Birth Injury Law

What Is Birth Injury Law?

For any family, the birth of a child should be a joyous time filled with celebration. Parents and family members thoroughly prepare for the safe and healthy arrival of a new baby. Medical providers are entrusted to provide adequate care during pregnancy, delivery, and aftercare; however, any medical mistake during those times can result in devastating consequences to a family. You have the lawful right to seek justice and compensation for any physical or emotional harm your family may have endured before, during, and after the birth of a child. You and your family are also entitled to a compassionate team ready to dedicate their experience and financial resources to assess your case and challenge the hospitals and physicians responsible.

Read More: Claim Car Accidents in Baltimore

Medical Malpractice May Lead to Birth Injuries

Mothers trust their obstetricians and gynecologists to take proper care of them and their babies throughout pregnancy, labor, and delivery. When one of these physicians is negligent in his or her professional duties, it could cause serious birth injuries to the child.

Preventable birth injuries are typically caused by actions of medical malpractice including:

1. Failure to provide adequate prenatal care including diagnosing and treating maternal conditions
2. Failure to treat the mother for infections during pregnancy
3. Failure to appropriately monitor vital signs during labor and delivery
4. Failure to respond to cardiac complications during birth
5. Failure to perform a medically advisable emergency cesarean section
6. Misuse of birth-assisting tools including forceps and vacuum extractors
7. Failure to detect and address problems with the umbilical cord
8. Failure to treat conditions in the newborn such as meconium aspiration syndrome, jaundice, or infant respiratory distress syndrome
9. Mismanagement of dystocia or breech deliveries
10. Lack of labor preparedness and mismanagement of normal delivery procedure
11. Failure to address and correct adverse effects from surgery or drugs, including anesthetic complications and epidural toxicity

Read More: Get A Personal Injury Law

Bone Fractures and Nerve Damage

Infants can suffer broken bones during or shortly after birth if the attending physician fails to use proper, prudent care when delivering the child. Improper birthing techniques, inadequate responses to emergencies, or misuse of tools such as forceps and vacuums could lead to bone fractures in the infant – particularly in the face, shoulder, clavicle, or arm — and these fractures may lead to related nerve damage that results in temporary or permanent paralysis.

Bone fractures and nerve damage sustained at birth could result in the following conditions:

Birth Fractures

Infant bones are more fragile than adult bones, and unfortunately, Birth Injury Guide reports that birth fractures are one of the most common kinds of birth injuries. Birth fractures can be minor or severe, and they are often sustained alongside nerve damage. 

Birth fractures are most likely to be caused by:

• Dropping the baby
• Using too much force with birth-assisting tools like forceps
• Using too much force pulling the baby’s arm
• Failing to order a medically advisable emergency cesarean section

Brachial Plexus Injuries

The brachial plexus is the network of nerves between the shoulder and the neck, responsible for carrying signals between the brain, shoulders, arms, and hands. When the brachial plexus is torn, stretched, or compressed — which can happen during difficult births — the interruption of nerve signals may result in temporary or permanent paralysis in those areas. 

Risk factors for brachial plexus injuries include:

• Shoulder dystocia — the baby’s shoulder is stuck behind the mother’s pelvis
• Narrow/small pelvis in the mother
• Larger than average birth size
• Diabetes in the mother
• Twins and other multiple birth deliveries
• Siblings with brachial plexus birth injuries
• Breech (feet-first) deliveries
• Need for birth-assisting tools like forceps
• Prolonged or difficult labor

Nerve conditions related to brachial plexus injuries include:

• Erb’s Palsy: Erb’s palsy accounts for 75% of all brachial plexus injuries. It affects the nerves that control arm movement. This means that a baby with Erb’s palsy typically has good motor control in the hands, but movement is inhibited in the arm itself. 
• Horner’s Syndrome: Making up 10 to 20% of all brachial plexus injuries, Horner’s Syndrome is caused by rupturing the nerves that transmit signals to parts of the face, especially around the eyes.
• Klumpke’s Palsy: Klumpke’s palsy is a rarer type of brachial plexus injury which disrupts nerve communication to the wrists, fingers, and forearms.

Congenital Facial Paralysis

Congenital facial paralysis is a condition of temporary or permanent damage to the infant’s facial nerves at birth. This kind of nerve damage can lead to facial paralysis, most commonly in the lower half of the face. Symptoms may not be immediately apparent, but if a baby has asymmetric facial expressions, little to no movement on one side of the face, or one eyelid that won’t close, they may have sustained facial nerve damage. Congenital facial paralysis may improve on its own, but in some cases it could result in permanent damage or require surgery. 

Congenital facial paralysis is caused by too much pressure or force against the nerves of the face, and it is most often caused by:

• High pressures within the birth canal
• Improper use of forceps
• Impact injuries from being dropped

Spinal Cord Injuries

Difficult deliveries sometimes result in blunt force trauma to the infant’s spinal cord. As the body’s central communication system, the spinal cord is one of the most important parts of the body to protect, and damage sustained at birth may result in lifelong physical or mental disabilities.

Symptoms vary according to the type and severity of spinal cord damage. If you believe your child may have suffered a spinal cord injury during labor and delivery, it’s worth it to speak with an experienced birth injury attorney to determine possible at-fault parties and recover damages for surgery, therapy, or other medical treatment.

Eight Causes of Birth Injuries

Notwithstanding unavoidable causes, numerous birth injuries are the result of medical malpractice. Parents are often given insufficient information regarding the cause of their child’s condition and can be wrongly led to believe that a preventable mistake was inevitable.

1. Dystocia. A type of obstructed labor that happens when, after the head is delivered, the shoulder has difficulty passing through. If doctors fail to properly respond to dystocia, the umbilical cord can become compressed and be life-threatening to the infant. Resulting complications from dystocia can include Klumpke paralysis, Erb’s palsy, and cerebral palsy, among others.
2. Fetal distress. A labor complication characterized by diminished oxygen to the infant. Prolonged diminished oxygen can result in permanent brain damage or death.
3. Prematurity. When doctors fail to respond appropriately to premature birth, an infant is at risk for problems like apnea, jaundice, respiratory distress syndrome, and others.
4. Prolonged labor. Extended labor (labor that lasts longer than 14-21 hours) can be labeled “failure to progress.” When this happens, the baby is at risk for serious complications.
5. Birth infections. Infections, if left untreated, can cause serious birth injuries such as brain damage. Some common infections include bacterial infections, rubella, and cytomegalovirus (CMV).
6. Improper use of force during delivery. The use of forceps, ventouse, or excessive pulling during delivery can cause fractures and even paralysis.
7. Abnormal pelvis shape. Labor can fail to progress if the mother has an irregular pelvis structure. Doctors can note this ahead of time to plan for a safer delivery option, such as C-section.
8. Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). This is a type of brain injury that often results from diminished oxygen to the infant during childbirth.

Even if you had a major risk factor present, your doctors and nurses are trained to remain vigilant and respond to your specific medical needs to ensure a healthy delivery. For example, the hospital staff is required to monitor your fetus’s condition closely in the days and hours leading up to delivery. If fetal distress is discovered or a condition becomes life-threatening, a responsible healthcare provider should take the necessary steps to keep you and your baby safe, including scheduling an emergency C-section.