Birth Injury
Getting lifelong care for your child after a birth injury
May 20, 2020
Some birth injuries can be resolved with the right medical care, but many others can result in lifelong injuries and disability to the child. This can result in the need for lifelong care. In addition, lifelong care for a child who has sustained a serious birth injury can be extremely costly.
Birth injuries are often preventable when health care providers use proper methods of monitoring during the prenatal care as well as during labor and delivery. Their failure to do so can result in a lack of oxygen to the baby’s brain, resulting in permanent physical and cognitive impairments.
WHAT INJURIES may become LIFELONG disabilities?
Lifelong birth injuries may include:
- Lack of oxygen: During labor the fetus has high oxygen needs. Failure to properly monitor fetal status during labor and delivery can result in a lack of oxygen to the brain that can lead to cerebral palsy, seizures, and other injuries. A child with cerebral palsy may experience poor muscle tone and difficulty with walking, eating, breathing and performing physical tasks.
- Traumatic brain injuries: A traumatic brain injury is a direct result of physical stress to the brain. It can be caused by improper use of forceps, vacuum extraction, or other problems during delivery. A traumatic brain injury can result in developmental delays, learning disorders and challenges with speech.
- Spinal cord injury: A spinal cord injury can occur during labor due to inappropriate stretching or forces on the baby’s spinal cord. This can result in limited mobility, inability to walk, bladder and bowel issues, muscle weakness and abnormal spasms. This might result only in injury to the arms, or it can lead to much greater injury.
What type of treatment may my child need?
If your baby has sustained any of the above injuries, he or she may need lifelong treatment and therapy. This may include:
- Surgery including feeding tubes
- Specialized therapies, such as physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy and/or developmental therapy
- Lifelong medications
- Lifelong need for wheelchairs, walking braces, or other support devices
- Lifelong caretaking assistance
How can a lawyer help me pursue compensation?
If a doctor or nurse’s actions resulted in a birth injury, it’s critical that you consult with an experienced team of attorneys who can help you and your child recover monetary compensation to address the damages. Doctors, nurses and insurance companies do not normally voluntarily reach out to offer compensation, and generally refuse to admit their wrongdoing. This is why you need an attorney who can investigate and seek answers on your behalf. Jeffrey M. Goldberg Law Offices has more than 40 years of experience standing up for the rights of children and families.
From our law offices located in Chicago, Illinois and Milwaukee, Wisconsin we represent families throughout the Midwest. Contact us online to find out how we can help you. We offer free, confidential case consultations.
About The Author
Jeffrey Goldberg
Attorney Jeffrey M. Goldberg has spent his entire professional career handling cases involving birth injury, medical malpractice, product liability and related accidents.