Hiring a Birth Injury Attorney
The best way to ensure your family receives the compensation it deserves is to engage a New York birth injury attorney. These attorneys are knowledgeable about medical malpractice laws and procedures, and conduct a thorough investigation into the case, consulting with experts.
They identify and hold accountable medical professionals who violated the accepted standards of care. They seek out the required medical records and secure expert testimony to prove negligence and negligence.
Birth Injuries and Causes
Infants may suffer from a variety of injuries upon birth based on the conditions and circumstances that surround pregnancy and birth. These injuries may result from fetal or maternal health problems, or external factors. Injuries can be mild and not require any treatment, or they could be severe and have long-term impacts on the child's life.
A lot of newborns suffer from minor bruising or swelling as a result of the pressure they feel during the birthing process. Instruments used during delivery such as forceps and vacuum extractors, could harm the skin of a baby. This can include abrasions around the eyes and forehead during face-first deliveries or on the genitals after the breech is delivered.
Other serious birth injuries can be attributed to the use of force or excessive force during labor and birth. These conditions can cause a number of issues, such as skull fractures or traumatic brain injuries (TBI). TBI can lead to cerebral palsy, paralysis, seizures, and other neurological disorders.
This happens when a doctor or midwife overstretches the brachialplexus, a group of nerves that run down the arm. This may happen when a doctor or midwife pulls on the neck to accelerate labor. This type of birth injury is more likely to occur in larger infants, those who are born with a breech position or during a long and complicated labor.
Another grave birth injury is spinal cord trauma. This can be caused through excessive twisting or pulling during labor and birth. This is especially true when a doctor misuses vacuum extractors, forceps or other tools. This could cause the spinal cord to be compressed, which affects motor skills as well as balance and coordination and even control of bladder and bowel.
These birth injuries can have a a significant and often irreparable impact on the quality of life for children. A lawsuit can assist families in paying for medical treatments as well as therapies and equipment that can help reduce the impact of these injuries. It could also help with other expenses, like caregiving, so that a child has a better chance of a healthy, happy life.
Pre-Order Delivery
Birth injuries are a common result of medical negligence during labor, pregnancy and delivery. While some are inevitable however, a substantial portion of them could be avoided by ensuring adequate prenatal care and a careful medical approach during labor and delivery. Unfortunately doctors and hospital staff are human and occasionally make mistakes. If their mistakes cause an injury to a baby the family could be entitled to compensation.
A birth injury lawyer will review the case to determine whether there is a basis for a lawsuit. They will also examine medical records and talk to experts to understand the medical conditions that led to the birth. The lawyer will consider how the injury affected the child and his or her parents, as well the financial implications of the injury.
The first step in a birth injury case is to prove that the doctor violated the duty of care. This is generally done by showing that the doctor was negligent in their prenatal care and labor and delivery procedures. The doctor might not have been able to monitor the mother's health or the baby's heart rate, for instance. They could have used too much force during the birth process, or may have missed signs that indicated there was an issue with oxygen flow to the infant's brain.
If a doctor is unable to perform their duty of care, it could have devastating consequences. A premature birth, for instance, can cause serious health issues for the infant. These include the damage to the brain or severe hypertension in the lungs. This can require a long-term medical treatment and lead to the possibility of a lifetime of disability as well as loss of income.
A premature birth is a birth that occurs prior to 37 weeks of gestation, which is the average length of a normal pregnancy. It can be caused by a variety of reasons, such as an infection of the amniotic fluid in the uterus, illness in the mother like severe preeclampsia and eclampsia, complications with the cervix such as placenta previa, or a history of a previous miscarriage or an abortion.
The more premature the birth is, the more serious health problems are for the infant. They are more likely to be diagnosed with a disability or die, such as cerebral palsy vision and hearing problems and developmental delays. They also have a greater risk for respiratory illnesses and infections like pneumonia. The risk of complications increases with the earlier in pregnancy the baby is born, and with the lower their birth weight.
Delivery Positions that are abnormal
Midwives, doctors, nurses and other medical professionals must be aware of the fetal presentation and position during prenatal visits. This can be assessed through ultrasound or physical examination. Certain fetal positions and presentations can be risky and could cause birth trauma or complications, such as hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) when not detected and properly managed during labor and delivery. Inability to identify and treat dangerous fetal positions and presentations is deemed medical malpractice and can result in a birth injury lawsuit against the negligent obstetrics professional.
Vertex, also known as head first, is the most common position for a normal delivery. This is the preferred position for vaginal births because the baby can enter the birth canal via the occiput or forehead. If the fetus lies in the posterior occiput, or "sunny-side up" position, it poses more challenges for vaginal delivery because the neck is straightened instead of being flexed, and it requires more head circumference to be able to pass through the pelvis. This could lead to a prolonged or arrested labor, and a need for an operative vaginal delivery or cesarean birth, and could increase the chance of complications, including birth trauma and brain damage.
Breech presentations are a typical unusual position for delivery. When a baby shows buttocks first, it is known as a frank breech. when one leg is tucked under the other it is called the footling breech. This is more difficult to deliver than the head-first, vertex, or slant position, and can increase the risk of complications including prolonged or stalled labor and the need for vaginal delivery operative or a cesarean section.
Other unusual delivery positions include a transverse or sideways, positioning and a compound, or hands-and-feet presentation in which either the buttocks or feet are first introduced. These types of positions are less common and more difficult to deliver. They also increase the risk of complications, which can lead to a prolonged or an abrupt stop in labor. A doctor may try to reposition the fetus to a more advantageous position using an external cephalic variation where they press against the mother's abdomen, but this maneuver has risks and should only be used when absolutely necessary.
Birth Trauma
The birth of a child can be both a joyful and frightening time. However, some mothers and their infants go through terrifying events during birth that can cause significant psychological and physical injuries. These injuries could have long-term negative effects on a woman's life, and may sometimes result in Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD).
A birth injury lawyer can help a family to seek financial compensation for these damages. They can handle all communication with hospitals and insurance companies on your behalf and ensure that you are in compliance with all legal timelines. They will also gather evidence, including medical records, expert testimony and other evidence. An experienced birth injury attorney will work on a contingency fee basis, meaning that you don't need to pay for anything upfront.
Injuries can happen during the labor and delivery process, or afterward. Medical professionals who adhere to their standards of care can avoid a lot of these injuries. A doctor or nurse who fails to do so could be held liable for negligence.
Birth trauma is a complex issue and varies on how an individual perceives their own experiences. Experts suggest that PTSD related to birth could include feelings of despair and powerlessness, as well as the feeling of being unsupported. It can also trigger previous traumas from the past of an individual. Women who have experienced sexual trauma as a young child could find her birth experience more painful.
A birth injury that is traumatizing could cause permanent brain damage, including cerebral palsy as well as other neurological conditions. These types of injuries usually occur during labor that involves excessive medical interventions or when the mother is rushed into a cesarean section. board-certified birth injury lawyer is usually seen in the neck, head and shoulders.
It is recommended to consult a birth injury attorney as soon as you can. These lawyers have the experience necessary to build a convincing case that proves that your child's birth injury was the result of the negligence of a healthcare professional. They can assist you in obtaining the best possible result for your claim, which includes compensation for your family's future needs and losses.