Childbirth is a miraculous moment in life. Having a child is typically full of joy and excitement. However, if a medical professional makes a mistake during delivery, the baby can be harmed. Learning your child has suffered an injury during childbirth is terrifying and something no parent should have to hear. You immediately start thinking about whether your child will have permanent health issues, the care they’re going to need, and how you’re going to pay for that care. A Morris birth injury lawyer from Schweickert Ganassin Krzak Rundio, LLP may be able to help you right the wrong.
We understand how learning that your child has a birth injury can be extremely overwhelming. Our Morris attorneys are here to guide you through this difficult time. We will evaluate your case and find out what kind of mistakes were made. We’ll also fight for you to get compensation so you can provide a high quality life for your injured child.
What Are the Types of Birth Injuries?
A birth injury occurs when something goes wrong during the birthing process that impairs the baby’s bodily functions or structure. While babies can recover from some birth injuries, other injuries may have lifelong consequences. Regardless of what your child experienced, the injury shouldn’t have happened in the first place. Here are some examples of birth injuries:
- Head injuries
- Eye injuries
- Shoulder dystocia
- Nerve injuries
- Skeletal fractures
When an infant suffers head trauma, they could have hemorrhaging or skull fractures. If a doctor incorrectly uses a medical instrument such as forceps, they could cause serious eye or head injuries. These injuries typically require medical attention or the injury could have a long-term impact on the child.
In some cases, a baby may get their shoulder stuck in the birth canal. This can result in nerve damage to the infant’s arm. They may suffer a brachial plexus injury, where they will have limited mobility and function of their arm. While these injuries can be treated, if the nerve was severely damaged, there may be permanent issues.
If the delivery process is difficult, the baby could have spinal cord injuries or other skeletal injuries. A spinal cord injury could cause bladder and bowel dysfunction. If the baby’s bones are fractured during birth, they will need medical attention.
Our Morris birth injury lawyer will review medical records to find out what happened to your child and what led to the injury happening. Unfortunately, these injuries are usually preventable and happened because someone acted negligently.
How Does Negligence Cause Birth Injuries?
When the delivery team is helping the mother birth her baby, they need to be vigilant. They need to monitor the mother’s vitals as well as the baby’s. This includes items like heart rate and oxygen levels. If something is wrong, they need to take immediate measures to keep the mother and baby healthy.
Doctors need to know when to make an important medical decision, such as performing an emergency cesarean section. Change in heart rate, the baby’s size, prolonged labor, and issues with the umbilical cord could be reasons to do a C-section.
However, if the delivery team doesn’t notice something is wrong, then the baby can suffer catastrophic injuries. One of the biggest concerns is hypoxia, or oxygen deprivation. This could result in permanent brain damage. When the brain doesn’t get enough oxygen, the baby could develop cerebral palsy. They may have reduced mobility or muscle control, as well as issues with speech.
Another concern is the doctor’s handle of birthing instruments, like forceps and a vacuum. These can help aid the birthing process in a safe delivery when they’re handled properly. If the doctor doesn’t know how to use these tools and uses them incorrectly, they can injure the baby.
Has Your Baby Been Hurt?
It’s scary to know something went wrong during the delivery of your child. You put your trust in the delivery team to safely bring your child into the world, but they made an error that could affect your child’s life. When going through the trauma of having an injured child, there are likely many thoughts going through your mind; taking legal action may not be at the forefront. When your child is getting the medical care they need to treat the birth injury, you may want to consider getting legal representation.
Our lawyers will fight for you to get answers and compensation so you can provide the best care for your child. This includes covering medical expenses from the injury to the expenses of continued care they could need for the rest of their life. They could need certain treatments like physical therapy or require medical equipment as they grow. Providing this care for a child is not inexpensive and can cause a lot of financial stress for parents. You shouldn’t have to worry about how you’re going to afford care. Your claim can provide peace of mind.
We’ll also hold the negligent party accountable for their actions. They need to know their actions harmed a baby and changed a family’s life forever. Your case could help prevent the same mistake from happening to someone else.
Get in touch with our Morris birth injury attorney today. While it may be difficult to go over the details of your case, our compassionate lawyers will explain how a claim can help you get justice for your child so they can have the expert care they need.
