Articles Tagged with Birth Injuries

When a woman finds out she is pregnant after trying to conceive, it is oftentimes a very joyous time. This moment is followed by months of ultrasounds, preparation, announcements, and baby showers. Many couples do their research to find the best medical professionals to help them during the process and prepare them for the birth. When the day to give birth comes, they rely on that medical professional in hopes of having a safe laboring process and delivering a healthy baby.

For many mothers, this important day goes smoothly. Unfortunately, for others, that excitement can quickly turn to devastation. Complications during the delivery process can result in birth injuries to both the mother and child. The cost of medical care after a serious birth injury has happened to a newborn can cost more than $1 million in his or her lifetime. This cost can get even more burdensome if additional expenses are added and if parents end up dealing with a loss of income as they turn their attention and time to their child’s recovery.

Dealing with a birth injury can be extremely stressful and challenging, leaving parents feeling helpless. As the bills pile up, it can feel like there is nowhere to turn. Although some parents may be hesitant to file a lawsuit against their medical professional, it’s important to remember that a lawsuit is not a tool of punishment, but a tool to help your child live the best life he or she can. The funds you may receive could help pay for specialized medical services throughout the child’s lifetime.

Few things could possibly be more frightening for any involved person or family member to contemplate than something going wrong in an operating room.

And when babies are the focal point in any matter involving substandard care, concern ratchets up to an unfathomable degree.

Intuitively, we all know that. It is just a given. As we note on our Syracuse Birth Injury page at the New York personal injury law firm of DeFrancisco & Falgiatano, “few things are as devastating to families as birth injuries.”

The birth of a child is a simply wonderful event. Part of it is the joy of finally being able to meet a being that has been growing inside his mother’s womb, and the other is the happiness that comes with loving someone who loves you unconditionally as well. But with every birth, the risk of complications exists, which is why birth centers have detailed protocols that they must follow in order to limit the risks of infection and injury.

Part of these protocols includes when an umbilical cord must be cut, even though, as a brand new parent, you may not think about it when the baby is first born. Nevertheless, there are questions about whether the rules surrounding when umbilical cords should be changed. 

Essentially, a recent study of infants suggested that children who a few extra minutes attached through their cords had a boost in neurodevelopment compared to those who had their cords clamped immediately after birth.

When a child is born, it is commonly a joyous occasion. After all, a birth is one of medicine’s miracles; especially with all of the things that can go wrong during a pregnancy and during a birth. However, and unfortunately, bad things can happen.

Yes, children can be affected by birth injuries and birth defects. When they occur, there are naturally a bevy of questions that parents may have. If you feel like your questions may not be valid or are highly unusual, fear not. They probably are not.  With that, we highlight some of the most common questions about birth injuries. 

What is the difference between birth injuries and birth defects? – A birth injury is likely due to something going wrong (usually negligence) during the birth, while a birth defect may have occurred prior to the birth and during the pregnancy.

The birth of a child can be described as a medical marvel. Being born alive after being nurtured in a mother’s womb just doesn’t happen without some monitoring and careful handling; especially considering all the things that can go wrong during a birth.

Because of these possibilities, many hospitals have established protocols that doctors, nurses and hospital staff must follow so that abnormalities do not turn into tragedies. Also, from a legal standpoint, there is a duty to use reasonable care when overseeing a pregnancy, as well as a birth. Essentially, physicians and medical staff must use such care in administering tests, monitoring the baby for signs of distress, and acting properly when trouble comes about. 

Of course, there may be limited times where it is okay to deviate from established protocol. Life doesn’t always allow for rules to be followed when split second decisions must be made. Nevertheless, failing to follow protocol out of negligence (or ignorance) is not acceptable. In these sensitive situations, failing to use reasonable care can create complications that can result in lifelong consequences.

Parents in Syracuse start protecting their children from the moment they learn of a pregnancy. Many books are published on the subject of “keeping your child safe,” but these books cannot answer every question parents have or help them handle labor on their own. They simply have to rely on medical professionals.

Physicians study for years before they can properly instruct patients, diagnose potential issues and deliver a child. Even after all of this training, some will make mistakes that lead to birth injuries. Some injuries are obvious. Some of them are also easy to overlook, but they could still cause serious developmental disabilities and complications in the future.

How is a new parent, without years of training, supposed to know if a birth injury occurred? Birth Injury Guide is an organization that helps parents answer questions about birth injuries, and this group has enumerated a few things to watch out for in the first 12 months that could be an indication of a birth injury.

Caring for fetuses and newborns is very important for obstetricians and neonatal nurses. Part of this care includes monitoring the birthing process to ensure that major issues are not missed. One of the hidden dangers of childbirth is internal bleeding within the child’s brain. This is a serious condition that can result in substantial neurological impairment and even death.

This is why when babies are born, their blood is tested to measure platelet levels to ensure that internal bleeding has not occurred, and so that the child has the ability to stop bleeding. Newborns with low platelet counts are given transfusions to improve those levels. 

It was conventionally believed that only low platelet levels were responsible for brain bleeds, but new research shows that attacks on a newborn’s immune system could lead to such issues. Research highlighted in a medicalnewstoday.com report  suggested that the difference in antigens between the birth mother and the child could lead the mother’s immune system to attack the fetus’ system. In these instances, close monitoring during and after the birth is necessary.

As a parent, few things in life are as traumatic as learning that your new baby may be subject to severe or permanent damage due to a birth injury. Conditions such as cerebral palsy and Erb’s palsy can have life altering consequences and it is natural to want to hold the hospital and physicians liable for your new baby’s life sentence.

However, in holding people responsible, there must be a determination as to whether the condition is due to malpractice (which would lead to a birth injury) or a genetic or physical malady, which would suggest a birth defect. 

Such a key question requires the investigation and opinion of a qualified medical expert. Essentially, the physician must be able to testify to how the condition may have been caused and must clearly show how the lack of reasonable care employed by the physicians who may be responsible for harming the child.

It is difficult enough to bring a baby who is full term into the world. For babies who are premature, caring for them is no less important, but can be difficult as well. However, modern medicine is enabling more pre-term babies to survive. However, pre-term births are still extremely dangerous. According to medicalnewstoday.com, about one in four extremely premature births results in the death of a newborn.

The problem is particularly visible with infants born between 22 and 28 weeks. Babies this young are at risk of death even with hospital supervision. However, with every additional week that a baby can grow inside its mother’s womb, the mortality risks decrease upon birth. 

Nevertheless, researchers found that several things can help in avoiding deaths after a premature birth. First, having more prenatal care could help in identifying ailments that could threaten the baby. Second, decreasing the use of prenatal antibiotics, and third the increased use of C-sections have all helped in reduce the number of premature babies falling victim to diseases that lead to death.

In medical malpractice cases, expert testimony is critically important. After all, an expert must testify as to the standard of care expected out of a medical professional and what a reasonable physician, nurse or attendant should have (or would have) done in a given situation. As such, a surgeon would likely serve as an expert witness in a matter involving a surgical mistake. A sports medicine physician would likely testify in a matter involving an athlete’s malpractice claim.

When it comes to malpractice cases involving birth injuries, would it be appropriate to have a midwife testify about the expectations of nurses in a delivery room? The Georgia Court of Appeals recently dealt with this question, and found that it would be proper for a licensed midwife to testify about the conduct and expectations of attending nurses.

At issue was whether the nurses were negligent when misinterpreting a fetus’ vitals before birth. The baby experienced a period of prolonged oxygen deprivation during labor, causing it to be born with severe brain damage.