What Types of Birth Injuries Are Preventable?
Birth injuries can have long-lasting or lifelong physical and developmental effects on a child. Parents often experience emotional trauma and heartache. In addition, there are financial losses to consider. Birth injuries frequently require costly medical treatment, which may be ongoing.
Parents who wonder if their child’s birth injury was preventable should consider working with a knowledgeable birth injury lawyer. Birth injury lawyer Sean M. Burke assists parents from Irvine, CA, in determining if a birth injury resulted from substandard medical care and if they should file a medical malpractice lawsuit to pursue monetary compensation for damages.
Types of Birth Injuries That Can Be Prevented
Labor and delivery do not always go as smoothly as parents and medical professionals would hope. Complications can arise, especially if the mother has medical issues that put her or her child at risk. But the truth is, attentive medical care from highly trained medical professionals can prevent most birth injuries, regardless of the mother’s medical history.
Some of the most common types of preventable birth injuries include:
- Cerebral palsy
- Erb’s palsy (brachial plexus palsy)
- Facial paralysis
- Fractures
- Fetal stroke
- Hypoxia
- Brain injury
Did Medical Malpractice Cause My Child’s Birth Injury?
If medical malpractice caused a birth injury, then the injury was preventable. Medical malpractice is the failure to deliver care that meets the accepted standard. The accepted standard of care is the degree of care that patients could expect from a similarly trained medical professional who is presented with the same set of circumstances.
Most parents do not have medical training, so they often don’t recognize when a medical professional has provided substandard care. The following are types of medical malpractice that frequently result in preventable birth injuries:
- Medication errors during pregnancy
- Failure to monitor mother or child during labor
- Improper use of pitocin
- Failure to respond to fetal distress
- Failure to respond to umbilical cord entrapment
- Failure to or delay in ordering a C-section
- Misuse of forceps or vacuum extractors
- Poor infant care after birth
Should I Contact a Lawyer?
Most birth injuries are preventable, so consulting with a birth injury attorney is always a good idea following a birth injury. Our knowledgeable birth injury lawyers, such as Sean M. Burke, recognize the grounds for a medical malpractice claim. We work with investigators and medical experts to gather evidence and substantiate a medical malpractice claim so our Irvine clients can pursue compensation for damages.
What Types Of Damages Am I Due?
Every birth injury claim is unique. The types of damages awarded in a medical malpractice lawsuit depend on the damages suffered. Potential areas of compensation include:
- Medical expenses
- Anticipated future medical costs
- Cost of rehabilitation, physical, and occupational therapy
- Cost of assistive medical equipment
- Pain and suffering
- Diminished quality of life
- Lost wages or loss of wage-earning potential
Contact Us
If you are considering a medical malpractice claim for a preventable birth injury, attorney Sean M. Burke can help you explore your legal options. To schedule a personal consultation at our Irvine law firm, contact our practice online or call (949) 644-3434 at your earliest convenience.