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Many parents are unaware that their child’s birth defect may have been caused by an injury during the delivery. While the majority of doctors and health care professionals are diligent and professional, unfortunately medical errors are too common and have tragic consequences. Your child’s birth injury may have been caused by medical malpractice. We do not provide legal advice. Our goal is to provide parents and families with the information they need, and access to experienced legal assistance nationwide.

Find a Birth Injury Attorney
 

Find a Birth Injury Attorney Medical malpractice lawsuits can be complicated, involve extensive initial investigation, and require a dedicated and experienced birth injury lawyer. A birth injury may have been caused by a doctor’s failure to respond in a timely manner, improper delivery methods, misdiagnosis, failure to properly read test results, or other instance of medical negligence. To help protect your child’s legal rights and have the circumstances around your child’s birth reviewed, contact an attorney for legal assistance.

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Birth Injuries

  
     
 
Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral Palsy is one of the most common types of birth injuries today. As a parent of a child with cerebral palsy, or other birth injury, you are certain to have many questions. Cerebral palsy is often mistakenly called a disease, however the term refers to a group of chronic disorders that affect a person’s motor skills, muscle tone and muscle movement.

Learn More About Cerebral Palsy

ffErbs Palsy

Erbs Palsy is a type of Brachial Plexus injury, damage of the nerves present in the vertebrae. Erb's palsy is one of the most common and serious of all shoulder dystocia injuries. As a result of this nerve injury, paralysis may occur in some children.

Learn More About Erbs Palsy.

ff Medical Malpractice

Medical malpractice is a much greater problem than most people realize. Birth injuries, in particular, account for a significant percentage of all medical malpractice injuries. A difficult labor or inappropriate methods of delivery can cause a lack of oxygen, bleeding, head trauma, or other injury to a newborn child.

Learn More About Medical Malpractice.

ff

Brachial Plexus Palsy

This condition occurs when the brachial plexus (the group of nerves that controls movement of the arms and hands) is injured. This injury most often results from "shoulder dystocia", a term which describes birth difficulties which result when the baby's shoulders impair its passage through the birth canal.

Learn More About Brachial Plexus Injury

  

More About Birth Injuries and the Medical Malpractice Connection

Birth injuries range from mild to severe, ranging from minor bruising to nerve or brain damage. Most medical malpractice actions are filed against doctors who have failed to use reasonable care to treat the patient. Medical error can cause birth injuries, or can increase their severity or permanence. Medical errors which may support a malpractice action include:

  • Failing to anticipate birth complications with a larger baby, or in cases involving maternal health complications;
  • Failure to respond appropriately to bleeding;
  • Failing to observe or respond to umbilical cord entrapment;
  • Failure to respond to fetal distress (including irregularities in the fetal heartbeat);
  • Delay in ordering cesarean section (c-section) when medically necessary;
  • Misuse of forceps or a vacuum extractor during delivery;
  • Inappropriate administration of Pitocin, a synthesized hormone used to induce or augment (speed up) labor.

Common complaints heard from mothers whose child was diagnosed with a birth injury include:

  • "The physician waited too long to do a C Section."
  • "The physician failed to diagnose fetal distress during labor."
  • “The fetal monitor strips were interpreted incorrectly.”
  • “Medical care providers did not act soon enough when my water broke; or when I was bleeding; or when my labor didn’t progress; or when my blood pressure became elevated.”
  • “I was given too much Pitocin.”
  • “I was not referred to a specialist when it was determined that my pregnancy was high risk.”
  • “There was not a pediatrician present when my baby was delivered.”

Birth Injury Questions & Answers

What are the most common types of birth injuries?

  • Cerebral palsy
  • Shoulder dystocia
  • Erb's palsy/brachial plexus injuries
  • Brain injury caused by improper use of vacuum extractors
  • Untreated jaundice

Does cerebral palsy affect everyone the same way?
No. There are four classifications of cerebral palsy:

(1) Spastic - occurs when the muscles are too tight. Patients will have stiff and jerky movement and will often have difficulty letting go of something in their hand. Spastic cerebral palsy is divided into these subcategories:

  • Diplegia - affects both arms or both legs
  • Hemiplegia - affects limbs on one side of the body
  • Quadriplegia - affects all limbs
  • Monoplegia - affects only one limb
  • Triplegia - affects three limbs

(2) Ataxic - occurs when the muscles are too weak. Patients will be shaky and unsteady. They will often have very poor balance and be extremely unsteady when they walk.

(3) Athetoid - occurs when the muscles fluctuate between being too tight and too weak. Patients will have involuntary movement in the face and arms, and will have difficulty holding themselves in an upright position.

(4) Mixed - occurs when the muscles are affected in a combination of any of the types listed above.

What are the most common Erb’s Palsy injuries?
There are four types of Erb’s Palsy (brachial plexus) injuries:

  • An avulsion - the nerve is torn from the spine.
  • A rupture - the nerve is torn but not where it attaches to the spine.
  • A neuroma - occurs where scar tissue has grown around the injury putting pressure on the nerve resulting in reduction of signals to the muscles.
  • Praxis - the nerve has been damaged but not torn.

What should I do if I suspect medical negligence caused my child’s birth injury?
As soon as you suspect that negligence may be the cause of the birth injury in your baby, you should contact an experienced birth injury attorney. It is necessary to gather facts and evidence early. There is a statute of limitations for filing medical malpractice claims, so do not delay.
 

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Birth Injury Lawyers & Attorneys Notice

While most doctors, nurses, midwives, and hospital technicians provide a high standard of care for their patients, unfortunately, many families are harmed by medical mistakes. Parents of a child suffering with a birth injury should contact an experienced injury attorney to research the cause of their child’s condition. Medical mistakes are responsible for many birth injury cases and it would be impossible for a parent, alone, to determine if medical malpractice caused their child's injury. It is only through the dedicated and thorough efforts of a legal and medical team that the cause can be ascertained.

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