Birth injuries or birth trauma impacts a child's health and development, causing lifelong disability or even death. As per the data collected by the CDC, birth injuries happen in 7 out of 1000 babies in the US.
Birth injury causes death in 3 out of 10,000 live births in the US. While most birth injuries are a result of medical negligence during the time of pregnancy, labor, or delivery, some situations are unavoidable.
As per Stanford Medicine Children's Health, bruising, head swelling, nerve damage, and broken bones are the most common birth injuries. It is essential to know when these birth injuries can be linked to medical negligence so that parents can uphold their injured child's legal rights.
Here is a list of 10 most common birth injuries:
- Cerebral palsy: This is a neurological disorder that leads to physical and intellectual disability. As per the CDC, 1 in 345 children in the US are affected by cerebral palsy (CP).
- Brachial plexus injuries: These injuries happen if nerves that control the movement of arms are damaged during vaginal delivery. Common types of brachial nerve injuries include Klumpke's palsy and Erb's palsy. These injuries happen in 3 out of 1,000 births in the US. Proper care can prevent most of these nerve injuries.
- Brain damage: Damage to an infant's brain occurs when medical mistakes during childbirth cause harm to the baby's developing brain.
- Erb's palsy: This occurs in nearly 12,000 babies each year. This condition causes symptoms such as difficulty in grasping objects, muscle weakness in arms, and partial or complete paralysis of the arm.
- Kernicterus: This condition is a type of brain damage caused by severe jaundice in newborns and occurs when doctors fail to treat elevated levels of bilirubin. Without proper treatment, jaundice progresses to kernicterus, which may lead to neurological issues and hearing loss.
- Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy: It is a type of brain injury that develops when a baby does not get blood flow and oxygen during the process of labor and delivery.
- Cephalohematoma: This condition occurs when blood gets collected between the baby's skull and scalp due to improper technique or excessive force used during labor and delivery procedures. Cephalohematoma results in complications such as jaundice, infections, anemia, skull fractures, and calcifications.
- Forceps or vacuum extractor complications: Improper application of forceps or vacuum extractors by using excessive force can cause nerve damage, fractures, and bleeding. Use of these instruments instead of performing a C-section can lead to unnecessary complications and permanent damage to the baby's health.
- Periventricular leukomalacia (PVL): This is a type of brain injury in which the white matter near the brain's fluid-filled ventricles becomes soft or even dies. It occurs due to reduced blood flow and oxygen. As per data from Cleveland Clinic, as many as 30,000 premature low-birth-weight children in the US are affected by PVL every year.
- Meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS): If a newborn inhales amniotic fluid containing meconium or the baby's first stool, breathing difficulties and lung damage may occur. This is a major reason for severe illness and death in newborns and occurs in 5%-10% of births, as per John Hopkins Medicine.
Common Medical Errors that May Lead to Birth Injury Claims
Here is a list of potential medical mistakes that can lead to severe complications. If you suspect that a medical error caused your child's birth injury, you are eligible to receive legal compensation.
- Delay in performing a necessary emergency C-section
- Failing to monitor the baby's oxygen levels during labor
- Ignoring or failing to respond to fetal distress signs such as abnormal heart rate
- Misuse of assisted delivery tools such as forceps or vacuum extractors
- Neglect in treating infections in the mother that can pass to the baby
- Mismanagement of the condition called shoulder dystocia (when a baby's shoulders get stuck behind the mother's pelvis)
- Neglect improper management of prolonged or difficult labor and delivery complications such as umbilical cord complications (cord prolapse or cord around the neck)
- Twisting, pulling, or applying excessive force to the baby's head, neck, or shoulders during delivery
- Missing the diagnosis or failing to monitor jaundice after birth
- Ignoring risk factors such as blood type incompatibility or prematurity
- Mismanagement of elevated bilirubin levels
- Neglect in providing necessary treatments like phototherapy
Consult The Law Offices of Sean M. Cleary to File a Birth Injury Claim
Sean M. Cleary has helped parents of children with birth injuries file their claims for the last two decades. If you would like to find out whether you are eligible to file a birth injury claim and how we can help, please get in touch with us for a free evaluation. We can help you determine whether medical negligence has occurred in your child's case and guide you through the process of filing for compensation. As a birth injury lawyer, Sean M. Cleary is dedicated to helping parents who have children with birth injuries.