10 Impacts of a Birth Injury or Trauma

Sep 28, 2023 Reading time : 5 min

It can be overwhelming to discover that your child may have been a victim of a negligent birth injury or trauma. When filing a medical malpractice lawsuit, consult a specialized lawyer like Tommy Hastings, who has an efficient legal team at your service. This post will list the most common impacts of birth injury.

Also, Read This: How to Stay Comfortable When You’re Pregnant?

Infant’s Wrongful Death

Some types of birth injuries like hemorrhaging in the brain, severe asphyxiation, hydrocephalus, and damage to the spinal cord are more likely than others to result in a fatality. If you suspect that your infant’s neonatal death (at birth or up to 28 days after delivery) was caused by medical negligence, consult an experienced medical malpractice lawyer for advice.

Infant’s Skull Fracture

Your newborn’s skull is made up of several plates held together by fibrous tissue that allows it to be flexible enough to fit through the opening of the birth canal. Skull fractures in infants are usually caused by improper instruments like forceps and vacuum extractors during difficult labor. Medical professionals should order a Cesarean section as soon as they suspect that labor will include complications that can traumatize the mother and infant.

Infant’s Brain Damage

Brain damage is a severe health challenge that translates to lifelong consequences for the affected infant and their parents. There are several causes for infant brain damage, but the leading one is asphyxiation – being deprived of oxygen during birth. Early intervention and treatment can help an infant recover as much of their normal functions as possible.

There are multiple causes of asphyxiation that cause brain damage in infants. Therefore it is essential to have experts determine the specific factors that resulted in the condition. Your medical malpractice lawyer will obtain health records and seek expert opinions on whether any negligence was involved in prenatal, birth, or postnatal care.

Infant’s Brachial Plexus Injury

Birth trauma can cause injury to the group of nerves that start at the spinal cord, run through the neck’s bones, to the shoulders, and then down the arm to the fingertips. This group of nerves is called the brachial plexus, and it provides movement capability and sensations in the arms. Birth trauma to the brachial plexus can be a result of stretching, rupturing, or avulsion.

Stretching of the nerves occurs when the child’s head and shoulder are pulled apart when emerging from the birth canal to the degree that the brachial plexus stretches. Rupturing occurs when the nerves tear because of the force that stretches them during birth. An avulsion is the most severe brachial plexus injury because it pulls the nerves from the spinal cord very forcefully, thus causing permanent damage.

Infant’s Erb’s Palsy

Erb’s palsy is a condition that often occurs during childbirth because of specific nerves. Some children recover from the consequent paralysis and weakness in the arm, while others do not. Erb’s palsy commonly occurs during a difficult labor, e.g., breech birth, an unusually large child, or prolonged labor. Sometimes, birth trauma may be unexpected and unavoidable, but it results from medical negligence in others.

Infant’s Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is caused by brain damage which in turn is the consequence of various factors. Negligent medical mistakes that cause brain damage and possibly cerebral palsy at birth include inadequate prenatal health monitoring for the mother, failure to monitor fetal development, inability to monitor distress during labor, failure to order a Cesarean section or delaying the surgery too long, the forceful use of forceps or vacuum extractor and any other thing that deprives a baby of oxygen during birth.

Infant’s Klumpke’s Palsy

Klumpke’s palsy is a condition that affects the lower arm, wrist, and hand. It commonly occurs in newborns who have suffered nerve damage because of labor and delivery complications. If you suspect that medical negligence is responsible for your infant’s condition, visit a medical malpractice lawyer as soon as possible.

Infant’s Subjection to Physical Therapy and Rehabilitative Treatments

The effects of birth trauma will undoubtedly subject your infant to much physical therapy, medical and rehabilitative treatments. Consult a medical malpractice lawyer to determine how you can be compensated for the toll that medical negligence has taken on your family.

Parent’s Subjected to Emotional Distress

A newborn is always an exciting yet stressful venture, even when things go according to plan. Birth traumas and their effects subject parents to severe psychological distress at a very vulnerable time. Your lawyer will be able to quantify the emotional damage inflicted on you by the negligent event.

Parent’s Face Expensive Hospital and Specialized Child Care Bills

When parents prepare their financial portfolios to accommodate a newborn, they do not anticipate paying extra expenses because of medical negligence. Your lawyer will discuss how you will be compensated for the severe financial burden that results from birth trauma injuries.