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Medical Errors and Birth Injuries: What Families Must Know 

 August 4, 2022

A birth injury can forever change a baby’s life. For the entire family, this can be a devastating event. The baby may sustain lifelong disabilities with mounting medical costs, endure constant pain and suffering, as well as require assistance from an adult forever. Because of the seriousness of birth injuries, every parent must know what recourse they have should their baby suffer this injury because of a medical error. When this happens, they should hire the best Birth Injury Attorney to represent their legal interests.

Birth injury cases are a kind of medical practice case where babies sustained injuries because of medical errors that can occur during, pregnancy or delivery, or right after delivery. Birth injuries can be quite serious. Liability could fall on any member of a child’s medical team including an obstetrician, anesthesiologist, nurse, or others.

Common Kinds of Birth Injuries

The following are the common kinds of birth injuries that can result in a medical malpractice case:

  • Birth hypoxia. The brain or other organs of a baby need enough oxygen before, during, or after birth. Otherwise, they can suffer permanent damage leading to cerebral palsy, developmental disabilities, organ failure, or death.
  • Shoulder dystocia injuries. Such injuries happen when the shoulder of an infant becomes stuck behind the pubic bone of the mother during vaginal delivery. They are considered an obstetric emergency that requires immediate intervention to dislodge the shoulder of the baby and deliver them safely and promptly. When shoulder dystocia is not treated, it can lead to other injuries like cerebral palsy, birth hypoxia, bone fractures, spinal trauma, or death.

How Do Birth Injuries Result from Medical Errors?

A lot of birth injuries directly resulted from doctor and hospital negligence. Preventable accidents can result in obstetric malpractice lawsuits. Negligent medical care includes misdiagnosis, failure to monitor vital signs, delayed C-sections, misuse of vacuum extractors and forceps during child delivery, and others.

Preventing Birth Injuries

Medical providers must monitor the health of both mother and baby throughout pregnancy. Also, they should follow protocols during every stage of childbirth.

During pregnancy, medical experts should monitor the risk factors of the mother like excessive weight gain, placental abruption, a big baby, or gestational diabetes. Diagnostic tests can be used to ensure the normal development of the fetus.

During delivery, medical experts and hospitals should ensure both the mother and child are safe during labor and delivery. They should watch for signs of mother and baby distress. Also, extra precautions must be taken when completing complex deliveries.

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