Few circumstances are more traumatic to a family than a birth injury. Failure to diagnose a situation, take appropriate preventive measures, or quickly respond to events such as fetal distress or a lack of oxygen to the baby, can produce devastating results. While not every birth-related injury is due to the neglect of a health care professional, if your child was born with Cerebral Palsy, or a Brachial Plexus injury (such as Erb’s and Klumpke's Palsy), the delivery processes should be closely examined to determine whether the injury was a result of medical negligence.
The attorneys of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C. are exceptionally qualified to handle all forms of birth injury cases. With a wide range of experience in this very specialized area of the law, professional nurses on our staff, and access to nationally renowned medical experts, we have an impressive track record of obtaining substantial recoveries for our birth injury clients – recoveries that enable families to pursue the best possible care and quality of life for their children impacted by birth injury.
When there are complications in the process of pregnancy, labor and delivery, the result can be a variety of complications for the newborn baby. These are referred to as “birth injuries,” and the most serious result in damage to the brain. These brain injuries are caused by oxygen deprivation or bleeding inside the brain from trauma sustained during pregnancy, labor and delivery.
There are, in fact, “natural” circumstances under which oxygen deprivation can occur during the labor and delivery process – the umbilical cord can become compressed or twisted; the baby is too large to easily pass through the birth canal, or the baby is breech or sideways in the womb. However, there are also many circumstances where brain damage or brain injuries are caused by mistakes made by doctors, hospitals or other medical professionals during the deliver process.
About three in every 100 births there is some type of serious birth injury. Causes of birth injuries are varied, but here are the most common:
- Delay in ordering a cesarean section
- Failure to respond to bleeding
- Failure to respond to umbilical cord entrapment
- Failure to respond to fetal distress
- Misuse of vacuum extractors or forceps
- Poor care of newborn immediately following birth
- Miscommunication between Doctors and Nurses
The most common types of birth injuries include:
- Skin irritations
- Temporary paralysis
- Fractured collar bone
- Fractured arm
- Cerebral Palsy
- Brain damage
- Erb's Palsy
- Brachial plexus injury palsy (such as Erb’s and Klumpke's Palsy)
An experienced personal injury law firm, such as Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard P.C., should be consulted if you suspect that birth injuries were caused by medical negligence. The attorney should be consulted immediately after birth, even if all the injuries and damages are not yet known. There is a chance that medical malpractice could be the cause. In most of the 10,000 diagnoses each year, the direct causes for the birth injury will never be known.
To determine if a birth injury was caused by negligence, all the medical records need to be obtained and reviewed. An expert needs to review the records, a summary of the records should be made and the medical literature often needs to be collected to determine whether the case has merit.
Compassion, experience, results and reputation. These are the qualities that distinguish all the attorneys of Salvi, Schostok & Pritchard. Our firm has convenient office locations in downtown Chicago and Waukegan, Illinois. We also have a network of lawyers across the nation to assist you with your case. Contact us today, at (866) 997-2584.
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