Ohio Baby Injury Attorney

If your baby has been harmed in Ohio as a result of a birth injury, then talk with a birth injury lawyer immediately. They can help ensure you understand your legal rights, including how to go about bringing a proper lawsuit or insurance claim. The Eisen Law Firm has considerable experience helping victims and their family members get the compensation they deserve. We are here for you. For more information, reach out to The Eisen Law Firm for a free consultation by calling (216) 687-0900 or contacting us online.

Can I Sue My Doctor for Dropping My Infant During Delivery?

For some babies, entrance into life does not go as planned, and unforeseen mistakes are made by the doctor delivering the baby. A soon-to-be-mother never imagines her baby will be dropped during delivery. Babies are sometimes dropped immediately upon that final push because doctors aren't prepared.

Reported Incidents Of Newborn Falls

Delivery rooms can become chaotic at times. Obstetricians can sometimes make mistakes that cause catastrophic injuries to newborns. Incidents where a doctor drops a newborn are rare but can happen. A baby may be dropped during or shortly after delivery.

Nationally, hospitals report between 600 to 1,600 newborns falls each year. The actual number of falls is likely significantly greater, as many falls go unreported.

Newborn injuries resulting from a drop or fall may include head trauma, brain bleeding, skull fractures, hematomas, and abdominal injuries. Many situations where newborns are dropped are preventable. If the proper safety procedures are in place, no baby should fall in a medical facility.

Doctors' Duty To Mother & Child

When doctors do not adhere to the medical standard of care, they are responsible for their mistakes and can be sued. You can receive a monetary award for the injuries caused by a doctor.

This medical standard of care is a level of skill, knowledge, and care in diagnosis and treatment that others in the profession commonly possess and exercise in similar circumstances. For example, there are particular safeguards to prevent a baby from slipping and falling during delivery. A doctor who does not use those safeguards and drops a baby has deviated from the standard of care and can be sued.

There are four factors or elements that are required to have a case for medical malpractice:

• There must have been a duty owed to the patient- A doctor-patient relationship must have existed, where there was an agreement to provide treatment. Once that relationship is established, the doctor is legally obligated to provide medical care that meets the acceptable standards for the profession.
• That duty must have been breached. Examples of a breach of duty of care include a doctor failing to secure an infant safely after delivery or not taking enough precautions to eliminate the risk of a newborn drop or fall. This means that the doctor failed to take reasonable steps to prevent the incident from happening.
• The breach of duty must lead to injury. There is a causal link between your child's injuries at birth and the doctor's breach of duty of care. This means that the doctor's actions or inactions directly caused your child harm that was not due to a pre-existing condition.
• The injured party must sustain damages as a result of the injury. This may include current and future medical expenses and lost wages due to missing work to take care of your child during this difficult time.

The existence of a duty is rarely fought over in cases involving a baby dropped by a doctor or a nurse. This is because doctors and nurses clearly have a duty to the baby. Whether the medical professional breached that duty, however, is sometimes disputed, even though the breach is also clear. That is no big surprise. Doctors and hospitals regularly deny a breach of duty, even in the most obvious and clear-cut cases of negligence. They simply cannot bring themselves to admit responsibility unless absolutely forced to do so. In a recent case handled by The Eisen Law Firm, a well-known hospital system took the position that although it is “atypical” and “unusual” to drop a baby on the floor during delivery, it is perfectly acceptable (not negligent) to do so! In addition to disputing whether the drop constitutes a breach of the standard of care, the extent of the injuries caused by a drop is often disputed.

Injuries To Your Newborn

Injuries that a newborn may experience because of being dropped include:

• Brain injury
• Brain bleeding
• Broken bones, including skull fractures
• Hematomas
• Abdominal injuries
• Wrongful death

Some of these birth injuries may resolve over time, while others can last a lifetime and require expensive, constant care for your child. Severe injuries include skull fractures and brain bleeds. These conditions can result in surgery and extended stays in the hospital. Head injuries can have varying symptoms, ranging from swelling to nausea, seizure, coma, and breathing problems.

How Are Head Injuries Diagnosed?

The full extent of the problem may not be understood right after the injury. Still, it may be revealed with a comprehensive medical evaluation and diagnostic testing. The diagnosis of a head injury is made with a physical exam and diagnostic tests. Testing may include x-rays, MRIs, or CT scans, which may have additional adverse effects on your newborn.

Treatment Of Head Injuries

Treatment may include sedation and assistance with breathing requiring a mechanical ventilator or respirator. If your child has a severe head injury, they may require monitoring for increased intracranial pressure (pressure inside the skull). Head injury may cause the brain to swell. Since the skull covers the brain, there is very little room for the brain to swell. This causes pressure inside the head to increase, sometimes leading to brain damage.

Children who suffer a severe brain injury may lose some function in muscle, speech, vision, hearing, or taste. This depends on the area where the brain is damaged. Long- or short-term changes in personality or behavior may also occur, as well as changes in cognition or mentation. These children need lifelong medical and rehabilitative treatment. This may include physical, occupational, or speech therapy.

How well a child recovers from a head injury depends on the type of injury and other health problems that may be present. It is essential to focus on maximizing your child's abilities at home and in the community. Financial compensation may help with this goal.

Seeking Justice For Injured Newborns

If your child was dropped or injured shortly after birth, you should consider consulting with an experienced birth injury lawyer to determine if you have a valid case and whether medical negligence played a role. Although nothing can change what happened, monetary compensation may help ease the financial burden of caring for your child and may serve to hold accountable those who are responsible for the injuries. At The Eisen Law Firm, our team will do everything we can to help you and your child recover the compensation you need. We offer a free consultation and are ready to discuss your legal options. Call us at (216) 687-0900 or contact us online to schedule your appointment now.