Medical Malpractice and Birth Injuries

Birth injuries can be quite traumatic to both the child and the mother.

Apart from the pain and suffering birth injuries cause, they may also require extensive treatment. There are several factors that may cause birth injuries, including disproportionate size of the child or the mother’s pelvis, and difficult labor or childbirth. In some unfortunate cases, the birth injuries can also result from the doctor’s negligence.

Medical Malpractices That May Cause Birth Injuries

Missouri medical malpractice attorneys have some advice to offer on birth injuries resulting out of medical malpractice. According to the attorneys, birth injuries refer to injuries that a baby suffers as a result of complications in labor and delivery. There could be several causes of birth injuries, some avoidable and others unavoidable. Here are some medical malpractices that may cause birth injuries:

• Failure to anticipate and act on complications concerning a larger baby.
• Failure to diagnose and act on maternal health complications.
• Failure to respond to bleeding in an appropriate manner.
• Failure to respond to fetal distress including irregularities in the fetal heartbeat.
• Failure to diagnose and respond to umbilical cord entrapment.
• Improper or overuse of vacuum extractor or forceps during delivery.
• Delay in ordering caesarean section when medically necessary.
• Inappropriate administration of labor inducing drugs such as Pitocin.
• Poor child and maternity care after delivery including errors made during circumcision.
• Inability to diagnose and respond to an infection.

Any of the aforementioned medical malpractices can lead to birth injuries that may range from mild to serious. Birth injuries require immediate medical attention, or it may have a lifelong effect on the health of the child.

Common Birth Injuries

• Forceps marks or bruises: Vacuum extraction or forceps may leave bruises or lacerations on the scalp or face. In some extreme cases, forceps can also cause skull fractures.
• Caput Succedaneum: Vacuum extraction can cause severe swelling of the skull, which ordinarily goes away in a few days.
• Facial paralysis: Pressure on the child’s face during labor or use of forceps can injure the infant’s facial nerves. It may disappear in a few days, but in more severe cases, surgery might become necessary.
• Subconjunctival hemorrhage: Bright red band around the iris of the baby’s eyes. It is a common birth injury, and does not damage eye sight.
• Fractured bones: During a breech delivery or difficult birth the child may suffer a bone fracture. The collar bone is most susceptible to fracture.
• Brain injury: Insufficient oxygen flow to the infant’s brain can cause brain injury that may have lifelong implications on their health.

If your child has suffered a birth injury due to negligence of the doctor, you should understand that you have every right to seek compensation for the medical treatment costs and pain and suffering. Parents of victims of birth injuries need services of a competent medical malpractice attorney to claim compensation from the negligent doctor, and if required, file a lawsuit to get the damages.

Consult with Zevan and Davidson Law Firm at (314) 588-7200.

Photo credit: Bridget Colia via Flickr