Birth Injury Attorneys

Has your baby been injured during the labor process or shortly after birth? You may be eligible for a personal injury lawsuit claim for your baby's birth injury. Contact a LawInfo Lead Counsel qualified birth injury attorney to find out what your legal rights may be and how to proceed with a lawsuit claim if it's determined you are eligible.

What is a Birth Injury?

Complications during the birth process can result in a wide variety of mild or severe health problems for a newborn baby. These problems are collectively known as birth trauma or birth injuries. Birth injuries have been reported to occur in 27 of 1,000 live births and are more often caused by operative deliveries, whether vaginal or abdominal, than spontaneous (natural) deliveries. Birth injuries can be caused by a variety of circumstances including:

• Oxygen deprivation, which commonly occurs when the umbilical cord is compressed or twisted in the birth process.
• Mechanical trauma, which may occur when the baby assumes an unusual position at the time of birth (buttocks rather than head first, for example) or when the baby is too large to pass through the birth canal easily.
• Mistakes made by doctors, hospitals, nurses or midwives during delivery including excessive force being applied in the delivery of a child, delays in performing a necessary cessarian section (C-section) delivery, or the delivery team fails to properly anticipate the size of a child, causing a turbulent delivery.

The most serious birth injuries are those that affect the brain, which are caused by oxygen deprivation or bleeding within the skull or brain. These injuries vary greatly in severity and may lead to long-term seizure disorders or cause brain damage or mental retardation. Birth injuries that are typically associated with doctor, nurse, midwife or other hospital staff or medical staff mistakes or malpractice include:

• Capput Succedaneum: a severe swelling of the soft tissues of the baby's scalp that develops as the baby travels through the birth canal. A capput succedaneum is caused by the mechanical trauma of the initial portion of scalp pushing through the initially narrow cervix. Babies delivered by vacuum extraction are more susceptible to this condition.
• Cephalohematoma: an area of bleeding underneath one of the cranial bones that often appears several hours after birth as a raised lump on the baby's head that is reabsorbed by the body. Depending on the size, most cephalohematomas take two weeks to three months to disappear completely. If the area of bleeding is large, some babies may develop jaundice as the red blood cells break down.
• Temporary Facial Paralysis: during labor or birth, pressure on a baby's face may cause the facial nerve to be injured and temporarily paralyzed. This may also occur with the use of forceps for delivery. The injury is often seen when the baby cries. There is no movement on the side of the face with the injury and the affected eye cannot be closed. If the nerve was only bruised, the paralysis usually improves in a few weeks. However, if the nerve is torn, surgery may be needed to correct or improve the problem.
• Erb's (Brachial) Palsy: an injury to the brachial plexus (a group of nerves that travel from the spinal cord up the arm, supplying the arms and hands). It happens most often during delivery when excessive pressure is put on the baby's head, neck, or shoulder because of difficulty delivering the shoulder area (shoulder dystocia) of macrosomic (higher-than-average birth weight) babies, or because too much pressure is used during a forcep or vacuum delivery. Erb's Palsy usually results in a baby's inability to fully rotate and flex his or her arm. Symptoms of Erb's palsy can include paralysis or limpness in the arm, limited or no movement in hands and fingers, and loss of sensation in the hands and fingers. Sometimes, babies with Erb's Palsy will hold the affected arm very close to the body, and it will appear that the baby is unable to move the arm itself, the hands, or the fingers. If no tearing has occurred, bruising and swelling around the nerve should subside and normal movement become possible in a few months. However, if tearing has occurred permanent nerve damage may result, and surgery may be necessary to improve or eliminate the condition.
• Fractures: fracture of the clavicle (collarbone) is the most common fracture during labor and delivery. The clavicle may break when there is difficulty delivering the baby's shoulder or during a breech delivery. The baby with a fractured clavicle rarely moves the arm on the side of the break, and there may be bruising over the broken bone. Immobilizing the arm and shoulder is the recommended treatment, and the broken bone will usually heal quickly.
• Klumpke's Palsy: a rare injury that involves C7 and T-1 (cervical vertebra #7 and thoracic vertebra #1), which causes weakness or paralysis of the wrist and finger flexors and of the small muscles of the hand. This condition occurs when nerves in the lower brachial plexus (the nerves which lead to the lower arm) are injured. Klumpke's Palsy is the most rare of the brachial plexus injuries, though the term is sometimes loosely applied to cases of Global Brachial Plexus Palsy, also known as Complete Brachial Plexus Palsy and Total Brachial Plexus Palsy. Birth complications like shoulder dystocia may result in brachial plexus injury and Klumpke's palsy.
• Brachial Plexus Palsy: The brachial plexus is a network of nerves that conducts signals from the spine to the shoulder, arm, and hand. Brachial Plexus Palsy occurs when the brachial plexus (the group of nerves that supplies the arms and hands) is injured, which causes the baby to lose the ability to flex and rotate the arm. It is most common when there is difficulty delivering the baby's shoulder (shoulder dystocia). If the injury caused bruising and swelling around the nerves, movement should return within a few months. However, tearing of the nerve may result in permanent nerve damage. Global (total) brachial plexus palsy occurs all five nerves in the brachial plexus are injured.
• Cerebral Palsy: is a generalized term for a group of chronic disorders impairing control of movement. It is caused by brain damage before, during or shortly following birth. Cerebral Palsy affects a person's body movements and muscle coordination. There are three types of Cerebral Palsy, including Spastic, which results in difficult and stiff movements; Ataxic, which causes loss of depth perception and sense of balance; and Athetoid, which causes uncontrolled and involuntary movements. The disorders are caused by faulty development of or damage to motor areas in the brain that disrupts the brain's ability to control movement and posture. Cerebral palsy can be the result of an injury to a baby's brain in the womb, during delivery, or some time after birth. It can also be caused by a lack of oxygen flow to a baby's brain during delivery. Symptoms of cerebral palsy include difficulty with fine motor tasks (such as writing or using scissors), difficulty maintaining balance or walking, and involuntary movements. Symptoms differ from person to person and may change over time. Some people with cerebral palsy are also affected by other medical disorders, including seizures or mental impairment.

Should I hire a Birth Injury Attorney?

We understand that in times of grief, it is very difficult for family members to understand the importance of a prompt investigation of the circumstances of the injury, preservation of evidence and identification of responsible parties. Many people also feel guilty about pursuing monetary compensation for their baby's birth injuries. However, monetary compensation from a lawsuit is often necessary to cover the extensive medical bills that will accrue in the years to come.

Contact a reputable and experienced Lead Counsel birth injury attorney for a free case evaluation. You may be eligible for monetary compensation. However, you need to move quickly because statutes of limitations do apply.