Birth injury is the term that refers to deformity or damage which was done to an infant during birth. The problems that can arise from injuries such as cerebral palsy and developmental disorders are often treated in a variety of ways depending on the severity and type of problem. There are certain potential causes of birth injury, including: high blood pressure issues with either the mother or child, anesthesia complications, and mistakes made by doctors or nurses while performing medical procedures during labor and delivery.
The causes of Birth Injury :
During pregnancy, women should carefully monitor their health to reduce the potential for problems occurring during labor and delivery. Common risks include high blood pressure (hypertension), diabetes, kidney disease (including preeclampsia), rubella, chickenpox, and other infectious diseases. These conditions can cause problems for both the mother and child either during pregnancy or delivery.
High blood pressure is a common risk factor that often goes untreated during pregnancy. Women with uncontrolled high blood pressure may face birth injury during labor, which could result in irreversible damage to the brain (cerebral palsy) or death of the child after delivery. Also there are higher risks of low birth weight or premature births resulting from uncontrolled hypertension. Other possible complications include placental abruption (when the placenta partially or totally peels away from a uterine wall), bleeding before delivery, preeclampsia-eclampsia, seizures due to eclampsia, amniotic fluid embolism, cervical lacerations, nerve injuries (including shoulder dystocia), fractured bones during labor or delivery, vaginal birth after cesarean section (VBAC) risks including uterine rupture.
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If a doctor suspects any of these complications are expected to occur during labor and delivery, they will likely attempt to induce the birth earlier than the due date. Inducing early may avoid injury to both mother and child, but it also increases the risk for infection; therefore this is only done under special circumstances.
It is important that you seek legal counsel by someone with expertise and decades of experience like Baltimore medical malpractice attorneys practicing this specialized type of law. Women should inform themselves about possible dangers associated with high blood pressure such as abnormal fetal growth, preterm birth, and pregnancy loss.
In addition to high blood pressure, other conditions can complicate a normal pregnancy. Some of these conditions include the following: diabetes, kidney disease (including preeclampsia), rubella, chickenpox, toxoplasmosis and cytomegalovirus infections. All of these conditions put a pregnant woman at higher risk for problems during labor or delivery that could result in Birth Injury . If a doctor suspects any complications may occur during labor and delivery they will likely attempt to induce labour. Inducing early may avoid injury to both mother and child but also increases the risk for infection; therefore this is only done under special circumstances. The risks from inducing may outweigh those from waiting if the baby is not growing as expected.
How do you prove birth injury?
The first question is whether the baby has suffered some sort of birth injury.
There are many different kinds of birth injuries so it’s important to see a birth injury attorney in ohio who specializes in medical malpractice cases as soon as possible after the birth. It may be that your child was born with severe cerebral palsy or another long term disability, which would have been prevented if an obstetrician had acted appropriately during pregnancy, labor and delivery. This type of case is called “wrongful pregnancy” and it is based on the legal theory that every child has a right to be brought into this world without suffering preventable harm; therefore any negligent conduct that contributes to such harm (such as failing to diagnose and treat gestational diabetes) can give rise to a claim.
In some cases, a baby suffers from injury at the time of delivery that might have been prevented if more had been done to protect his or her safety during labor and delivery. In other words, it’s possible for a doctor to fail to diagnose a condition before birth – such as failure of the umbilical cord – but still be liable for any injury caused by that condition because the doctor should have acted differently once the baby was born.
Doctors also can sometimes be held liable for causing harm after childbirth. For instance, they may miss signs of bleeding in the brain in an infant which would require immediate lifesaving treatment; or they may cause further damage when performing life-saving surgery (by acting negligently in doing so).
To prove that a baby has suffered some kind of injury, it is important to obtain the records from the time leading up to and including delivery. These will reveal what care was provided and whether any mistakes were made. It’s also vital to obtain the records of any tests performed after birth (such as an MRI or CAT scan) so that you can compare them with previous ones and determine whether additional injury has occurred since the delivery.
As soon as possible, your lawyer will want to consult with an appropriate specialist in order to get his/her opinion about how your child was injured and what could have been done differently during pregnancy, labor or delivery in order prevent this type of harm. The best person to assess this is usually another doctor who specializes in treating your child’s particular injury.
In addition to the medical records, you will need to assemble evidence from any eyewitnesses who were present when your baby was injured. Chances are that an investigator can locate these people even if they aren’t willing to give a statement to the family lawyer initially. Finally, it is important to have an economist assess how much money it will take for you and your child to lead a normal life going forward. This will require help from a financial planner, who can assist in this regard with a team of actuaries and economists at his/her disposal. The amount of compensation may be limited by law or insurance coverage so it is important to determine what you should realistically expect from this settlement given certain parameters.