Several common birth injuries can have long-term effects. These include shoulder dystocia, brain trauma, and brachial plexus injuries that affect the nerves in the arms and shoulders.
Many of these injuries are caused by medical malpractice. By working with an experienced Birth Injury Attorney you can pursue financial compensation for your child’s lifelong medical care.
Complications
Some birth injuries are unavoidable, but others are the result of medical errors or negligence during childbirth. These preventable injuries can have lifelong consequences for infants and their families. Working with an experienced birth injury lawyer can help families pursue legal justice and get the financial compensation they need to pay for their children’s long-term treatment.
Symptoms of a birth injury can range from minor to severe and may include swelling, bruising, blood clots, or fractured bones. Injuries to nerves, such as a radial nerve in the arm or sciatic nerve in the legs, can also cause weakness, pain, and other symptoms. Other complications, such as a hematoma, can require immediate surgery.
A hematoma is an accumulation of blood under the skin, usually a result of injury during labor or delivery. A hematoma may be under the scalp (cephalohematoma) between the skull and periosteum, or in the bone of the neck (skull base hemorrhage). If a hematoma is beneath the scalp, it can affect the brain, causing seizures or unconsciousness. It can also lead to shock, which requires a blood transfusion. A hematoma that is in the skull bone can cause a fracture of one or more of the skull bones, which is known as a skull fracture. This type of injury can be accompanied by skull deformities, such as an indentation on the surface of the skull (depressed fracture).
An infant’s head trauma or blunt force trauma during labor and delivery can result in skull or facial fractures, as well as injuries to other bones in the body, including ribs and vertebrae. These injuries can lead to a variety of symptoms, including difficulty breathing, seizures, loss of consciousness, and cognitive problems.
A traumatic birth can have a significant impact on mothers, as well. It can cause post-traumatic stress disorder, a condition that can lead to recurring nightmares and flashbacks of the event. It can also lead to postpartum depression, which affects up to 45% of new mothers. According to a study published in the journal Pediatrics, a child’s PTSD can be linked to maternal depression and anxiety after a traumatic birth.
Treatment
The effects of many birth injuries can be long-lasting and costly. They may also cause serious emotional distress for parents and children. If a medical error or mistake caused your child to suffer from a traumatic birth injury, financial compensation can help ease the burden on your family. This money can cover your out-of-pocket costs for treatment, medical equipment, home modifications, and ongoing therapy expenses.
For most infants, the treatments for a birth injury depend on the type of trauma and its severity. For example, if the child sustains a fractured bone during the delivery, they may need surgery and ongoing physical therapy to repair their condition. Some injuries to the spinal cord or brain can lead to paralysis, loss of vision, loss of motor skills, and other life-altering conditions. These often require lifetime medical care and a variety of therapies, including cognitive behavioral therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and physical therapy.
In most cases, birth injuries can be treated if the problem is caught early. However, the damage can be permanent if it is not caught and addressed in time.
Most newborns will recover from minor birth-related injuries, such as bruising and swelling of the skin, without treatment. Newborns who experience nerve damage may improve over time if the problem is diagnosed early and proper treatment is given. This includes brachial plexus damage, which can cause weakness or paralysis in the arm, and Erb’s palsy, which affects the upper and lower arms.
Even though most birth injuries are avoidable, medical mistakes still occur. If your child has a severe birth injury, it is important to understand what your options are for legal recourse. Your legal team can collect and review your family’s medical records, obtain expert testimony, identify policies and protocols that were violated, and build a strong case to hold the responsible parties liable for the child’s injuries.
A successful lawsuit can help pay for your child’s future treatment and care. While a legal settlement cannot reverse the impact of a traumatic birth injury, it can provide resources for your child’s future and motivate medical providers to change their practices.
Prognosis
The prognosis for a birth injury depends on many factors, including the severity of the injury and how soon it was diagnosed and treated. Some injuries, like newborn jaundice and kernicterus, resolve on their own after treatment; however, others such as Erb’s palsy and brachial plexus injuries cause permanent impairment. These types of disabilities often require a combination of treatments including physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and other therapies. Medications may also be prescribed to treat pain, seizures, blood clots, and other symptoms.
Some birth injuries can also have a profound impact on a new mother, leading to psychological and emotional problems such as postpartum stress syndrome (PSS) or post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). These conditions cause sufferers to relive the traumatic events of their childbirth experience with recurring nightmares, flashbacks, hot or cold sweats, and feelings of fear and helplessness similar to those experienced by veterans of war.
Birth injuries can cause far-reaching consequences that affect the victim’s entire family, especially the child affected. They can be extremely expensive to treat, and they can also reduce the quality of life for both children and adults.
If a medical error caused your child’s birth injury, you can seek justice by pursuing a medical malpractice claim against the negligent healthcare provider. Our legal team is prepared to help you get the financial compensation you deserve for your child’s medical expenses, loss of income, and other related damages.
Doctors are tasked with making lightning-fast decisions during the complex process of childbirth to protect the health and well-being of both mother and baby. However, some doctors fail to uphold this responsibility and cause preventable harm. For example, a doctor who fails to perform a C-section when there are clear signs of complications or uses forceps too forcefully can damage the skull and spine of a newborn. Other examples of medical negligence include failing to recognize fetal distress or misdiagnosing conditions such as hypoxic brain damage. Contact us now to learn more about filing a birth injury medical malpractice case.
Compensation
If your child has suffered a birth injury, it can cast a shadow over their entire life. They will need treatment, medication, and support for the rest of their lives. This will be very expensive. It is important to file a compensation claim. This will help to pay for the medical treatment they need and allow them to live their lives as comfortably as possible. It is best to work with a lawyer to ensure you get the most money from your claim. Lawyers will investigate the case and help you gather evidence. They will also negotiate with the insurance company and hospital to settle. This will save you time and money. If negotiations with the insurance company do not yield a satisfactory agreement, your lawyer may choose to take the case to trial.
It is important to consult with a lawyer as soon as you suspect your child has suffered a birth injury. This is because state laws known as statutes of limitations limit how long you have to file a lawsuit. The sooner you have a lawyer, the better chance you have of winning your case.
A child’s injuries can be life-changing, and many are preventable. Unfortunately, medical negligence by doctors and nurses during delivery is common and often causes these preventable injuries. These errors can include a failure to diagnose the mother’s medical conditions during pregnancy, failing to perform a Cesarean section when it is appropriate, and using excessive force during delivery.
Some examples of birth injuries caused by medical malpractice are traumatic brain injury, a fracture of the clavicle (collarbone), and spinal cord injuries in newborns. These injuries are the result of medical errors and can have a lifetime impact on your child.
The compensation you can receive for your child’s injury will cover immediate and long-term medical costs, including hospital stays, surgeries, medications, and specialized equipment they may require as the result of their injury. You can also recover compensation for intangible losses such as pain and suffering and emotional distress. In some cases, punitive damages are awarded when the medical personnel’s actions are deemed especially egregious.