle the case, then we will go to court. A trial will begin and your trusted medical malpractice lawyer will offer the legal advice and legal representation needed to manage your accident lawsuit.

If your child has been injured due to medical malpractice, our personal injury law firm can help! We can’t let this injustice go unnoticed. It’s time for action – and to hold the appropriate parties accountable for your newborn baby’s injuries. Contact our birth injury attorneys at (844) 684-1649 to review your case today.