Unfortunately, for some new parents, what should be the happiest day of their lives, the birth of their child, is marred owing to neglect and medical malpractice in the delivery room. Birth injuries occur far more often than most people realize, and the results can be devastating for families facing long term health consequences for their newborn. Preventable errors that should have reasonably been caught run contrary to accepted “Standards of care,” and are therefore subject to litigation if negligence is proven.
A birth injury is often explained away by the medical community as the result of a complication, and leave grieving parents with more questions than answers. Piercing the veil of silence to prove that medical errors or incompetence occurred is the job of an experienced birth injury attorney. Here in the Keystone State, birth injuries related to medical negligence is both a tragedy and legally actionable.
Birth injuries can lead to chronic health conditions for the child and a life-time of expensive and enhanced medical care for the parent. Additionally, beyond the cost of a life time of treatment and care for the parents of an injured infant, that family must also deal with non-economic damages like the pain and suffering that results from a diminished quality of life.
Who is Liable for Birth Related Injuries Related to Negligence?
While babies are born every day in the same manner that they have for millennia, a host of complications are always a possibility leading to potential birth related injuries. That being said however, when medical personnel fail to adhere to the best practices of obstetrics, either through error or design, they can be held liable for the long term consequences of their mistake.
Birth related injuries cross a wide gambit of causes and consequences. Indeed, when referencing such injuries, the time span extends beyond the delivery room to include the pregnancy and post-partum period. As such, rather than merely during delivery, doctors have the obligation to recognize signs of impending problems and danger before, during, and after the birth.
Failing to do so not only open them up to charges of negligence, it can lead to an array of injuries with life altering complications for their patients such as:
• Infections
• Facial nerve damage
• Bleeding in the skull
• Oxygen deprivation
• Brain damage
• Perinatal stroke
It is important to note that complications do occur in the birthing process, but when those complications result from medical error; your family is the ones left to suffer. A seasoned birth injury attorney can help you determine the causes of your child’s injury and help you hold those people accountable. Obviously, physicians do not actively go out to hurt their patients, so what are some of the causes of birth injuries?
Causes of Birth Related Injuries During Delivery
In general, the birthing process can be hard on both the baby and mother, but an attentive doctor can avoid many of the dangers simply by acting within agreed standards of care. When they fail in that regard however infants can get hurt.
Some leading causes of birth injuries include
oxygen deprivation during labor and delivery, improper use of delivery tools, failure to closely monitor the mother and baby, medication errors, and failure to use accepted and proper delivery techniques are all causes of birth injuries.
When injuries are preventable through the simple adherence of medical practices, it is even more devastating for families looking at years of ongoing care, lost income, assisted living costs, and added medical expenses over the life time of the child.
A seasoned legal team can help you assess these long term costs and present a case for redress of your loss including the non-economic cost of pain and suffering. As such, you will want a team that will fight diligently to get to the bottom of your child’s injury and hold those parties responsible through litigation or negotiated settlement.
Contact Wapner Newman to Discuss Your Child’s Birth Injury
If your infant child was injured during the birthing process, and you suspect the injury was the result of your medical team’s mistake in the delivery room, then we encourage you to reach out to the knowledgeable and experienced team of birth injury attorneys here at Wapner Newman.
We not only understand the grief a birth injury can cause a new family, but we also know the long term costs and effects that injury will have moving forward. As such we will fight tirelessly to ensure that you and your family receive the settlement that you are entitled to in the event of medical malpractice or errors in the delivery room.
Call us for a free consultation with one of our medical malpractice lawyers to determine whether your child’s birth related injuries were the result of your doctors failure to take adequate care during the delivery process.