The birth of your child is supposed to be an exciting time. You should be able to focus on your child’s health and how you’re going to raise them, but all too often, those feelings of elation are quickly dashed by errant medical professionals whose mistakes cause serious birth injuries. In these situations, the family can be left with extensive physical, emotional and financial harm that can be long lasting. In fact, many people who suffer from birth injuries end up with lifelong disabilities.
What can you do if your child suffered a birth injury?
If your child has suffered a birth injury, you’re probably worried about what you can do to try to make things right. To start, you should be sure to seek out the medical treatment that your child needs. Not only will this better ensure that your child is properly cared for but it will also help you when it comes time to prove damages in a medical malpractice lawsuit. And if you think that your child’s injuries were caused by an errant doctor or nurse, you should consider taking that legal action.
Birth injuries that may warrant a medical malpractice claim
Birth injuries can occur in a lot of different ways. Some of them are innocent, and there really isn’t much you can do about that from a legal perspective. But there are also a number of birth injuries that are either caused or exacerbated by medical malpractice. Let’s look at some of them here:
- Asphyxia: Like any other person, your child needs oxygen in order to not only develop but also to properly function. If your child’s blood or oxygen is cut off during the birthing process, they can suffer severe brain damage.
- Cerebral palsy: This condition is also caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain during childbirth, and it can result in a child having difficulty controlling muscle movement. Again, this is a lifelong condition that can drastically affect how your child lives their life.
- Erb’s palsy: This type of birth injury occurs when a bundle of nerves, known as the brachial plexus nerves, are stretched or torn. The result is that the child may suffer limited mobility in their affected arm, which can last a lifetime.
- Bone fractures: There’s no doubt that your newborn child is delicate. If your medical professional doesn’t exercise reasonable care, your child may end up suffering broken bones. This can be painful for your child, and it may even affect their mobility.
- Cephalohematoma: This birth injury is caused by trauma to the baby’s head during birth, which results in blood pooling underneath the scalp and on top of the skull. This condition may result in skull deformities.
These are just some of the birth injuries that may be indicative of medical malpractice. There are many other types of injuries that your child may suffer that are also caused by medical negligence. You just have to fully investigate the circumstances surrounding your child’s injury so that you can gain a clear sense of what caused it.
Do you need legal assistance?
Coping with your child’s injury can be difficult. And you may not know what to do or where to turn for help in the aftermath of your child’s injury. But don’t worry about the legal aspects of your situation. Experienced medical malpractice attorneys stand ready to help you investigate the circumstances of your case and litigate in hopes of finding accountability and recovering compensation for you and your family.
So, if you’d like to learn more about what one of these legal advocates can do for you, we encourage you to continue to read our website.
