When you’re having a baby, you want your new arrival to be perfectly happy and healthy. But there is a wide range of potential injuries that can arise during delivery. A birth injury can happen before, during, and after delivery and may be caused by a doctor’s error or other factors. Some of these injuries can heal with time and proper medical care. Other injuries can lead to lifelong disabilities that require years of therapy and intensive medical treatment.
Erb’s Palsy
This injury can occur when a baby’s shoulders are too large for the birth canal. Sometimes doctors use excessive force on the baby’s head to extract it, which can result in stretched or torn nerves. This can often lead to permanent injury to an infant, such as paralysis of an arm, hand, or finger.
Cerebral Palsy
This is a neurological disorder that is sometimes caused by a lack of oxygen during labor and delivery or direct trauma to the brain. This birth injury may cause a variety of symptoms from muscle spasms and seizures to developmental delays. Cerebral palsy can result in the need for lifelong intensive medical care. It can be caused by the failure of medical personnel to properly manage signs of prematurity, failure to monitor the baby during labor, failure to recognize the need for a C-section, or the incorrect use of assistive devices.
Brain Injuries
Brain injuries, including cerebral palsy, are the most serious forms of birth injury. They are usually permanent and can have physical and mental symptoms such as developmental delays. Brain injuries can be caused by a lack of oxygen or physical trauma to the head that may be due to the use of forceps or other assistive devices during delivery.
Facial Paralysis
During birth, some babies may suffer damage to their facial nerve. This damage can cause anything from muscle weakness to full facial paralysis. This injury can sometimes result from the improper use of forceps.
Fractures
Even though a baby’s bones are more flexible than an adult’s, they are still delicate and can be fractured if the baby is not handled carefully during delivery.
Cephalohematoma
This injury usually appears several hours after a baby is born and is indicated by a raised bump on top of the infant’s head. The bump is a sign that bleeding is occurring beneath the cranium. The bump will usually clear up in a few months, but there is still a risk of further complications. The most common culprit causing cephalohematoma is the use of assistive devices during birth.
Contact an Experienced Birth Injury Attorney
If your child sustained a birth injury, you might be able to file a medical malpractice claim. At Bonina & Bonina, P.C., we have over 50 years helping New York families suffering from the trauma of birth injuries. Contact us online or call us at 1-888-MED-LAW1 to schedule a free consultation. Home and hospital visits are available. Se habla Español