Birth Injuries

Causes of Birth Injuries

Taking legal action against the medical professionals you suspect are responsible for your baby's injury is your right. Given the tremendous costs the injuries caused by the medical professional's carelessness can lead to, you will need the money. It's also right for you to take action on principle: someone should be held accountable for causing your baby so much pain and health problems that may last a lifetime.

To have a valid claim, you must prove negligence on the part of the physicians, nurses, and other personnel involved with the birth. Here are some of the common causes of birth injuries:

1. Failing to detect hypoxia-A tangled umbilical cord, infection, or damage to the placenta may deprive the newborn of oxygen, which is called hypoxia. Medical professionals must quickly recognize the signs that such a thing has occurred and taken quick action before the baby sustains a severe injury.
2. Failure to perform tests-Your doctor has a duty to ensure that you have a healthy pregnancy and that you can deliver the baby safely. If you do your part by going in for scheduled check-ups, they must do their part by conducting specific tests that determine whether there are complications that may endanger the life and health of the unborn child.
3. Failure to correctly use labor-inducing drugs-Regulatory authorities should approve any drugs used to induce birth. Your physician should never put you and your child at risk by using experimental or off-label medications for this purpose.
4. Incorrect use of forceps-Medical personnel is required to be thoroughly trained in the use of forceps. Improper use of these devices can lead to hypoxia, fetal distress, and other such traumas and injuries.
5. Delaying a C-section-If you're having extreme difficulty giving birth, your doctor should recognize this and take decisive action. You may require a cesarean section. Any delay in carrying out this procedure can put both you and your child in danger.

Birth Injury Types

The carelessness and negligence of medical personnel can impact the health and well-being of your child in the short-term, and in the most extreme cases, for life. Here are some of the most common injuries sustained during birth:

1. Brain injuries-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 it can develop as a result of infections, oxygen deprivation, and infant stroke.
2. Nerve injuries-These types of injuries can occur during or before delivery. They include: Facial nerve damage, which is evident when a newborn cries and their face appears lopsided
3. Brachial plexus or limb weakness
4. Phrenic nerve damage, which consists of difficulty in breathing
5. Paralysis, which is a rather rare condition
6. Injuries to bone, skin, and soft tissue-Bones can be fractured during delivery. A fracture of the collarbone is 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. Persons without such training can leave permanent marks and injuries on your baby, some of which may cause severe pain.

How Do I Know if My Child Was Injured Due to Medical Malpractice?

In the beginning, you may only suspect that something isn't right. A baby can't articulate the place or intensity of their pain. If your baby shows constant irritation, then you should ask for a thorough diagnosis. If the results show that your baby has a severe health condition, then you should have it investigated independently. Do not count on the admission of fault by anyone from the team that delivered your baby. However, before you are discharged, you should make sure you have copies of all the medical documents related to the birth and 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 truth of what happened to your baby. The lawyer you hire will review the documents you obtained. They will also ask you to recall the events surrounding the birth of your child and the subsequent conversations you had with your medical team.

Your 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 team made an error or acted negligently or carelessly, your lawyer will find out about it. You will then have the grounds for taking legal action against them. If the medical team that delivered your baby was clearly in the wrong, if their malpractice led to the injury of your newborn, your attorney will gather the evidence necessary to compel them to settle. If they are unwilling to settle the case, they will go to court.

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