What to Do Next After a Dropped Baby After Delivery Suffered Personal Injuries
While many women who are pregnant have concerns about potential complications during their pregnancy or during delivery, a physician or other medical provider dropping their baby during delivery is not one that typically comes to mind. However, this is unfortunately something that occurs during deliveries or shortly after and can cause great bodily harm to the baby and emotional distress of the parents. Dropping a newborn baby should never happen and is a direct result of medical malpractice. In fact, a dropped baby after delivery could even be considered gross negligence do the actions of a healthcare provider that are well below the standard of care.
Unfortunately, individuals who have had a baby dropped after delivery may suffer significant emotional, physical, and financial harm due to a healthcare provider’s negligence. Parents have not only the costs of the normal delivery, but also all of the complicated due to the Oregon medical malpractice from a newborn being dropped. It is despicable to think that this even happens, but it does because of the inexperience, rushing, and even poor medical training that some healthcare providers have. If your loved one suffered personal injuries after being delivered in Oregon, ask our Portland medical malpractice lawyers how we can help protect your rights to compensation under the law. We offer FREE consultations and accept cases on a contingency fee agreement which means that we do not get our legal fees paid until we recover compensation for you.
Elements of Medical Malpractice After Delivery
A hospital and its staff owe the mother and the newborn the best possible care. But, sometimes due to a variety of reasons the staff may drop the newborn baby. These are the four elements that should be met with if a baby has been dropped by a hospital staff after delivery and the parents wish to have a case for medical malpractice:
- Duty must be owed to the patient – It is a healthcare provider’s duty to adhere to the standard of care to provide safe and proper medical care.
- Such a duty must be breached – If a doctor or healthcare provider deviates from the standard of care, this is when the duty breached. In this case, if a physician or other provider fails to deliver the baby following the standards of care and a baby is dropped, the duty has been breached.
- Such a breach of duty should result in injury – While it is quite upsetting if your baby was dropped, if they did not sustain any injuries then no damages can be claimed.
- The injured party must sustain damages as a result of the injury. These damages are frequently the pain and suffering or other medical care needed to repair the damage done by medical negligence.
Damages to the Baby from Dropping it During Delivery
Newborns are dropped in hospitals during delivery much more than is reported. This is because many times a dropped baby after delivery does not suffer any serious or obvious personal injuries. Other times a Injuries that a newborn may experience as a result of being dropped include the following:
- Skull injury – Skull fractures can prove to be very fatal for the baby and could put his or her life in serious risk.
- Brain injury – A fall can result in head trauma which may be irreversible. Trauma to the head can cause cognitive delays and may impact the babies ability to learn, speak, walk or talk.
- Brain bleed– A brain bleed can cause many effects to the newborn, including cognitive dysfunction, vision loss, impaired movement or sensation, language skill impairment, etc. These are just a few of the many implications of a brain bleed as a result of a baby being dropped at birth.
- Broken bones – If a baby is dropped in such a way that they have a very hard landing, they are at risk for broken bones.
- Hematoma – A drop could also lead to the baby suffering from hematoma. A hematoma can result from an injury or excessive force. One serious type of hematoma is a subdural hematoma. This type of injury occurs when there is a rupture of the blood vessels in the area between the brain and the skull.
- Abdominal injuries – If a baby is dropped after birth, he or she could face injuries to his or her abdomen, including internal bleeding which is quite serious.
- Wrongful death – In the worst possible scenario, if a baby is dropped, it could lead to a loss of life due to some serious injuries.
Some of these can have short term health effects, but the ones having long term effects can require a lifetime of expensive and constant care for your child. Therefore, if you think your baby suffered harm as a result of being dropped by a healthcare provider at birth or shortly after, you should seek compensation for it from healthcare facilities.
Proving a Medical Negligence Case in Oregon
Under Oregon law, a victim of negligence needs to prove that the other party 1) had a duty, 2) breached that duty, 3) causation, and 4) damages. The last two elements are really that the breach of the duty caused damages. Because even if there is a breach (i.e. dropping an infant), if there are no injuries there are no damages. Or if the newborn was dropped by a parent rather than a healthcare provider, the actions of a healthcare provider were not negligent.
In order to prove this type of case in Oregon, a victim will have to establish “by a preponderance of the evidence” that the defendant was negligence. This is known as a burden of proof or burden of persuasion, and it requires a plaintiff to establish a claim by 51% or more to a trier of fact—or a judge or jury. This is like the “beyond a reasonable doubt” burden in criminal cases, or 98-100% proof, although the civil standard is a much lower burden (i.e. 98-100% versus 51%).
How Can Our Oregon Medical Malpractice Lawyers Help You?
A dropped baby after delivery can lead to serious bodily harm or even wrongful death of the infant. Dropping an infant should never happen. This is because doctors and other healthcare providers are trained to safely deliver babies. Additionally, if proper protocols and standards of care are followed, these incidences should never occur. Babies who suffer falls at delivery as the result of a healthcare provider dropping them may face serious complications that may be lifelong, including cognitive impairment.
This is why parents are entitled so damages if their baby suffered harm as a result of being dropped during delivery. If your child was dropped during delivery and faced injuries or even wrongful death, you should contact our Oregon medical malpractice lawyers today to see what damages you may be eligible for. Damages for this type of injury often include the following:
- Emotional pain and suffering
- Past, present and future medical bills
- Physical therapy coverage
- Occupational therapy coverage
- Speech therapy coverage
- Lost wages
- Lost future wages if you will need to provide extra care for the child and will be unable to work
- Past pain and suffering
- Future pain and suffering
- Funeral expenses and burial cost, and
- Other damages related to the accident.
Need Compensation for the Damages Your Newborn Suffered? Call Us Now
If you or a loved one have been seriously injured or killed as a result of medical malpractice contact the Oregon Medical Malpractice Lawyers at Kuhlman Law at our number below or fill out the intake form. We offer a free initial case evaluation and handle cases on a contingency fee which means that you pay no money unless we recover.
Our law firm handles cases throughout the state including Bend and Portland Oregon, Redmond, Central Oregon, Sisters, Madras, Multnomah County, Deschutes County, Salem, Eugene, Corvallis, Lane County, Medford, Gresham, La Grande, Albany, Medford, Beaverton, Umatilla, Pendleton, Cottage Grove, Florence, Oregon City, Springfield, Keizer, Grants Pass, McMinnville, Tualatin, West Linn, Forest Grove, Wilsonville, Newberg, Roseburg, Lake Oswego, Klamath Falls, Happy Valley, Tigard, Ashland, Milwakie, Coos Bay, The Dalles, St. Helens, Sherwood, Central Point, Canby, Troutdale, Hermiston, Silverton, Hood River, Newport, Prineville, Astoria, Tillamook, Lincoln City, Hillsboro, and Vancouver, Washington.
We also have an office in Minneapolis, Minnesota and take medical malpractice cases throughout the Twin Cities, including St. Paul, Hennepin County, Ramsey County, Dakota County, Washington County, Anoka County, Scott County, Blaine, Stillwater, and Saint Paul Minnesota.
