Birth Injury Attorney

There are various birth injuries, each of which can have varying severity, manifested in a particular part of the body, and result in permanent disability or impairment. Infants may be mentally or physically handicapped for the rest of their lives due to serious damage sustained after birth, but mild injuries may heal over time with or without treatment. Gain a better understanding of the most frequent forms of birth injuries.

Birth Asphyxiation

Asphyxia, also known as asphyxiation, is a condition that results from a lack of oxygen in the body and can result in unconsciousness, damage to the brain, or even death. Infants risk asphyxiation if they do not obtain an adequate supply of oxygen through the placenta or the umbilical cord when the mother is in labor or while giving birth. This may happen if the labor lasts for an extended period of time, if the C-section is performed too late, or if the shoulder dystocia problem is not managed properly.

Delivery Room Errors

The process of delivering a baby is one that is both difficult and delicate. Any mistake that occurs while giving birth can result in ongoing medical issues. Physicians are obligated to treat all of the patients under their care. The implications could be quite severe if they are unable to fulfill this commitment.

Shoulder Dystocia

Shoulder dystocia is a birth complication that happens when the infant’s shoulder becomes trapped behind the mother’s pubic bone during labor and delivery. This can be dangerous for both the mother and the child.

It may occur in deliveries in which the infant is disproportionately large in relation to the mother’s pelvic bone and birth canal, or in a “sunny-side up” delivery in which the infant is placed face up as opposed to face down. Shoulder dystocia should be treated immediately, regardless of the underlying cause, to prevent oxygen deprivation in the infant.

Erb’s Palsy

Erb’s palsy is brought on by damage to the nerves that make up the brachial plexus. These nerves travel from the spinal cord, down through the shoulder and neck, and into the hand, wrist, and fingers. In a difficult delivery, these nerves may be stretched, torn, or pulled completely from the spinal cord.

Fetal Distress

Fetal distress is a term that is used when a fetus is suffering from lack of oxygen and blood flow. This can be seen on the fetal heart rate monitor. When a fetus is in fetal distress delivery is required to prevent permanent brain damage.

Head Cooling

Therapeutic hypothermia or hypothermia therapy, often known as head cooling, is a treatment method for birth-related brain injury in newborns. It is usually regarded as one of the most successful treatments for hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). It involves reducing the brain’s temperature, which can halt the death of brain cells and lessen the chance of lasting brain damage. If your child was born with HIE he or she may have required head or body cooling to prevent brain damage.

Kernicterus

Kernicterus, also known as hyperbilirubinemia, is a form of brain injury that can arise as a consequence of severe jaundice. Although jaundice is a relatively common condition in newborns and can be easily treated, if it goes unrecognized and untreated, it can become quite severe and result in dangerously high levels of bilirubin in the blood can lead to brain damage.

Preeclampsia

Preeclampsia is a condition that often manifests itself after the 20th week of pregnancy. This condition is characterized by high blood pressure, elevated amounts of protein in the urine, and edema (swelling of the feet, ankles, hands, or face). Not receiving treatment poses a risk of death to both the mother and the infant. 

Vacuum/Forceps Injuries

In certain circumstances, a doctor may be required to perform an instrument-assisted delivery to expedite the delivery of a baby exhibiting signs of fetal distress. A vacuum extractor or forceps may aid the infant’s passage through the delivery canal. In these situations, the physician must not only exercise good judgment in trying an instrument-assisted delivery by placing the vacuum or forceps on the correct part of a babies head and using only gentle traction, otherwise vacuum extraction complications can occur.

Brachial Plexus

Injuries to the brachial plexus, a bundle of nerves beginning in the neck and spreading to the shoulder, arm, wrist, and hand, can develop from various birth-related reasons. Depending on the extent of nerve trauma, brachial plexus injuries can induce either temporary or permanent paralysis. It can cause Erb’s palsy and Klumpke’s palsy, for which no recognized treatments exist.  

Cephalohematoma

Blood can form between a newborn’s scalp and skull, causing a condition known as cephalohematoma. A hematoma is when blood collects outside the body’s blood arteries. The head is referred to as the cephalo-. This kind of birth damage happens when pressure applied to a baby’s head causes blood vessels in the scalp to break. 

Cerebral Palsy

A particular form of brain injury, cerebral palsy is typically sustained after a traumatic or difficult childbirth. During birthing, if there is an interruption in the flow of oxygen to the baby’s brain, cells in the brain will begin to die off very quickly. This is the underlying cause of cerebral palsy in the long run. 

Neonatal Sepsis

Bacteria are the most common cause of newborn sepsis. However, it can also be caused by other germs. If your amniotic fluid is contaminated, your baby may become infected before birth. The newborn may be exposed to an infection in the birth canal during delivery.

Neonatal Spinal Cord Injury

Neonatal spinal cord injury is a rare consequence of difficult delivery birth trauma. The most common symptoms are diminished or absent movement, loss of reflexes, apnea or intermittent respiration, and a lack of responsiveness to painful stimulation.

Placenta Previa

It is possible for pregnant women suffering from placenta previa to undergo significant bleeding, which puts both their lives and the lives of their unborn infants in danger. When a mother suffers from this potentially life-threatening disease, it is possible that her unborn child will have to be delivered before its lungs and other important organs have fully developed.

Injuries To Mothers

Although most people think of newborns when they hear “birth injury,” mothers can also sustain injuries during childbirth. At any point throughout pregnancy, labor, delivery, or after childbirth, a mother is at risk of suffering an injury to herself or her baby if she receives inadequate or negligent medical treatment.  

Wrongful Death of a Child

The wrongful death of an infant happens when an infant dies due to negligence, which can include negligent medical care. Some birth injuries, such as severe asphyxiation, hemorrhaging in the brain, hydrocephalus, or injury to the spinal cord, are more likely to result in death than others.  

Wrongful Death Of A Mother

Pregnant women with placenta previa may have life-threatening bleeding that endangers their lives and their unborn children. When a mother gets this severe illness, her baby may need to be delivered before the lungs, and other essential organs have fully developed.

Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy

Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, also known as HIE, is a disorder in which there is damage to the brain brought on by an inadequate supply of oxygen and blood to the brain. This category of birth injury can result in developmental delays, seizures, cerebral palsy, and other diseases that are caused by damage to the brain.

Facial Nerve Palsy and Birth Trauma  

Face nerve palsy, or paralysis, is a condition that can be present at birth in infants. This condition results in the loss of coordinated movement in the facial muscles. This may result from a catastrophic injury such as facial paralysis sustained during birth or a developmental abnormality involving the brain or facial nerve. 

Periventricular Leukomalacia

The term “periventricular” refers to the ventricle region. “Leuko” means white, and “malacia” is softening. Periventricular leukomalacia is a word that refers to the destruction (or softening) of the brain’s white matter surrounding the ventricles, which are fluid-filled regions of the brain. Oxygen depletion around the time of birth causes periventricular leukomalacia. Other risk factors include brain hemorrhages and infections transferred during delivery. 

Seizure Disorders 

Neonatal seizures are most common in infants who have suffered an injury during birth, such as brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation, traumatic force to the head, or an infection. Some infants may only experience a single seizure throughout their lifetime. For others, they may reoccur and present as a seizure disorder that may persist throughout infancy and maturity.

Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities

Intellectual and developmental disabilities can be the consequence of several different circumstances, including heredity, diseases, and birth traumas that cause early brain damage. In most cases, intellectual and developmental disabilities that are the result of a birth injury can be prevented. This is in contrast to inherited disorders and diseases, which may be unavoidable.