What Consistutes a Birth Injury Case?

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Your Health Magazine Contributor

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What Consistutes a Birth Injury Case?

Complications can happen during birth. But, when injuries caused to the baby during birth are due to negligence, you have the right to seek compensation. Birth injury lawsuits cover harm to a child due to medical malpractice, holding medical professionals or organizations accountable for preventable harm during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or shortly after birth.

Determining Medical Malpractice or Negligence

You have the right to seek compensation from a birth injury lawsuit if medical malpractice or negligence directly led to birth injuries. Birth injury cases can involve conditions such as cerebral palsy and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (H.I.E.), as well as injuries associated with negligent management of complications such as placental abruption or an improperly delayed or performed emergency C-section.

To have a valid claim, the medical professional, hospital, or other medical staff involved in pregnancy decisions, labor, delivery, or care shortly after birth would have caused preventable harm that led to your baby’s injuries. It’s best to consult with an experienced birth injury lawyer who can review your medical records, identify where the standard of care was not met, and determine whether your situation qualifies for a claim.

Proving Negligence in a Birth Injury Case

Not every birth injury is caused by malpractice. In order to move forward with a birth injury lawsuit, your birth injury lawyer needs to show that your provider, the hospital, or other medical professional did something (or failed to do something) that another provider in the same situation would have done differently. This instance has to have directly caused the injury, which led to real losses. Losses can include costs of medical bills, therapy, pain and suffering, or loss of income due to being unable to work while dealing with the effects of the birth injury.

Unavoidable complications during birth do not qualify for a birth injury case. Always seek legal consultation before determining whether or not to pursue compensation. A birth injury lawyer will provide expert guidance to help you decide on the best path forward.

File a Claim Before the Statute of Limitations Deadline

A statute of limitations provides a maximum time limit after the incident in which the plaintiff must file a claim. Each state has its own laws determining the time limit for filing a birth injury lawsuit. For example, the statute of limitations for birth injury lawsuits in Pennsylvania is when the child turns 18 plus 2 years. The two-year statute of limitations does not technically begin until the child turns 18. From there, they have two years to file a claim.

Common Birth Injury Lawsuits

There are a wide range of injuries that a child could have suffered from during labor, pregnancy, or delivery. The most common child birth injury lawsuits are cerebral palsy, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (H.I.E.), infections, organ damage, fractures, and placental abruption.

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is a group of lifelong disorders affecting movement, balance, and posture caused by abnormal development of the brain or damage to the developing brain. The brain changes that cause cerebral palsy can occur before, during, or shortly after birth, and only some cases are related to preventable complications or medical negligence. The two most common types of cerebral palsy are ataxic cerebral palsy and athetoid cerebral palsy, which is also known as dyskinetic cerebral palsy.

Ataxic cerebral palsy is caused by damage to the cerebellum, a part of the brain just below the cerebrum at the bottom back of the skull. This type of cerebral palsy can be identified by its neurological effects on balance, depth perception, and coordination. A doctor can give a formal diagnosis to determine if your child has ataxic cerebral palsy.

Athetoid cerebral palsy, also called dyskinetic cerebral palsy, is also caused by brain damage. Specifically, this brain damage causes involuntary twisting or writhing muscle movements. The involuntary movements can hinder babies from achieving early developmental milestones, such as walking.

Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (H.I.E.)

H.I.E. is a condition in which the baby’s brain doesn’t get enough blood flow or oxygen before, during, or shortly after childbirth. This could be caused by a wide range of issues including issues with the umbilical cord, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, trauma, labor complications, placental abruption, or infections.

Organ Damage

A newborn could suffer from organ damage for a wide variety of reasons. It typically happens from lack of proper blood flow, which stresses vital organs. Any organs could be at risk during childbirth including the brain, kidneys, heart, lungs, and liver.

In the case of a birth injury lawsuit, organ damage would have had to be in direct result of negligence or medical malpractice. Prolonged labor is one such example. In some cases, timely medical intervention during labor could have prevented organ damage. In this case, you may have the right to seek compensation.

Fractures

During the delivery process, if a newborn’s bone breaks, such as the clavicle or skull, you may have the right to compensation. During delivery, excessive force could cause a fracture. If that is the case, you have the right to file a birth injury claim. Other preventative mistakes that could lead to fractures include improper delivery techniques or misuse of medical instruments during labor.

Placental Abruption

Placental abruption occurs when the placenta separates from the inner wall of the uterus before delivery. Medical providers could be liable if they failed to meet the standard of care required to treat placental abruption in a timely manner, preventing birth injury to the newborn. This could happen through failing to track the baby’s heartbeat patterns, waiting too long for an emergency C-section, and even ignoring certain signs of pain.

Placental abruption can cause serious complications, including maternal bleeding, fetal distress, reduced oxygen supply to the baby, preterm delivery, and in severe cases stillbirth or neurological injury. High blood pressure and preeclampsia are risk factors associated with placental abruption rather than complications caused by the abruption itself.

What Do You Need to File a Birth Injury Claim?

Consult with an experienced birth injury attorney if you want to file a claim. You will need complete medical records documenting the pregnancy, labor, delivery, and post-natal care. There needs to be clear evidence that a medical provider’s mistake directly caused the birth injury. An attorney can help guide you through the process and determine your course of legal action moving forward.