How can I easily find an attorney for Birth Injury Cases near me?
Childbirth is an intensive process. The pain and the mindset are indescribable, and only women can understand what goes on. However, seeing their baby for the first time helps them endure the pain.
Unfortunately, this doesn’t happen for every mother because childbirth injuries are more common than one may anticipate. Incidents like these occur despite all the medical and technological advancements. The mother can reach out to a lawyer to get the appropriate compensation in such cases. They can seek refuge in the search results for Attorney for Birth Injury Cases near me.
Before going further, one should understand the type of medical malpractice first.
What is birth injury malpractice?
As per ABPLA(American Board of Professional Liability Attorneys, medical malpractice occurs when the hospital, doctor, or other healthcare professional exhibits negligence and causes harm to a newborn.
It can cause the following conditions in the baby.
- Brain damage
- Cerebral palsy
- Erb’s palsy or injury in the brachial plexus
- Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy
- Kernicterus
- Shoulder dystocia
- Intrautreine demise of the foetus
- Newborn jaundice
- Newborn cephalohematoma
- Spinal cord injury
- Wrongful death
Symptoms
The mother should look for neurological and physical symptoms of childbirth injury even if the baby has not been formally diagnosed.
- Deafness and blindness
- Arching body and neck
- Communication issues
- Excessive sleepiness
- Feeding difficulties
- Not meeting the child development milestones
- Loud and sharp crying frequently
- Not able to move on any side of the body
- Stiff or floppy muscles
- Seizures
- Soft spots or swelling on the head
Symptoms in the mother include the following conditions.
- Diabetes
- Blood clots
- Infections
- Hemorrhage
- Pre-eclampsia
- Rupture in the uterus
- Severe tears in the vagina
Apart from these symptoms, the mother should also recall the birth process. Several situations or things are done by the doctor or other medical staff fall under birth injury malpractices.
Acts of birth injury malpractices
The mother should look out for the following situations or events during birth.
- Not being able to determine the case of maternal infection
- Failing in determinating pregnancy risk factors
- Pulling the baby’s shoulders, arms, or head
- Not performing the required pre-delivery tests on the mother
- Failure to execute a C-section when needed
- Failure to identify Hypoxia (lack of oxygen) and distress in the fetus
- Not using vacuum delivery or forceps
- Misdiagnosing a severe or fatal birth trauma as a mild condition
- Prescribing drugs to the mother that can be harmful to the fetus
Factors causing birth injury cases
When not taken into account before or during delivery, some factors can also lead to birth injury cases.
- Too large baby for the given due date (8 lbs or above)
- Unusually long labor period
- Too small or incorrectly shaped uterus of the mother which is incapable of vaginal birth
- Premature births, specifically before 37 weeks
- Vacuum or forceps delivery, or other instruments that aid in removing the baby from the mother’s vaginal canal
- Unusual delivery positions like facing down or breeched position
- Excessive stress or pulling on the infant during delivery
Finding an Attorney for Birth Injury Cases near me
If the baby dies or is injured during birth, the mother can ask for compensation. Simply picking the first attorney one comes across is not wise. They should do thorough research and consult other victims who won such cases. Since it is a particular field of work, one needs to find an experienced person to empathize with and represent their side in the court. It is good to look for an Abogado para casos de lesiones de nacimiento cerca de mí who has previously represented both parties in such cases – the doctor and the patient (usually the mother). It is up to the mother because no sum of money can repair the damage.
