Birth Injury Lawyer

Signs and Symptoms of Birth Injuries

Mothers and babies may have a higher risk for complications due to conditions like prolonged labor due to premature or breech birth, improperly administered pain medication, substandard medical intervention, or socio-economic factors.

Common signs and symptoms of birth injuries are:

• Bulging fontanel: Infants are most susceptible to head trauma during delivery. Bulging of the fontanels or “soft spots” on a baby’s head is a sign of pressure inside the skull. This is associated with head trauma, brain bleeds, meningitis, and other conditions.
• Seizures: About half of the babies who experience neonatal seizures, especially 48 hours after delivery, develop epilepsy later in life. Seizures connected to brain injuries can result in additional complications like cerebral palsy and other neurological disorders.
• Very high-pitched crying: Infants cry to communicate different needs. However, persistent issues like crying, fussiness, or irritability might be warning signs of a birth injury.
• Light sensitivity: Discomfort around bright lights or sunshine is another possible marker for brain damage. Babies might cry or fuss when exposed to light or develop sensitivities that make concentration challenging later in life.
• Lethargy: Compression and pressure on an infant’s brain can prompt lethargy. Infants might find it hard to wake for feedings and struggle with being alert to sounds and visual stimulation, among other things.
• Hearing loss: Birth asphyxia and hypoxia often contribute to inner ear damage, hearing loss, and “nerve deafness.”

How Are Birth Injuries Diagnosed?

It is difficult for medical professionals to provide a definitive diagnosis after birth unless their injuries are easily recognizable. Many injuries often develop later; however, the following functional tests may allow for early intervention and preliminary detection of conditions in some cases:

• Apgar Score: Apgar is a one-minute test administered one and five minutes after birth. The test checks a baby’s heart rate, muscle tone, and other signs to verify if additional medical treatment is needed.
• Brain Imaging: Imaging tests after birth, like CT scans and MRIs can uncover fractures, evidence of hemorrhaging and blood clots, bruised brain tissue, or swelling.
• Umbilical Cord Blood Gas Analysis: A cord blood gas analysis measures the infant’s metabolic condition during delivery. It helps identify babies at risk for neonatal encephalopathy.

Birth Injury Causes in Delivery

Birth injuries are unfortunate and can harm mothers and children for life. While natural causes are sometimes to blame, in many cases, physician error and negligent care can disrupt much-needed prenatal care, delivery, and postpartum care.

Prenatal Care

Prenatal care is preventative and meant to reduce risks during pregnancy and delivery. Inattentive care providers might fail to notice and treat conditions like infant bacterial or viral infections, unidentified fetal distress, or delayed births. Physicians might also recommend unsuitable medications like Tylenol, leading to neurodevelopment disorders in babies. Unfortunately, many women of color from low-income backgrounds suffer from implicit bias and health inequities, resulting in severe maternal morbidity.

Delivery

The birthing process itself can pose risks, with complications arising from both natural forces and unforeseen emergencies. For instance, if a doctor pulls a baby too hard out of the birth canal, it could lead to cervical dystonia. In another instance, umbilical cord prolapse can happen after the umbilical cord rushes past the baby through the cervix.

Postpartum Care

After delivery, mothers may experience pelvic floor damage, tearing, Caesarean wounds, and/or injuries to the perineal area.

Forceps Delivery Injuries

Doctors use forceps to intervene during complicated deliveries. Unfortunately, inappropriate use can be the source of common delivery injuries:

• Cerebral palsy
• Facial palsies
• Newborn bruising
• Brain damage or traumatic brain injuries
• Skull fractures
• Broken bones
• Cuts to the face and head

Vacuum Extraction Injuries

Vacuum delivery requires significant vaginal stretching so the baby can safely exit the birth canal. There are several drawbacks to this method:

• Newborn cephalohematoma is a bruised bump on the scalp that puts some infants at risk of neonatal jaundice.
• Erb’s palsy is paralysis of the arm caused by injury to the primary nerves, specifically the brachial plexus.
• Retinal hemorrhages or bleeding from a damaged blood vessel occurs in 75% of infants delivered by vacuum extraction.
• Cerebral palsy is a group of disorders that hinder a person’s movement, balance, and posture when a vacuum is inadequately used.
• Intracranial hemorrhage (brain bleeding) refers to broken vessels that leak into the brain due to vacuum traction and injured veins.

What Is a Traumatic Birth?

Birth trauma is an unexpected childbirth experience usually caused by events beyond a mother’s control. About 45 percent of women have a traumatic birth experience, and about four to six percent develop post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) after delivery.

Birth trauma examples include:

• Childbirth complications in mothers, such as excessive bleeding or vaginal tears
• Postpartum issues like perineal or pelvic floor damage
• Aggressive forceps and vacuum-assisted intervention that results in birth injuries
• Infant head and brain injuries due to a difficult delivery or medical negligence
• Increased bruising from birth that escalates the risk of newborn jaundice

What Are the Most Common Types of Birth Injuries?

Poorly performed birth techniques and failure to monitor fetal distress, among other factors, could explain why many infants experience a brain injury at birth.

Physical Birth Injuries:

• Erb’s palsy
• Cerebral palsy
• Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy

Infections After Birth:

• Infant meningitis
• Group B strep infection or Group B Streptococcus (GBS)
• Infant chorioamnionitis
• Maternal infections like chicken pox, chorioamnionitis, rubella, syphilis, listeriosis, and more affect pregnant women and fetuses

Common Birth Injuries for Mothers

Childbirth does not always go as planned – mismanagement during delivery, prenatal care negligence, or defective drugs and medical devices can lead to short- and long-term health issues for mothers:

• Injuries to the perineal area
• Injuries to the pelvic floor
• Muscle damage within the pelvic area muscles
• Nerve damage like numb areas of skin on the leg and limited muscle weakness
• Obstetric fistula in the birth canal, bladder, or rectum
• Pelvic organ prolapse

How Birth Injury Affects Mothers

Many women struggle with physical injuries and mental health conditions that compromise their well-being postpartum. Postnatal post-traumatic disorder or depression is very common among new mothers. They may experience:

• Nerve damage
• Pudendal neuralgia (long-term pelvic pain)
• Incontinence
• Painful sexual intercourse
• Rectovaginal fistula

These injuries can make it difficult, sometimes impossible, to return to work and financially support themselves and their families. Mothers have legal rights and an opportunity for recourse with the help of a birth injury lawyer.

Interventions for a Newborn Who Has a Birth Injury

An infant with a birth injury needs a concrete diagnosis and treatment plan as soon as possible. They may require routine medical check-ups and supportive care like physical therapy, medication, adaptive equipment, occupational and speech therapy, surgery, and more. These treatments are expensive, amounting to thousands of dollars in total. A birth injury attorney can help families file a birth injury lawsuit to help recover funds for necessary medical interventions.

Birth Injury Lawsuits: FAQs

Where Can I Get Help With My Birth Injury Case?

Birth injury attorneys are a great resource to help with birth injury cases. They may have connections with local physicians in the area who can assist with the legal process. An Ohio birth injury attorney can also work with law firms in other states or refer you to another birth injury lawyer in your area.

What Is Birth Injury Medical Malpractice?

A birth injury before, during, or after childbirth due to the failure of a healthcare provider to meet necessary standards of care can be considered medical malpractice. This is one of the most common forms of medical negligence.

How Long Do You Have To Sue for a Birth Injury?

Most birth injuries are not diagnosed until months or years after a child is born. For example, 80 percent of babies with Cerebral palsy develop a spinal deformity much later after birth. Since birth injuries fall under personal injury law, you must comply with your state’s statute of limitations that restricts the time you have to pursue legal action. A personal injury lawyer can review your state’s claim filing requirements and discuss your options.

How Long Does a Birth Injury Lawsuit Take?

Families understandably need time to recover after a challenging birth experience, but acting quickly is important. The legal process can take anywhere from several months to a year or more, depending on the circumstances of the case. A birth injury attorney can help file a birth injury lawsuit and move the legal process along faster.

How Do I Find a Birth Injury Lawyer Near Me?

Personal injury cases take an emotional toll on the plaintiff. It is natural to want legal representation you feel comfortable with and believe in as there is a chance you could be working together for months or longer. This is why it is advisable to research local birth injury law firms, especially their attorney biographies and client testimonials. You may request an in-person or virtual consultation to determine whether you are a good fit before you retain the services of a lawyer.

What is an Average Birth Injury Lawsuit Settlement Amount?

Settlement amounts are reached based on injuries sustained, economic damages, and other potential losses. Cases involving permanent disabilities like Cerebral palsy or traumatic brain injuries can result in higher awards to compensate for the total losses.

Who May Be Liable for Birth Injuries?

Multiple parties, such as healthcare providers, health systems, medical device companies, and hospitals, may be legally responsible for birth injuries. In some cases, others like a car accident driver may be responsible for causing an auto accident and injuring a pregnant mother and fetus. A birth injury lawyer can help you identify potential defendants and gather evidence to support your claim.

Questions? Talk to a Birth Injury Lawyer Today

Mothers and children who suffer from long-term birth injuries face more hurdles throughout their lives, especially when such injuries seriously disrupt critical aspects of child development. Raising a child with an injury-related disability requires a significant time and financial investment to ensure they live a happy life, whether it means 24-hour care, special accommodations, therapy, or other treatments.

Families need financial compensation to support their medical needs. At Constant Legal Group, our birth injury lawyers have a proven track record of success in handling similar cases and can help your chances of recovering the fullest possible compensation for your or your child’s birth injuries. Contact us to discuss your case.