Understanding Your Rights After Birth Injuries Potentially Due to Medical Malpractice in Oregon
While labor can be long, difficult, and painful, parents are often able to visualize the end result of delivering a healthy baby. Unfortunately this is not always the case. While complications can occur during childbirth, there are some complications that could be entirely avoided. When these complications occur, this is a result of negligence on the physician or other healthcare provider’s part. Birth injury potentially due to medical malpractice unfortunately happens all across the country and many are avoidable and recklessly caused.
This type of medical malpractice is also appalling. Newborns are completely defenseless and rely on the care and treatment of doctors and other healthcare professionals. Mothers and fathers also rely on these doctors and healthcare providers, usually hand-chosen after reviewing multiple other physicians and OB-GYN practices. When a healthcare provider fails in providing good neonatal or neonate care, it can permanently damage or cause disabling injuries to an innocent newborn as well as to a mother. It is this type of birth injury potentially due to medical malpractice that must be addressed and handled in order to prevent a negligent healthcare provider from getting away with causing serious harm.
What is a Birth Injury?
A birth injury is an injury that occurs as the result of complications that occurred during the labor and delivery process. This includes a c-section. A birth injury could be a physical deformity, brain damage, nerve injury, or bruising amongst other things. There are endless types of birth injuries, but the most common and most serious include the following:
- Cerebral palsy (also known as CP) there are four types, all depending on the location of the damage which is caused by the formation of lesions
- Kernicterus – an excessive bilirubin buildup that can become caustic and damaging to brain cells
- Erb’s palsy
- Brain damage
- Brachial plexus injury
- Spinal cord injury including paralysis such as paraplegia or quadriplegia
- Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy also known as HIE, and it is very damaging and can lead to any of the injuries on this list and many others
- Infant hematoma
- Complications from vacuum extraction
- Caput succedaneum
- Cephalohematoma
- Fractures
- Facial paralysis
- Subconjunctival hemorrhage
- Nerve damage
- Skull fracture
- Wrongful death, and
- Any other injuries during the birth of a newborn.
These are just a few of the many potential birth injuries potentially due to medical malpractice that can occur.
What Complications Can Cause Damages During Labor and Delivery?
There are many complications that can occur that can lead to damages during labor and delivery. Some complications are avoidable, if care is correctly administered or if a cesarean section is performed instead of vaginal delivery. Examples of complications leading to birth injuries include the following:
- Umbilical cord prolapse
- Nuchal cord
- Uterine rupture
- Delay in delivering the baby, leading to oxygen deprivation
- Placental abruption
- Umbilical cord compression
- Placenta previa, and
- Many other types of serious injuries and damages.
How Can Birth Injuries be Caused by Oregon Medical Malpractice?
As discussed above, while there are some instances of birth injuries and complications that cannot be avoided, there are times when these complications and birth injuries occur as a result of pure negligence. Examples of ways these injuries and complications can be caused by medical malpractice include the following:
- Failing to monitor the mother and baby
- Improper or inattentive fetal monitoring, thus missing dangerous decelerations, accelerations, bradycardia or tachycardia
- Inducing labor in inappropriate circumstances (i.e. the baby is not in the correct position, use of Pitocin when the cervix isn’t ready, inducing labor in women with hypersensitivity to labor stimulating drugs, use of induction drugs in a woman who should have a cesarean
- Allowing a vaginal birth when a c-section is indicated
- Delay in delivering after premature rupture of the membranes
- Overuse of labor-inducing drugs
- Improper anesthesia administration
- Waiting too long to perform a c-section
- Allowing prolonged labor
- Failing to identify eclampsia or preeclampsia
- Improper monitoring of the mother, including blood pressure, pulse, oxygen saturation, temperature and blood sugar
- Improper use of extraction tools (i.e. forceps or vacuum extractor)
- Improper handling of the baby at birth (i.e dropping the baby during or shortly after the delivery, use of excessive force to remove the baby, etc.)
- Allowing labor in the setting of placenta previa
- Delivering when the baby is in a breech position
How Can Our Oregon Birth Injury Medical Malpractice Lawyers Help You?
Our Oregon birth injury lawyers understand how serious and unavoidable many of these complications can be. A birth injury can be life-changing for the newborn and their family. They may need extensive care, may need specialized schooling, assistive devices, surgeries, and may never be able to independently care for themselves depending on the injury. In cases where this is unavoidable, this is completely unacceptable.
No parent or child should ever needlessly have their lives altered in such a way due to someone else’s error. Especially the error of a physician or other medical provider whom you trust to help keep you and your baby safe and healthy. If your child suffered a birth injury, we strongly encourage you to call our office today for a FREE consultation. Our experienced birth injury lawyers are ready and willing to review your case to determine if your child’s birth injury was caused by medical malpractice. If your child’s birth injury was due to medical malpractice, you and your child will be eligible for compensation, including the following:
- Past pain and suffering
- Emotional pain and suffering
- Future pain and suffering
- Assistive device coverage
- Lost wages
- Lost future wages
- Speech therapy coverage
- Occupational therapy coverage
- Physical therapy coverage
- Past, present and future medical bills
- Compensation for lifetime care of the child if indicated
- Funeral and burial expenses in the event the infant died from such a complication
These are just a few of the many iterations of damages for people who have been affected by a birth injury as the result of medical malpractice.
Ask our Lawyers for Help in Oregon Medical Malpractice Lawyers
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.