Birth Injuries & Your Legal Rights
September is "Baby Safety Month" and in recognizance of this important issue, we would like to touch on some of the ways you can reduce your baby's risk of injury, starting with birth.
Start from the beginning
When a couple finds out that they are pregnant, there can be a mix of emotions: joy and happiness, and fear and anxiety. While generally a happy time for many couples, theirs fear, unfortunately, are not unfounded. Reports have shown that for every 1,000 babies born in the U.S., five will be injured during birth. That’s thousands of injuries to newborns at the moment they enter the world, and this trauma can be devastating to unsuspecting parents.
Fortunately, many birth injuries are avoidable.
Almost "50% of all birth injuries are potentially avoidable by identification and planning for obstetrical risk factors,” according to the Birth Injury Guide, an advocacy group based out of Houston. Regardless of whether the injury is preventable or not, if your child is injured at the hands of a medical professional who is acting negligently, know that you have legal rights.
What is a Birth Injury and How Does it Happen?
Birth injuries are generally caused by something that goes wrong during delivery. The majority of the responsibility for the safe delivery of a newborn is placed on the medical staff. In a situation of neglect by the medical staff, birth injuries can often involve:
- Failure to properly monitor the baby during labor and delivery
- Failure to recognize the need for a cesarean section
- Failure to deliver the baby in a timely manner, and this includes via c-section
- Failure to detect or prevent hypoxia or asphyxia
- Failure to diagnose birth defects that could have been treated in utero
- Failure to recognize a medical condition of the mother that can affect the baby, such as infection or high blood pressure
- Failure to recognize an ectopic pregnancy
- Mishandling of the baby during delivery
- Administering the wrong medication or dosage during pregnancy, labor, or delivery
This list is not exhaustive. If your child was injured at the hands of a negligent doctor or nurse, contact our experienced injury lawyers today. There is a statute of limitations that prevents you from bringing your claim after a certain amount of time, so do not delay.
For more information on what you can do if your infant is injured at birth, contact the injury attorneys at Ghozland Law Firm today.
