If you believe that you may have a case for a birth injury lawsuit, you should always contact a birth injury attorney. Birth injury cases are notoriously complicated because the affected party must prove that the birth injury results directly from a medical mistake from a medical provider, and would not have occurred without that medical mistake. The average person could not provide this burden of proof in court, which is where the knowledge and expertise of a birth injury attorney is required.
What is a birth injury?
A birth injury, generally speaking, is an injury that the newborn baby receives during the process of labor. The injury may result from many things and is not necessarily the fault of any party. Not all birth injuries will cause litigation.
Birth injury cases, on the other hand, involve birth injuries that are the fault of a medical mistake from a medical provider. These at-fault injuries could have been prevented with correct care, which is why it is possible to take medical providers to court for them.
Some of the most common medical mistakes which can cause at-fault birth injuries include:
- Medical providers failing to order certain medical tests during pregnancy which could have prevented the injury or complications
- Anesthesia causing complications due to medical mistakes (incorrect dosage, incorrect anesthesia, improperly administered anesthesia)
- Improper interoperation of clear medical test results
- Medical providers failing to treat conditions in the mother which caused a birth injury during labor
- Failure to properly respond to problems during the process of labor, such as the baby being in the wrong position, oxygen supply to the baby being cut off, and so on
Other things to consider
Some of the more common at-fault birth injuries may cause conditions such as cerebral palsy; erbs palsy; fetal distress, which can cause a variety of conditions; and uterine rupture. Again—not all birth injuries are considered to be at-fault, but these conditions are among the most common in birth injury cases.
Proving at-fault birth injuries can be difficult. A birth injury attorney must extensively review your case to determine whether you can prove that a medical mistake caused the injury. Sometimes, injuries may not be apparent for some time after the birth—anywhere from days to weeks or even years. If you believe that your child has suffered an injury due to a medical mistake, contact a birth injury attorney right away.
