Birth Injuries: Understanding Your Rights as a Parent

Every parent wants their newborn to be healthy and happy. Prospective parents have the right to expect that their OBGYNs and other medical providers will provide competent care during their child’s pregnancy, labor, delivery, and post-delivery. Competent care means anticipating the health risks to both the newborn and the mother and knowing how to respond when those risks appear. Most birth injuries are preventable if birth doctors exercise proper precautions.

What are birth injuries?

Your child’s birth injury/injuries may be due to medical malpractice – the failure to provide competent medical care. Some of the many types of medical mistakes that may occur during pregnancy or the delivery of your child include:

• Cerebral palsy. This birth injury occurs when your baby does not get enough oxygen. Cerebral palsy causes motor disorders, which often make your child’s life very difficult and often require constant support from family members and long-term medical care.
• Brachial palsy. This birth injury occurs due to problems moving your baby’s shoulder during the delivery. Brachial palsy may heal with treatment or may cause permanent nerve damage. Common brachial palsy injuries include Erb’s palsy and Klumpke’s palsy, depending on the location of the damage.
• Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE). This birth disorder is usually due to the failure of your baby to receive enough oxygen or blood. Possible causes include placenta rupture, a mother with high blood pressure, or a stuck umbilical cord. HIE can cause brain damage and other birth injuries.

Other types of serious birth injuries that our medical malpractice lawyers also handle include:

• Umbilical cord injuries
• Stillbirth
• Improper use of forceps and vacuum extraction
• Shoulder dystocia
• Caput succedaneum.
• Cephalohematoma
• Subconjunctival hemorrhage
• Facial paralysis
• Broken bones
• Jaundice
• Preeclampsia
• Skull fractures
• Brain trauma

Why do birth injuries happen?

Most birth injuries are preventable with proper planning, good communication, and effective treatments during the birth of the newborn. Hospitals, obstetricians, gynecologists, midwives, and other healthcare providers may be liable for medical malpractice for:

• Not conducting tests of the mother and child before the delivery to help discover certain risk factors
• Failing to monitor the oxygen and blood levels of the child during the delivery
• Failing to monitor all other health conditions, such as blood pressure and heart rate of the mother and the child
• Failing to anticipate emergencies
• Failing to properly and timely respond when emergencies occur
• Not knowing when to conduct a C-section

What should you do if your child suffers a birth injury?

Some of the steps parents can take to determine if their child has a birth injury include:

• Learn your child’s Apgar test This test evaluates a newborn’s heart rate, muscle tone, skin color, and breathing rate/effort – one minute and then again at the five-minute mark – after your child is born. A test result of 7 or higher (on a 0 to 10 scale) is considered normal. A lower score is a cause for concern.
• Track your baby’s developmental milestones, such as when your child sits up and when your child begins to crawl.
• Keep detailed records of your child’s progress. If any problems or issues arise, note when they begin and how long they occur.
• Make an appointment with your child’s pediatrician. Your pediatrician can help assess birth injuries, development issues, and causes for concern.
• Speak to your pediatrician about the tests that may disclose a birth injury, including blood tests, an MRI or a CT scan, and genetic tests.
• Consider obtaining a second opinion since you won’t want a doctor who commits malpractice to continue their treatment.

What are the treatments for birth injuries?

The treatments for birth injuries vary depending on the type of birth injury and the severity of the birth injury. Some birth injuries require a lifetime of medical care. Many children suffer physical and emotional pain from their birth injuries. Other disorders include developmental delays, cognitive difficulties, and social challenges.

The treatments may include extensive rehabilitative care, including physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy. Children may need surgeries to help correct certain disorders or treat any complications that may develop. Your child may need psychological counseling. Parents may need to take time off from work to care for their children. In some cases, assistive devices and assistive technologies may help.

Make an appointment with an experienced birth injury lawyer

The most important step parents who think their child has a birth injury should take is to call experienced birth injury lawyers.

At Paulson & Nace, PLLC, we have more than 40 years of experience fighting for children, parents, and families who suffer injuries due to medical malpractice and other causes. We work with obstetricians and gynecologists who help show why medical malpractice during a birth delivery occurs and what steps should have been taken to prevent birth injuries.

Our team also works with specialists who help anyone with cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy, HIE, or any other birth disorder – including confirming their diagnosis, explaining what complications may arise, reviewing what medical care will be necessary for the rest of the child’s life, and showing all the ways your child’s life will be different and harder because of their birth injuries

We work with life planners who can help place a value on claims when children have catastrophic injuries.

Our medical malpractice lawyers demand compensation for all of the child’s and parents’ damages, including the current damages (damages to date) and future damages:

• Medical expenses. These include hospital stays, surgeries, doctor visits, rehabilitative care, medication, and assistive help.
• Loss of income. Generally, parents who cannot work because they need to care for their child can claim compensation for the income they’ll lose because they cannot work.
• Your child’s pain and suffering. This includes physical pain, emotional anxiety, depression, loss of quality of life, and all other relatable damages.
• Scarring and disfigurement.
• Loss of bodily function.

If a birth injury is fatal, we seek wrongful death damages on behalf of the parents.

Please contact Paulson & Nace, PLLC, through this contact form or by calling our office.