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Birth Injury Attorneys Handling Lawsuits For Medical Malpractice Before Or During Labor And Delivery
Call An Experienced Birth Injury Lawyer In Maryland, Virginia And Washington, D.C.
Birth injuries can have a lasting impact on children and their families. Birth injuries caused by medical malpractice can change families due to the endless doctor visits, potential lifetime of rehabilitation sessions, medical bills and difficult times at home.
The following information, provided by the experienced injury attorneys of the nationally recognized personal injury law firm of Koonz, McKenney, Johnson & DePaolis L.L.P., can assist in your understanding of common birth injuries caused by medical malpractice. Our Maryland malpractice attorneys also provide information about what legal options families affected by doctor negligence before, during and after labor or delivery may have to file birth injury lawsuits. Click here for information on birth injury lawsuits in Washington D.C. and here for birth injury lawsuits in Fairfax, Virginia.
Our personal injury law firm has obtained millions of dollars in recoveries for personal injury clients in Washington, D.C., Virginia, Maryland and nationwide. We will fight on behalf of innocent children dealing with the unfortunate medical complications caused by negligence at birth. If your child and family are dealing with the consequences of preventable brain damage at birth, contact our birth injuries attorneys today. We want to help.
What is Birth Asphyxia? Birth Asphyxia Definition
Birth asphyxia, also called perinatal or neonatal asphyxia, is a condition where the flow of oxygen to the baby’s brain is entirely absent. Birth asphyxia damages nerve cells and can cause irreversible infant brain damage, typically within minutes. This lack of oxygen can harm all organs, but the resulting brain damage to the baby can leave lasting developmental, intellectual and physical delays or disability.
Our birth injury and medical malpractice lawyers see cases of lack of oxygen at birth caused by negligence on the part of the obstetrician or physician. Physician negligence can occur during the monitoring of the pregnancy and during or after delivery. Families who have endured this type of incident should seek the counsel of experienced Washington, D.C. birth injury attorneys to discuss the possibility recovering compensation for medical costs and other expenses your child and family suffered because of medical negligence.
What Causes Lack of Oxygen at Birth? Medical Malpractice Risks
The Virginia medical malpractice attorneys of Koonz, McKenney, Johnson & DePaolis L.L.P. have taken on countless birth injury lawsuits involving poor or lack of medical care during birth that resulted in a lifetime of medical complications and disabilities to newborns. While not all birth injuries may be the result of medical negligence, medical professionals who fail to take the appropriate steps to monitor the conditions of the mother and infant throughout delivery, ensuring that both have appropriate oxygen levels and who immediately take actions to remedy signs of fetal distress may be at fault for medical negligence.
Newborns may suffer oxygen deprivation like birth asphyxia, which can result in physical harm if doctors fail to provide reasonable prenatal care or care during and after delivery. Several common causes of injuries caused by birth asphyxia include:
- Inadequate flow of oxygen from the mother to the fetus
- Low maternal blood pressure
- Abnormalities in the uterus, placenta or umbilical cord that prevent blood flow to the fetus
- Entanglement with the umbilical cord during delivery
- Blood loss, shock or inadequate respiration immediately following birth
- Failure by medical personnel to carefully monitor the fetus prior to birth
- Misreading the Fetal Heart Monitor
- Failure to perform a timely delivery or cesarean section
Difficulty feeding, frequently seizures and a low Apgar score at five minutes after delivery are among the brain damage at birth symptoms that may indicate a newborn may be suffering the consequences of a birth injury.
Consequences of Birth Injury
Birth injuries may range from minor, temporary problems to severe birth disabilities, such as brain damage and developmental disorders. Infant brain injuries may also result in devastating conditions, such as cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy and autism.
Our Maryland medical malpractice lawyers commonly see the following long-term consequences of infant brain injuries:
- Developmental delays
- Lower IQ and language skills
- Behavioral problems
- Poor coordination or balance
- Difficulty hearing or poor vision
If your child has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy or any other newborn brain injury, the cerebral palsy lawyers of Koonz, McKenney, Johnson & DePaolis L.L.P. may be able to assist you in pursuing compensation for pain and suffering, lifelong medical bills and other damages caused by hospital malpractice.
How to Prevent Birth Injury
By carefully monitoring a child’s development and quickly responding to any problems, medical professionals can help ensure the safe delivery of newborns. A physician should carefully watch both the mother and child during pregnancy to ensure that:
- There are no signs that the oxygen or blood supply to the fetus has been compromised
- Medical personnel are aware of any potential asphyxia
- Any underlying maternal or fetal conditions, such as increased maternal blood pressure, are properly managed
- The mother feels comfortable communicating any concerns or potential warning signs with the physician
- Schedule regular visits to monitor the progress of the pregnancy and the mother’s health
However, if hospitals or physicians fail in their responsibility to provide reasonable care during pregnancy or delivery and a birth injury occurs, our infant injury attorneys are prepared to answer any medical malpractice questions and help determine what legal options may be available to gain financial damages to help with the future medical care your child may need.
What to Do If Your Child May Have Suffered a Birth Injury
If you believe your child may have suffered a birth injury, it is important that you carefully monitor your child for any of the above brain damage at birth symptoms. Please contact our birth injury attorneys who can assist in determining whether you may be entitled to hold the negligent medical professionals responsible on behalf of your child.
Our birthing injury attorneys have more than 30 years of legal experience representing medical malpractice victims and their families throughout Washington, D.C., including substantial case results in Maryland and Virginia courts. We can review the birth injury claim free of charge during our consultation. Call today to schedule a no obligation case discussion.