Birth Injuries and Your Legal Options
Children who are the victims of birth injuries may suffer life-long consequences from their injuries and require hundreds of thousands of dollars in medical care.


January 07, 2010 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Birth Injuries and Your Legal Options

Article provided by Vincent Morgera
Visit us at www.lawdoctors.net

It is every parent's worst nightmare that their child will be born with something wrong. Sometimes the child may be born with a genetic disorder, like Down's Syndrome, and there is nothing that the parents or doctors could have done to prevent it. But in other cases, the child may suffer an injury at birth that could have prevented.

A birth injury and a birth defect are not the same thing. Birth defects develop in utero and usually are the result of a genetic abnormality or something the mother ingested or came into contact with while pregnant. This can include substances like alcohol or illegal drugs, but also may include certain types of prescription and over-the-counter medications.

Birth injuries, on the other hand, are caused during or immediately following the baby's delivery. The injury can be fairly minor, like bruising or scratches from a long delivery. But in other cases, the birth injury can be devastating and can result in serious injury or even death.

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is one of the most serious types of birth injuries. Cerebral palsy occurs when the parts of the brain that control motor function are damaged. This can occur when the brain is deprived of oxygen for even a short amount of time. Roughly 20% of cerebral palsy cases develop during or immediately following birth.

Children with cerebral palsy may have difficulty walking, seeing and communicating. They also may have little to no depth perception and suffer from involuntary movement. Some children with the disorder also may suffer from seizures (epilepsy). Others may develop mild to severe mental retardation. Some children with cerebral palsy may have to wear leg braces. In severe cases, the child may be confined to a wheelchair.

Children with cerebral palsy may require life-long medical care, which can cost hundreds of thousands of dollars. Caring for these sick children also can place stress on the parents and their relationship with each other, leading to divorce. Single parents may find it difficult if not impossible to afford the level of care and treatment their child needs with a partner, let alone on their own.

During difficult labors and deliveries, there are several scenarios that may result in a baby being deprived of oxygen, including failing to properly monitor the mother and baby's heart rate. Throughout labor and delivery, both the mother and baby are hooked up to heart monitors. These monitors will quickly alert medical staff if either the mother or baby is in distress. However, the monitors are rendered useless if a nurse or physician is not regularly monitoring the readings. In some cases, a nurse may alert the doctor of a potential problem detected by the monitors, but the doctor may not fully appreciate the threat and fail to take appropriate action soon enough.

The obstetrics team also must monitor the position of the baby throughout labor and delivery. For example, if the baby is in a breech position and the physician does not act swiftly enough to remove the baby by C-section, the baby may have his or her oxygen supply cut off for a long enough period of time to result in cerebral palsy or other brain injury.

Other Types of Birth Injuries

While cerebral palsy is among the most serious of birth injuries, there are other types of birth injuries, including:
-Erb's palsy (stretching of the shoulder muscles)
-Forceps and vacuum injuries
-Bruising, scratching, cuts
-Facial paralysis
-Fractures, broken bones
-Soft tissue injuries
-Broken blood vessels in the eyes

Birth injuries also can be caused if the mother has an infection, like strep, or a sexually transmitted disease, which can be passed on to the baby during delivery. Physicians regularly test for the presence of any infections or diseases so they can be treated prior to delivery. However, sometimes these tests are not administered appropriately. For example, if the tests are performed too early, then the mother will have time to develop an infection before the child's birth. On the other hand, if the tests are performed too late in the pregnancy, then the physician may not have adequate time to treat the infection.

Your Legal Options

If your child suffered a birth injury, you may have legal options available to you. If your child's injury resulted from an act or omission by your physician or someone on your medical team, you may have the right to bring a medical malpractice claim. All physicians are expected to provide their patients with care that meets the accepted standard of care for the medical specialty. This does not mean the physician guarantees a good outcome, but that the physician must, at a minimum, provide care that meets this baseline standard. When the physician acts negligently and fails to meet this required standard, the patient has the right to compensation for the resulting injury.

If the acts or omissions of a nurse or other hospital staff member resulted in your child's birth injury, you may have a claim for hospital malpractice. Hospitals have legal responsibility for their employees and may be held liable when their employees harm a patient.

Lastly, parents who have lost a child to a birth injury may have the right to bring a wrongful death claim.

Conclusion

Some parents may feel uncomfortable using the legal system to seek compensation for their child's birth injury or death. But if the child was injured or lost his or her life due to the negligent acts of another, then the parents are fully within their legal rights to recover for their losses. If nothing else, it may prevent another family from having to deal with a similar injury or death to their child.

For more information on birth injuries, your legal rights and options, contact an experienced attorney today.

Article provided by Vincent Morgera
Visit us at www.lawdoctors.net

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