When you’re pregnant and desperately waiting to welcome your new arrival into your life. The idea of a birthing injury caused by malpractice seems like a nightmare that only happens to others. It’s only when it happens to you, and your dreams and hopes of a safe birth and a healthy baby are dashed do you realise you’re going to need legal representation.
A good birth injury attorney – such as this Toronto birth injury lawyer – will work hard to represent you and your family. It’s their role to obtain and recover the financial renumeration that will help you raise your child that now has a chronic illness or disability, it will also provide the funds needed to pay for high medical bills and equipment needed so your child can have the best quality of life possible. In addition, a good birth injury attorney will hold whoever was responsible for the malpractice accountable, so no other child should have to suffer, and no family should have to experience what you and your family are going through.
Here you’ll find the circumstances and the preventable injuries that occur during a mishandled birth. If any of these seem familiar then you should consider contacting a birth injury lawyer.
Birth fractures
This is the most common injury sustained during a mishandled birth. Fractures usually affect the collarbone, also known as the clavicle. In most cases, these kinds of injuries are unavoidable, however if the medical professionals present had reasonable opportunity to intervene and provide a more suitable treatment – like a C-section – then they could be held accountable for their negligence.
Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy
Also referred to as HIE. This condition is a result of the baby’s brain not receiving enough oxygen during the delivery. This dangerous condition requires immediate medical intervention. From prolonged periods of labour to umbilical cord incidents, excessive bleeding from the placenta or abnormal foetal positioning, HIE can happen for a number of reasons. The result is the death of brain cells, which in turn can lead to brain damage, epilepsy, cerebral palsy and even death.
Erb’s Palsy
This nerve injury occurs when the baby’s neck has been stretched too far during delivery. Due to the damage caused to nerve clusters at the base of the neck, many newborns cannot move their arms, are weak and often numb. There are varying degrees of severity with many babies recovering over a period of time. Other children might have to undergo physiotherapy or even surgery if there is no improvement with a three to six month period.
A subconjunctival haemorrhage
This birthing injury is when the blood vessels in the babies eyes rupture due to pressures placed on the child during delivery. Although this isn’t a permanent injury it is distressing to both mother and baby and can be prevented.
If you believe that you and your baby have been the victims of malpractice and a preventable birthing injury then find legal representation and get some advice as soon as possible.
