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Birth Injury

The birth of a baby is usually one of the most anticipated events of any person's life. Months are spent preparing to bring home a healthy, happy child. But when a child is born with a disability due to birth injury, the family faces the challenges of providing for a child with special needs and securing the child's future care and treatment. An experienced birth injury attorney can help get you the care and compensation you need.

A birth injury is any sort of injury to an infant due to circumstances occurring before, during, or just after birth. Injuries may resolve on their own, but others could develop into lifelong mental or physical disabilities. Because childbirth is considered to be somewhat unpredictable and risky, some birth injuries may be unavoidable. However, when negligence on the part of a physician is the cause of birth injury, the family has the right to seek the assistance of a birth injury attorney.

If a healthcare provider fails to recognize the signs of a baby in distress or delays emergency care until it is too late, a devastating injury may occur. Some of the most common causes of birth injuries include:

• Misuse of forceps or vacuum extractor to deliver the baby
• Failure to anticipate delivery complications such as a very large baby or breech (buttocks first) delivery
• Failure to order a caesarean section in a timely manner
• Inappropriate administration of labor-inducing drugs
• Incomplete treatment of a baby delivered in distress

In many cases, these examples may result in either a cessation of oxygen to the baby's brain or severe damage to the baby's nerves, each resulting in a birth injury that might last for the rest of the child's life.

There are a number of different birth injuries that can be prevented by a careful physician.

• Brain Damage-caused by the stoppage of blood flow to the baby's brain. The amount of lasting damage depends on the length of time the blood flow was obstructed.
• Cerebral Palsy
• Shoulder Dystocia-caused when the baby's shoulder is lodged against the mother's pelvic bone and may cause nerves to be torn or damaged. The results are severe nerve injuries such as:
  
  
  • Brachial Plexus Palsy: when the nerves of the shoulders, arms and hands have been damaged resulting in weakness, lack of muscle control, or paralysis.
  • Erb's Palsy: a form of Brachial Plexus Palsy that only affects the shoulders and upper arms. Babies with this injury may have trouble coordinating their arm movements, especially those involving the shoulder and elbow.
  • Klumpe's Palsy: a form of Brachial Plexus Palsy that only affects the lower arm, hands and fingers. Babies with this injury may have a hard time performing detailed tasks such as writing, grasping small objects and buttoning clothes.
  
  
• Group B Strep: this is a contagious bacteria usually found in the intestinal tract and vagina of up to one-third of women. Babies can be infected as they pass through the birth canal. The bacteria can cause sepsis or meningitis which may also result in the baby's death.

All of these common birth injuries can be prevented by a careful and thorough health provider. If your child has been diagnosed with a birth injury that you believe may have been caused by the negligence of your doctor or hospital, contact our Pennsylvania Birth Injury Lawyers for a free consultation. They will help you determine if your child's injury could have been prevented.

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