Birth Injuries Often Lead Back to Doctor’s Decisions

Overview of Malpractice Birth Injury Complications

From these recent birth injury lawsuits, medical and legal experts have seen these medical malpractice actions more frequently. The medical experts state that if at any time the mother experiences complications during childbirth, doctors should be on full alert for the cause of these complications. Error in their observations could lead to decisions that could impact the child for the rest of his or her life.

The potential errors doctors can make during childbirth are:

• Failing to anticipate complications in the birthing process if the mother is birthing a larger baby, or failing to acknowledge possible pre-existing maternal birthing complication.
• Failing to respond the excessive bleeding.
• Failing to observe or remedy umbilical cord entrapment.
• Failing to respond to fetal distress of any kind.
• Delay in ordering cesarean section (C-section) when necessary.
• Misuse of forceps or a vacuum extractor upon the baby’s birth.
• Inappropriate administration of Pitocin, a synthesized hormone used to hurry the labor along.
• Any other complications which may result in juries to the baby, including: circumcision or failure to attend to an infection.

Any of these mistakes can cause debilitating birth injuries to the infant, ranging from minor to severe medical complications. The injuries an infant can suffer from medical malpractice birth injuries include but are not excluded to:

• Bruising and Forceps Marks: If forceps are used during delivery, they may leave small and temporary bruises on the baby’s head. Vacuum extraction can also cause bruising to the head as well as scalp laceration. While minor injuries, in extreme cases, forceps use can cause depressed skull fractures, which could possibly require revision surgery.
• Facial Paralysis: When the baby’s facial nerves become paralyzed from pressure on the baby’s face during labor or birth. With severe facial nerve damage, revision surgery may be required to fix the problem.
• Brachial Palsy Injuries (Erb’s Palsy and Klumpke’s Palsy): When the nerves that control the arms and hands are damaged. This injury most often caused by “shoulder dystocia,” which is when the baby’s shoulders become impaired as it passes through the birth canal. When injury only causes bruising or swelling, the baby will recover within three months. In more severe cases, there may be permanent nerve damage, and physical therapy and surgery may be required to fix the problem.
• Brain Injury: Occurs when the baby does not receive enough oxygen as a result of blood loss or the twisting or compression of the umbilical cord. Prolonged oxygen deprivation can cause brain damage, seizure disorders, cerebral palsy, or mental impairment.

The injuries listed above can be caused by a doctor’s late response or decision which prolonged the labor. Either way, if a mother experienced complications during child’s delivery, it was the doctor’s responsibility to insure both the mother and child had successfully gotten through the process. Birth injuries the babies may have suffered from the doctor’s decision need to be taken into account, with many medical and legal experts not wanting them to be dismissed.

File a Malpractice Birth Injury Lawsuit Today

If you believe that you or a loved one has been the victim of a medical malpractice birth injury, you have legal options. Please visit the Medical Malpractice Birth Injury Class Action Lawsuit Investigation. There, you can submit your claim for a free legal review and if it qualifies for legal action, a seasoned medical malpractice lawyer will contact you for a free, no-obligation consultation. You will be guided through the litigation process at no out-of-pocket expenses or hidden fees. The birth injury lawyers working this investigation do not get paid until you do.