WHAT EXACTLY IS A BIRTH INJURY?  

You just had a baby and you were told your child suffered a birth injury.  What exactly does that mean? Is it dangerous? Will it be permanent? Will your baby need extra care?  Will your child need expensive therapy and treatment and assistive devices? Those are all excellent questions.  The truth is the term “birth injury” covers a wide range of things, some very minor and some very serious.  

Many birth injuries are relatively minor, and they heal in a matter of days or at most within a couple of months, some without any additional treatment.  In these cases, time literally heals the injury.  

Some birth injuries are more serious and may have permanent or long-term effects.  If the words “Cerebral Palsy”, “Erb’s Palsy”, “shoulder dystocia with brachial nerve damage” are mentioned, then it is likely that a more serious injury has occurred, and you may be facing a challenging road ahead.  In many of these cases, the injury is a result of improper medical care before, during or after the birth of the child. This is a form of medical malpractice. As a result, the family may be entitled to money to help pay for treatment, therapy, devices, etc.  

 

WHY DID MY BABY SUFFER A BIRTH INJURY?

Some birth injuries are simply the result of the baby passing through the birth canal, or the result of a difficult birth.  But other birth injuries are caused by medical errors before, during or after childbirth. The physician may have failed to properly respond to a birthing situation, either by taking the wrong action, or by failing to act at all.   This medical negligence is a form of medical malpractice.  

Difficult births are often related to:

  • Large babies, weighing over 11 pounds
  • Premature babies, born before 37 weeks
  • Difficult labors
  • Prolonged labors
  • Abnormal birthing presentation

 

MOST COMMON BIRTH INJURIES

The most common birth injuries are: 

  • Bruising and swelling of the scalp.  This is frequently caused when the baby passes through the birth canal.  Bruising is very common and heals quickly. If forceps or vacuum were used, there may be more bruising or swelling in that area.  This often disappears quickly.
  • Broken bones, most often the collarbone or upper arm.  This happens most often with babies who were in an “abnormal presentation” such as breech or sideways.  There is usually only minimal treatment needed. The bones heal quickly. In some cases, if it appears the baby is in pain, a soft splint might be applied to limit movement, which reduces discomfort.
  • Cephalohematoma.  While this one sounds scary, it is minor bleeding around the skull and most often shows up as lumps on the baby’s head.  A hematoma is just a clot of blood… think about hitting your leg and getting that raised, bruised area that slowly clears up on its own.  This is essentially the same thing, and typically there is no long-term issue. In cases involving a large hematoma, the baby may need additional treatment, but the effects are usually temporary.  
  • Subconjunctival hemorrhage.  This is another frightening name for something very minor.  A subconjunctival hemorrhage occurs when the small blood vessels in the baby’s eyes break and causes a red band in the eye.  It is fairly common, occurring in 1% to 2% of all births. Typically, the symptoms remedy themselves within a week to ten days. 
  • Facial paralysis.  During the labor and birthing process, an abundance of pressure may be applied to the baby’s face.  As a result, damage of the facial nerves may occur, causing a loss of facial movement. Evidence of facial paralysis becomes most obvious when the baby is crying.  Often time full facial movement is restored within a few weeks, but in more severe cases, the damage may require surgery.

 

SERIOUS BIRTH INJURIES

Serious birth injuries result in long-term or permanent issues with your child.  Some examples of complications of more serious injuries are:

  • Cerebral palsy

    • Result of brain damage before or at the time of birth
    • Impaired muscle coordination and function
    • Requiring expensive therapy and long-term care
    • Requiring expensive assistive devices

 

  • Erb’s palsy

    • Weakness of the shoulder and elbow, causing decreased function of the arm
    • Result of brachial nerve damage received during delivery
    • Requiring expensive and extensive therapy
    • Possibly requiring surgery

 

  • Klumpke palsy

    • Weakness of the hand and wrist, causing decreased function of the hand
    • Result of brachial nerve damage received during delivery
    • Requiring expensive and extensive therapy
    • Possibly requiring surgery

 

These more serious injuries might have occurred as a result of a doctor allowing you to labor too long, meaning he or she failed to do a caesarean section in an appropriate time.  If a doctor failed to diagnose an infection in the mother, that could have put the baby at risk of a brain injury. If the doctor failed to recognize an abnormal birthing presentation, that might have contributed to the injury.  If the pediatrician or nurses failed to recognize the signs of prolonged bleeding in the brain, that could have increased the chances of your baby suffering brain damage.

If you think anything the doctors, nurses or hospital staff did or didn’t do something and it led to a serious birth injury, you need an experienced, caring attorney on your side.  A birth injury case falls under the heading of medical malpractice and that is a difficult legal path to travel. You need a firm that has the medical experts who will review your records and notes and determine if any of the doctors, nurses or other medical staff failed to meet the level of care that should have been provided.  Diez-Arguelles & Tejedor has the experts you need.  

 

WHAT CAN I RECOVER?

Until your case is reviewed and thoroughly evaluated by our staff and experts, we can’t give you a clear answer.  Go to TheOrlandoLawyers.com and you will see that our attorneys have already recovered millions of dollars for clients who have been in similar situations.  Call Diez-Arguelles & Tejedor today at 888-888-3773 for a free consultation. Don’t wait. There are legal time limits on filing a case. Get the help and compensation you deserve.