7 in 1,000
Babies Born
41%
Brain or Neuro Damage
37%
Shoulder Injuries
Babies Born
Brain or Neuro Damage
Shoulder Injuries
If your child was affected find out if mistakes caused their injury. Speak with a lawyer.
Get helpBirth injuries are trauma suffered by newborns around the time of delivery. These tragic medical injuries are often avoidable and may lead to significant disability.
While some birth injuries will heal in the first year on their own, many will require a lifetime of medical care. Those that are permanent often affect a child’s brain function or ability to move.
Upon examining birth records, experts often find that mistakes were made by doctors or hospital staff that contributed to a child’s birth injury. In these cases, families have a legal right to seek awards to help cover damages.
These birth injury lawsuits often reach amounts in excess of $1 million and can be the main source of funding for a child’s care over their lifetime.
If you have questions about your child’s birth injury or whether mistakes were made during their delivery, we have lawyers and nurses available to speak today.
Speak with a lawyer or nurse today about your case.
Free Case ReviewWhile babies are at risk for countless types of birth injuries, some occur more often as a result of delivery trauma.
These can be classified into four main types: nerve/spinal cord damage, broken bones, brain damage or swelling/hemorrhaging.
Below is a short discussion on the main types of birth injury.
Nerve/spinal cord damage: babies may become stuck passing through the birth canal due to breach or shoulder dystocia. The use of excess force during such deliveries can result in damage to the nerves running through the spine or shoulder. These injuries, which can cause paralysis to an arm or side include:
Brain damage: the brain requires the highest percentage of oxygen of any organ in the body. Delays or complications during delivery which cause a temporary disruption of oxygen can result in brain cell death, or brain damage. In some cases, brain damage may also be caused by a severe type of jaundice called kernicterus, if left untreated. Examples of brain damage birth injuries include:
Swelling/hemorrhaging: bleeding around the brain or swelling of an infant’s scalp may occur as a result of trauma from delivery tools, pressure from delayed birth or undeveloped blood vessels in preterm birth. Some of the conditions caused include:
Broken bones: Although these have become less common over time, approximately 1 in 1,000 births still result in broken collarbones or femurs due to trauma related to shoulder dystocia.
Unfortunately, many of these birth injuries occur due to avoidable medical mistakes by doctors or hospital staff. If your child was injured during a prolonged birth or delivery with complications, it’s important to have your case reviewed.
Although these terms are often used interchangeably, birth defects and birth injuries have different attributes, causes and times of occurrence.
Birth injuries, as described above, are trauma to a baby that occurs around the time of delivery, or just afterward. Examples are injuries to the head, spinal cord or shoulder from improper use of delivery tools, lack of oxygen or excessive force.
Birth defects, on the other hand, typically occur much earlier, during the first few months of pregnancy. They are often identified prior to birth during prenatal testing. Birth defects can be linked to nutrition deficiencies, infections, toxic exposure or chromosome issues during pregnancy.
An important distinction between birth injuries and birth defects for parents to consider is a large percentage of birth injuries are caused by mistakes from medical professionals. When this occurs the family of the victim has the right to seek compensation to help with their lifetime care and treatment.
If you have questions about whether your child’s condition could have been avoided and whether your family is entitled to compensation, speak with one of our nurses or lawyers today.
Download the free Cerebral Palsy Center Resource Guide for helpful information about diagnosis, treatment, living with a birth injury and available financial assistance.
Get Free E-BookIn many cases it can take a year or more for the symptoms of birth injuries to become noticeable. However, there are signs that parents can look for in the first year to indicate the possibility of an injury.
Some of the early symptoms of birth injury include:
Although the presence of these signs doesn’t absolutely mean your child suffered a birth injury, it’s important to notify your doctor and schedule a screening if you notice any of the above. Early detection is crucial for effective treatment.
As your child gets beyond the first few years, the symptoms of a birth injury often become more apparent. For parents who suspect their toddler may have suffered trauma, it’s important to monitor for signals of nerve or brain damage.
These symptoms usually present when toddlers fail to meet normal developmental milestones.
Some of the signs of a birth injury in children over one year old include:
These symptoms are in addition to the ones listed above for infants under 12 months old, as the presence of those can indicate a serious health issue. Parents should monitor for any of these during the first 1-3years of their child’s life.
If you notice any of these signs, it’s important to contact your doctor for a health screening as soon as possible.
The most up-to-date statistics on birth injuries show that, while the overall occurrence trend is positive, there’s still a long way to go with improving newborn safety and delivery practices.
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Birth injuries can be caused when an infant suffers distress during the delivery process. This may be due to a combination of physical trauma, oxygen deprivation or medication toxicity.
In some cases, these injuries have natural causes which were present before delivery. However, a large number might have been prevented without mistakes made by hospital staff or doctors.
Some of the most likely causes of birth injuries are:
Unfortunately, more than 4 out of 5 birth injury cases are considered “moderate” or worse, which encompasses those babies who suffer paralysis, brain or nerve damage.
If your child suffered an injury during your delivery, it’s important to have a medical or legal expert review your records to determine what went wrong and if compensation may be available.
Get answers about your child’s birth injury today. Speak with a lawyer or nurse at no charge.
Free Case ReviewNo one can guard against all uncertainties during pregnancy and delivery that can contribute to a birth injury. However, there are some risk factors for birth injury that parents should be aware of in order to adjust their birth plan for the healthiest results.
According to the National Institutes of Health, birth injury risk factors are grouped by their link to the fetus & pregnancy, mother, or delivery tools.
No one can guard against all uncertainties during pregnancy and delivery that can contribute to a birth injury. However, there are some risk factors for birth injury that parents should be aware of in order to adjust their birth plan for the healthiest results.
According to the National Institutes of Health, birth injury risk factors are grouped by their link to the fetus & pregnancy, mother, or delivery tools.
An infant’s positioning, size and development may lead to a challenging delivery, which can play a role in birth complications.
Maternal factors such as a mother’s size, birth history, health and pelvic shape may predict whether labor will be more challenging, adding to the risk of fetal distress.
It’s important to speak with your doctor during pregnancy about any risk factors for birth injury that may be present in order to plan accordingly for a healthy delivery.
In addition to recognizing the risk factors that may contribute to birth complications, expectant mothers can also take action to promote overall health during pregnancy and reduce risks to their babies.
While some birth injuries are identified immediately, others might not become apparent until your child grows older, sometimes months or years after birth. If your child experiences delayed development, speech challenges, difficulty with feeding, or muscle stiffness, it might be unclear why these symptoms are happening.
Several diagnostic methods are typically used by doctors to detect birth injuries. These include:
Neuroimaging Tests: MRI and CT scans are essential tools for uncovering brain injuries, such as periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) or other brain issues that may be due to birth trauma.
Apgar Test: This valued tool measures a newborn’s heart rate, breathing, muscle tone, reflex response, and skin coloration immediately after birth. Lower scores can indicate potential health issues.
Umbilical Cord Blood Gas Analysis: A test that evaluates oxygen and carbon dioxide levels in an infant’s blood. This can reveal signals of oxygen deprivation linked to brain damage.
If you have concerns about your child’s development or possible birth injuries, it’s important to schedule a screening with their doctor as soon as possible.
Also, our experienced nurses are available to discuss your child’s case, provide guidance on possible causes and recommend how to proceed.
Every child’s treatment needs following a birth injury are unique. Some might only require minor periodic checkups, while others need extensive, lifelong care. For instance, children facing muscle-control issues from conditions like Erb’s Palsy often benefit from ongoing physical therapies aimed at enhancing mobility and managing symptoms effectively.
Common birth injury treatment options include:
Therapy is frequently the first step in managing many birth injury symptoms. Occupational therapy can assist children with movement disorders like cerebral palsy accomplish everyday activities such as personal care, dressing and eating.
Language and speech therapy can help those experiencing communication challenges from brain damage increase their quality of life.
Physical therapies are also frequently used. Recreational therapy strengthens and relaxes muscles, improving coordination and mobility, while exposing children to the therapeutic benefits of the outdoors.
Find out if your family qualifies for a legal claim. Speak with a lawyer today.
Free Case ReviewAssistive devices like scooters, wheelchairs, crutches and braces can significantly help children who experience mobility difficulties gain independence. Also, gait trainers can strengthen muscles and bones while developing walking skills.
Children with more fine motor limitations may also benefit from adaptive utensils, cups and dressing aids.
Depending on the specific effects of a child’s birth injury, their pediatrician may prescribe certain medications to promote recovery or manage symptoms.
For example, with brachial plexus injuries like Erb’s Palsy, doctors have used Botox in order to incapacitate select muscle groups to force the use of weaker muscles in therapy.
For those with cerebral palsy, medications like anticonvulsants, muscle relaxants and nerve blocks may be prescribed to manage seizures, reduce muscle contractions and decrease chronic pain.
For children with severe birth injuries, medications and therapy may not provide lasting relief. In those cases, surgery may be an option.
For example, microsurgeries, joint release and tendon transfers may benefit those with Erb’s Palsy regain some strength and range of motion.
Children with CP may benefit from specific cerebral palsy surgeries such as osteotomy to realign bones, spinal surgery for scoliosis or dorsal rhizotomy to relieve muscle spasticity.
In most cases your insurance company will require therapy or medication treatment before approving surgery. For those seeking surgery, the higher upfront cost is often outweighed by the lasting benefit and elimination of need for ongoing medication or therapy.
Many families find that financial assistance and insurance aren’t enough to cover the expenses of ongoing birth injury treatment. In this case the compensation from a birth injury lawsuit can be crucial to help cover the costs of lifetime care.
A recent study found that, although the rate of injuries to mothers and babies during childbirth continues to decline each year, around 160,000 childbirth injuries annually could have been avoided.
While doctors and hospital staff strive to provide the
safest and most effective care for mothers and babies, they do make mistakes. Failure to meet the standard of care during the delivery process can be considered negligence or medical malpractice in all states.
Some common mistakes that can lead to birth injuries includes:
When medical mistakes result in birth injuries to newborns, families have the right to seek compensation to help with medical care, therapy, lifecare and pain & suffering.
A study by the CDC found that the lifetime cost of caring for a child with a severe birth injury like cerebral palsy may be as much as $1.7 million.
If your child suffered a birth injury, it’s important to have your case reviewed by an expert to determine if mistakes were made during your delivery. You may be entitled to substantial compensation.
Contact us today to speak with a nurse or lawyer.
A birth injury is a physical trauma suffered by an infant just before or during the time of delivery. While some heal on their own, many are more severe and result in lasting disability. Permanent birth injuries may affect a child’s brain function or ability to move.
While some head trauma birth injuries may heal on their own, most birth injuries will require treatment with therapy, medication or surgery. This includes nerve injuries like brachial plexus/Erb’s Palsy, brain damage birth injuries and movement disorders like cerebral palsy. Babies may also suffer broken bones that require minor treatment.
A birth may be considered traumatic due to the length of time endured, level of complications encountered, or when it results in injury to the baby. Prolonged labor is typically that which lasts longer than 20 hours. Complications in the delivery process may affect the mother or baby.
Infants that suffer physical trauma due to delivery tools or oxygen deprivation can develop severe birth injuries like Erb’s Palsy or cerebral palsy.
Alcohol doesn’t typically cause injuries to the baby at the time of birth, but excessive use may lower maternal health, which is a risk factor for birth complications. Alcohol during pregnancy has been linked to birth defects like Fetal Alcohol Syndrome, which can harm a baby’s mental or physical development.
Many birth injuries are due to medical malpractice. Studies show approximately 160,000 birth-related injuries each year are due to avoidable mistakes like medical negligence.
Some of the medical mistakes that can cause birth injuries are excessive force during delivery, insufficient monitoring or reaction to fetal distress, delivery tool misuse, misdiagnosis and delayed intervention.
The most common birth injuries are cephalohematoma (cranialbleeding) and caput succedaneum (cranial swelling), which are caused by head trauma. Other common birth injuries are nerve injuries like Erb’s Palsy and oxygen deprivation brain damage injuries like cerebral palsy.
Yes. Some birth injuries like facial nerve palsy, cephalohematoma, and caput succedaneum may heal on their own. Cephalohematoma, or bleeding around the brain, can resolve within weeks or months. Caput succedaneum, or swelling of the scalp, can resolve within a few days. Facial nerve palsy may heal within a few weeks or as long as six months in some cases.
Although it’s now less common, babies can suffer broken bones in approximately 1 of every 1,000 births. These are often broken collarbones or femurs that occur when doctors use force to free an infant that has trouble passing through the birth canal. Fortunately, they usually heal with minimal treatment.
Since every birth injury lawsuit is unique to the child’s injury and degree of medical mistake, it’s difficult to assign an average birth injury settlement value. However, in cases of permanent nerve injury, spinal injury or brain damage, the settlement values often exceed $1 million.
Cerebral palsy is a birth injury caused by damage to an infant’s brain just before, during or soon after the delivery process. While there are other types of brain damage that can occur during the baby’s development earlier in pregnancy, these are classified as birth defects.
