What Is Considered A Birth Injury?

Finding out you're pregnant is an indescribable joy. Immediately, you begin planning the baby's name, its room, and shopping for baby clothes. Your mind races with questions about how your newborn will look, up until the day you go into labor. Giving birth is supposed to be a blissful occasion. You aren't supposed to leave the hospital with a severe medical injury. Unfortunately, complications can arise when you go into labor. If you're in Ohio and a doctor injured you or your newborn during the birthing process, keep reading below.

Ohio Birth Injury Attorneys

Navigating a birth injury lawsuit is extraordinarily complex and requires the involvement of a skilled medical malpractice attorney. Backed by more than four decades of experience, The Eisen Law Firm knows how to hold doctors and hospitals accountable for the lifetime of pain they have caused you and your family. Our experienced trial attorneys will evaluate your case, help you understand your legal options, and fight on your behalf to get you the compensation you deserve from the medical professionals who have failed you. To learn more about how The Eisen Law Firm can help you, call 216-687-0900 or contact us online for a free consultation.

What Is A Birth Injury?

Imagine this: Sarah has gone to the same doctor since she learned about her pregnancy. She'd been on time for every appointment and took her doctor's recommended vitamins. In her final trimester, she goes in for one last check-up. While there, medical staff performs an ultrasound. They inform Sarah that the baby is too large, and the umbilical cord is caught around the baby’s neck. An emergency c-section is needed. Yet, by the time her baby is delivered, it has sustained a significant loss of oxygen and now has a permanent brain injury.

This can happen when doctors fail to measure the baby during your visits or fail to pay attention to the baby's measurements when they are taken. When a baby is too large, it can suffocate while in the womb, stop breathing, or cause dystocia (difficulty in childbirth) that results in injury or stillbirth.

Generally, a birth injury is any injury that occurs to the mother or baby once the mother goes into labor. Birth injury is also known as birth trauma. Regardless of the name, you should know that it's usually the fault of the medical staff – and not your fault). This fault is called medical malpractice or medical negligence, which simply means that a member of the treating medical team didn't do something they should have done; did something they shouldn't have done; or rendered subpar performance.

What Are Types Of Birth Injuries?

Several potential birth injuries can affect you, your baby, or both of you. Even if you don't see your birth injury listed, you should still call a reputable Ohio birth injury attorney for legal advice.

For The Mom

Common birth injuries that harm the mother are:

• Excessive bleeding (hemorrhaging)
• Vaginal tearing
• Death

For The Baby

Common birth injuries that harm the baby are:

• Brain damage
• Brain bleeding (hemorrhaging)
• Seizures
• Brachial palsy (damaging the nerves responsible for the mobility and rotation of your baby's arms and hands)
• Facial paralysis (temporary or long-term loss of facial mobility due to damaged facial nerves)
• Fractures
• HIE
• Cerebral Palsy
• Death

What Can I Do After A Birth Injury?

Suffering a birth injury is traumatic. Returning to everyday life may be difficult, especially if your baby will require long-term treatment. You should consider taking steps to document the injury. Take pictures of yourself, your baby, and your hospital room. Write down the names of any medical staff who saw you during and after the birthing process. If any emails are exchanged between you and hospital staff, keep a record of those, as well. Most of all, you should immediately hire a birth injury attorney.

Compensation

You deserve compensation when medical negligence causes injury to you or your baby. You can sue for economic and non-economic compensatory damages. Economic damages are your expenses, such as the cost of any reconstructive surgery you or your baby will need, the cost of any physical therapy you or your baby will need, the cost of long-term medical treatment if the injury is severe and long-lasting, and more. Economic damages also include your lost income or loss of future earnings. Non-economic damages are your emotional injuries, such as pain and suffering and emotional distress.

Do I Need An Attorney?

Yes! Because you've suffered a medical injury, your first thought might be: "Won't the hospital help me? Do I need a legal expert to handle a medical issue?" After all, the fields of law and medicine are vastly different. However, it's always in your best interest to consult with an attorney when someone has caused you injury. A birth injury attorney knows about medical malpractice and will help protect your rights.

You should not expect the hospital where you gave birth to compensate you for a birth injury. Hospitals want to protect their reputation, which can mean limiting the reports of injuries and medical negligence cases. Also, it's not uncommon for hospitals to prioritize protecting the reputation of their staff over your safety. In other words, a supervisor is probably more inclined to take the doctor's word and believe that they took all necessary steps to ensure you and your baby were delivered safely, as opposed to your version of events.

Most of all, even if a hospital acknowledges that a mistake was made, you can expect its insurance company to lowball you in a settlement offer. You need a qualified Ohio medical malpractice attorney who won't be intimidated by an insurance agent and will work diligently to ensure that your monetary recovery is fair and complete. Not to mention, an attorney better understands what you can and cannot be compensated for and can better investigate the medical negligence that occurred.

Time is of the essence. If you or your baby were injured by a birth injury, you're entitled to financial compensation for your suffering. Call The Eisen Law Firm for a free consultation at 216-687-0900 or contact us online.