Children who sustained injuries during childbirth could face long-term effects and developmental disorders that could stay with them for the rest of their lives. The doctors who perform negligent deliveries or make dangerous healthcare decisions for you and your child should be held responsible for those decisions. In many cases where your child suffers from cerebral palsy and other symptoms of brain damage during childbirth, you may be entitled to sue the negligent doctor for substantial compensation.
Call Prosper Shaked Accident Injury Attorneys PA today to discuss filing a medical malpractice lawsuit against your doctor. Miami cerebral palsy and brain damage lawyer Prosper Shaked offers free legal consultations to help you learn more about filing a birth injury lawsuit and seeking compensation for your child’s injuries and health conditions. For a free legal consultation on your case, call our law offices today at (305) 694-2676.
Causes of Cerebral Palsy and Brain Damage in Childbirth Injuries
Cerebral palsy, brain damage, and other injuries to the brain and skull could cause serious lifelong effects for your child. Some of these injuries are possible in any delivery, but others may only occur when your doctor commits errors during the delivery process that put your child in danger. These injuries can happen in a few different ways:
Forceps Injuries
Forceps are large metal tongs used to help guide and pull the baby out during childbirth. These tools are necessary in some cases and are typically used as an emergency option before resorting to a C-section. If the doctor presses too hard with the forceps, the baby could suffer injuries from the pressure, including nerve damage and even brain damage or skull fractures if the doctor clamps or pulls too hard.
Deliveries involving forceps carry a much higher risk of injury than many doctors might anticipate. Unnecessary use of forceps or unnecessary force is one of the many causes of childbirth injuries.
Asphyxiation and Anoxia
While in the womb, your child relies on the umbilical cord to get oxygen and nutrients from the mother. As long as the umbilical cord is connected and the mother has not yet given birth, the baby needs to have the umbilical cord intact and free of kinks or compression to get oxygen. If the baby’s umbilical cord is wrapped around its neck, pinched, crimped, or stretched, the baby could begin to begin to suffocate. The baby’s heartbeat may slow, and induced labor, forceps delivery, or a C-section might be necessary to get the baby out in time to prevent brain damage or anoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. These issues could cause irreversible brain damage that could cause ongoing developmental issues, potentially including cerebral palsy, or may result in a vegetative state or even death if not properly handled in time.
Dropped Babies
Babies are wet and slippery when they are born, but the doctor and the medical staff should be properly trained to handle the newborn carefully and keep them safe in the delivery room. Allowing a baby to slip from their hands and suffer brain injuries by hitting a table or the floor is absolutely careless and irresponsible. Your baby could also suffer serious injuries if the medical staff handles the baby too roughly or puts undue pressure on their head. Although these kinds of issues are exceedingly rare, they could lead to substantial injuries and malpractice compensation.
Suing for Birth Injuries and Brain Damage
It is your doctor’s responsibility to ensure that the healthcare you receive is up to the acceptable standards that any reasonable doctor should provide. If your obstetrician, midwife, or other healthcare provider fails to provide adequate care, you could suffer serious injuries that might entitle you to compensation. Typically, patients and their family seek this compensation by filing a medical malpractice lawsuit.
The foundation of proving your medical malpractice lawsuit is proving the following elements to build a “negligence” case:
- Your doctor owed you a duty of care based on how a reasonable healthcare provider with similar training and experience would have treated you or your child.
- Your doctor breached that duty by failing to provide adequate care.
- That breach of duty caused your injuries or your child’s injuries.
- The injuries include damages the court can order compensation for.
Proving the duty of care in your case often requires input from other doctors. Your attorney can call a doctor as an expert witness in your case to provide this input. This expert is usually another doctor with similar training and experience who can testify to what they would have done differently and what kind of care is expected. Your doctor’s lawyer will typically use an expert that claims that the injuries were expected complications, but your attorney’s testimony may be able to overcome this common defense.
You can seek compensation for any damages you can prove in your case. This typically involves the cost of any medical care, physical therapy, occupational therapy, or other aid that your child will need because of the brain injuries or cerebral palsy the birth injuries caused. These damages can also include the projected cost of any lost wages or reduced earning capacity they will face later in life, the pain and suffering they face now, and the future suffering they will face going forward.
Call Our Miami Cerebral Palsy and Brain Damage Birth Injury Attorney for a Free Legal Consultation
If your child was born with cerebral palsy, brain damage, or another serious birth injury, contact Prosper Shaked Accident Injury Attorneys PA today. Our Miami cerebral palsy and brain damage attorney may be able to take your doctor to court and fight to get you and your baby the compensation you need for avoidable injuries and medical errors. For your free legal consultation, call our law offices today at (305) 694-2676.