Birth Injuries Caused by Medical Malpractice
A birth injury is one of the most horrific situations parents can experience. There are several types of birth injuries that may happen, the most serious of which are injuries to the infant’s brain resulting from lack of oxygen or sufficient blood flow to the brain during the process of labor and delivery. Often, birth injuries such as these are preventable, because of the delay in recognizing the problem, permanent and severe injuries may occur if prompt and effective action is not taken, such as performing a Cesarean section if necessary.
Trauma and infection are other types of birth injuries that can happen to an infant during labor and delivery. If your child was the victim of a serious birth injury, you should contact an experienced birth injuries attorney. A birth injury attorney will examine the medical records in a medical malpractice case to find where the doctors, nurses or medical staff was responsible for the birth injury. This is why it is critical to find a birth injury attorney who has a strong medical background.
Doctors and nurses use a fetal heart rate monitor which checks the condition of the baby’s heart rate during labor and delivery. Birth injuries often occur because the medical staff fails to properly read the information from the fetal heart rate monitor, notify doctors that the monitor is warning there are problems with the infant, or taking immediate action to handle the emergency. By not acting promptly to the warnings, a baby can receive serious injuries, including brain injuries or even die.
Medical malpractice can lead to many types of birth injuries including:
– Cerebral Palsy, which results from a lack of oxygen to the brain of the infant during labor or after delivery.
– Developmental delays include a child failing to achieve certain milestones in normal development such as crawling, walking, or talking.
– Erbs Palsy which is sometimes referred to as brachial plexus paralysis or Klumkes palsy, which leads to paralysis, facial paralysis, loss of muscle control or feeling in arms and hands, or the inability for the baby to crawl or even sit up.
– PIH / Pregnancy induced hypertension, high blood pressure, or eclampsia, not properly monitored, can cause catastrophic results to both the mother and infant.
Doctors and nurses should also pay close attention to high risk pregnancies. Failure to not closely monitor or provide the proper medical care to a woman for a high risk pregnancy can lead to medical malpractice if the baby is injured as a result of the negligence.
If you believe your baby suffered serious injuries due to the negligence of a doctor, nurse, or hospital, you may have a medical malpractice case. Contact Dr. Bruce Fagel for a free consultation. Dr. Fagel is both a leading birth injury attorney and a licensed physician. He understands how the birth process should happen and where medical malpractice occurred in a birth injury.
Article Source: Fagel Law blog
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