Did you know that a birth injury can lead to a lawsuit? This happens when a child has been injured either during or after labor. It is important to remember that only a limited number of cases involving a birth injury lead to actual lawsuits. Most of the cases filed are for pain and suffering from a medical condition, malpractice, or wrongful death. This means that it is usually hard to file a birth injury lawsuit if the injury resulted from something that was not your fault. As a result, many people do not even bother going to court if they do not want to be bothered with a lawsuit.
If you want to file a claim, you will need to do a lot of research. It may be better to hire a birth injury attorney Alpharetta to get you started rather than attempting to go it yourself. This is because they have the expertise to determine if any outstanding laws are surrounding your case and, if so, what they are. They will also be able to tell you if you have a case worth pursuing and how much it will cost you.
Types of Birth Injuries
A birth injury may result from any number of scenarios stemming from conditions or events during pregnancy, labor, and/or delivery. Common examples of doctor error leading to birth injuries include the following:
- Vacuum extraction of a large baby of a first-time mom
- Failure to recognize that a fetus is in distress during labor
- Failure to properly manage vaginal birth after C-section (VBAC)
Causes of Birth Injury
Birth injuries are any harm done to an infant near or during birth, most often completely preventable. Babies can end up with permanent damage from birth injuries, both mild to life-altering. Causes of birth injury can vary – some are unforeseen, and others present a definite cause with an evident person to blame. Examples of birth injury cases include:
- Fetal oxygen deprivation
- Delayed birth
- Trauma from impact during delivery
- Premature birth
- Nerve injury or damage
- Head and brain injuries, including a skull fracture
- Cerebral palsy
WHAT IS A BIRTH INJURY?
If your child has had any injury or trauma during labor and delivery, it may not be immediately clear whether your baby suffers from a birth injury.
- Did you have a difficult delivery or C-section?
- Did you suffer from placental abruption?
- Was your baby deprived of oxygen?
- Did your doctor use a vacuum or forceps during delivery?
- Did your son or daughter suffer head trauma?
- Does your child suffer from seizures?
- Were there problems with your baby’s heart rate on the fetal monitor?
- Did your baby need to be resuscitated?
- Did your child receive head cooling or hypothermia therapy after suffering a birth injury?
- How long was your baby in the NICU (neonatal intensive care unit)?
Trauma can be caused by the use of induction/Pitocin, forceps, vacuum, or a C-section called too late. We know the questions to ask, have the contacts to get the answers and have the experience and trial knowledge to get you the justice you are looking for.