Birth Injuries: Understanding the Causes and Why You Need an Attorney
An injury that occurs at birth is a type of personal injury, so it falls under personal injury claims. However, there are birth injury attorneys who specialize in this area and are a good choice for parents that want to receive compensation.
To better understand birth injury law, parents must first understand what is considered a birth injury and what options they have to file a claim.
What Is Considered a Birth Injury?
Trauma that happens to a child near the time of birth or at birth is considered a birth injury. These injuries can include a variety of traumas like:
- Oxygen deprivation
- Infection
- Facial paralysis
- Fractures
- Forcep marks
- Brachial palsy
Birth trauma is another reason for birth injury lawsuits. Birth trauma has to do with distress that the baby experiences during or after birth.
Is Cerebral Palsy Considered a Birth Injury?
Cerebral palsy can fall under the category of birth injuries. This is because there are some injuries during birth that cause this condition, and they are considered malpractice.
Some injuries that can lead to cerebral palsy include issues with vacuum extractors and forceps. These devices can cause other birth injuries including:
- Nerve damage
- Brain damage
- Seizures
- Stroke
When doctors use these tools incorrectly, it can cause permanent damage to the baby's eyes, skull, brain, and facial nerves.
Are Birth Injuries Preventable?
Yes, birth injuries are preventable, and since it's a lapse in medical judgment that causes these injuries, parents are entitled to seek compensation through a lawsuit.
Some factors that are considered lapses in judgment or poor medical care include the following:
- Mismanaging the normal delivery procedure
- Adverse effects from drugs
- Improperly using delivery instruments
- Failing to diagnose umbilical cord issues
- Not treating severe jaundice at birth
These lapses in judgment can cause abnormal development and deprive the baby of necessary blood or oxygen. This all leads to physical trauma and often causes brain damage or delayed development.
What Can a Birth Injury Attorney Do?
Like other personal injury attorneys, those who specialize in birth injuries offer a consultation. This first meeting is usually free and helps the attorney decide if the parents have a case.
The attorney also helps parents take the legal action necessary against the doctors at fault. Once on the case, the attorney takes down the parent's story, obtains medical records, and any other information to help build a case for the client.
Parents deserve compensation and help with medical bills required to care for an injured child. Birth injury attorneys can help their clients with this.
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