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Could My Infant’s Spine Have Been Damaged at Birth?
Every day, parents in Illinois experience the joy of welcoming their newborn into their arms. For some parents, however, what should be an exciting experience turns into a nightmare when a delivery becomes complicated and an infant suffers severe injuries or death. Spinal cord injuries during childbirth are rare, but they have life-threatening consequences for babies who suffer from them. A lifetime of intensive medical care may be necessary, and your child may never be able to live independently. If your infant suffered from an avoidable spinal cord injury during childbirth because of negligent medical care, consider getting help from an Illinois birth injury lawyer.
Neonatal Spinal Cord Injuries
While spinal cord injuries do not happen often, when they do happen, they nearly always have catastrophic consequences. Right away, doctors and parents may notice an alarming lack of movement, loss of reflexes, breathing issues, and no response to painful stimuli. Many infants who suffer from spinal cord injuries ultimately pass away, and those who live generally have long-term consequences that include:
Was my Child’s Cerebral Palsy Caused by Medical Malpractice at Birth?
Cerebral palsy is a complex group of neural disorders that can cause weakness or damage to the development and function of someone’s brain and how it communicates with his or her muscles. Different people exhibit different symptoms of cerebral palsy, and the effects can range from mild difficulties when walking to permanently debilitating intellectual or physical conditions that require full-time care.
Cerebral palsy can be caused by many factors before, during, and after birth when a child’s brain is rapidly developing. Most cases of cerebral palsy are thought to be congenital, meaning they develop through no fault of the child’s parents or healthcare providers. In some cases, however, poor medical treatment during childbirth can cause birth injuries that cause cerebral palsy. If you are worried that your child has suffered brain damage because of the negligent or careless actions of your provider, read on.
Can I Do Anything if My Chicago OB-GYN Failed to Diagnose My Preeclampsia?
Pregnant women in Illinois are at an increased risk of many injuries and diseases. Every year, around 700 women in the United States die as a result of pregnancy or childbirth, and experts estimate well over half of these deaths could be prevented with proper medical care.
Preeclampsia is a particularly dangerous condition that tends to happen later in pregnancy. Left undiagnosed and untreated, preeclampsia can cause serious complications and birth injuries that can be fatal for a mother and her child. It is crucial for maternal medical caregivers to recognize signs of preeclampsia early and monitor patients very carefully. When an Illinois doctor fails to diagnose preeclampsia and the mother or child suffers, it may be possible to successfully claim damages in a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Understanding the Risks of Preeclampsia
Preeclampsia is a medical condition characterized by high blood pressure coupled with abnormally high protein levels in urine and swelling throughout the body. Usually, preeclampsia does not appear until after 20 weeks, although it can come earlier than that and, rarely, even after delivery. Preeclampsia is thought to happen when new blood vessels responsible for nourishing the infant during pregnancy do not develop correctly. They do not allow enough blood to flow through them, causing high blood pressure throughout the rest of the mother’s body.
Should My Doctor Have Repositioned My Breech Baby Before Birth?
The best position for an infant during delivery is in vertex, or headfirst, position. An infant’s skull is naturally flexible, and the passage of a headfirst infant through the birth canal usually allows the rest of the body to follow smoothly. When infants are not positioned headfirst shortly before delivery, they are considered “breech.”
Breech infants may be foot, back, or bottom first - anything position that places the infant’s head towards the mother’s chest instead of the birth canal is considered breech. Although most infants will naturally reposition themselves around week 36 of their mother’s pregnancy, when an infant does not, doctors must take action to ensure the baby is safe during delivery. If a doctor does not correctly recognize and address a breech baby, serious birth injuries can occur.
How Can a Doctor Help a Breech Baby?
What If a Medication My Illinois Doctor Prescribed Caused Birth Defects?
When our doctors prescribe us medicine, we usually trust them to know what is best for our health - after all, they have significant training and experience and any Cook County doctor who prescribes medicine is expected to ensure the expected benefits outweigh any risks. Unfortunately, the companies that make medicine do not always correctly describe adverse effects, and not all doctors exercise appropriate caution when prescribing medicines to pregnant women.
Pregnant women are particularly at risk from dangerous prescription drugs. Certain drugs are known to cause permanent harm to a developing fetus that can result in serious complications. These complications can be life-threatening, and, even when they are not, they can result in years of expensive medical treatment and necessitate 24/7 caregiving. If a baby suffers birth defects or birth injuries because of a medication error during pregnancy, labor, or delivery, there may be a possibility of recovering compensation.
Serious Birth Injuries Can Cause Long-Term Hearing Loss
Childbirth can be a difficult but joyous experience. However, when things do not go according to plan, complications can occur that may result in harm to the child or mother. Doctors, nurses, and other medical personnel must monitor the mother and infant carefully, ensuring the highest standard of medical care is met and taking quick and effective action to address any complications.
Sometimes, the medical staff does not give their patients the care they need. When this happens during childbirth, the birth injuries that may result can have devastating long-term consequences. One of these consequences may be full or partial hearing loss. It is important to understand when improper medical care during childbirth can cause hearing loss.
Common Causes of Infant Hearing Loss
Most cases of hearing loss in infants happen because of genetic factors, such as an inherited syndrome or a random genetic mutation. However, non-genetic hearing loss may be caused by a traumatic event or series of events during childbirth. Some common traumatic situations that can result in full or partial hearing loss include:
Are Minorities in Illinois at Greater Risk of Maternal Injury or Death?
By its very nature, the process of giving birth to a child puts mothers and infants at heightened risk of health problems, including serious birth injuries and maternal death. Yet the risk of maternal injuries impacts certain people more than others. According to the CDC, Black, American Indian, and Alaska Native women are up to two to three times more likely to die from pregnancy-related issues than white women. Most of these deaths are preventable.
All women deserve to be treated according to the highest standard of medical care. But when Illinois doctors fail to abide by standardized protocols and do not maintain awareness of their patients’ risks and medical needs, women can suffer serious injuries and even death during childbirth. If you or someone you love has been injured or killed during childbirth, an experienced Illinois maternal injury attorney may be able to help.
When Can Development Delays Be Caused by Medical Malpractice at Birth?
The birth of a child can be one of the most joyful times of a parent’s life. Yet labor and delivery also carry significant risks, including dangers to the child’s current and future health. Competent medical care can minimize most risks during childbirth and most doctors and nurses serve their patients with an excellent standard of care.
But sometimes, a medical provider’s exhaustion, sloppiness, neglect, or incompetence cause a neonatal infant real harm. Physical birth injuries can cause pain and suffering for a child, but they can also result in long-term developmental delays and disabilities. In turn, this can require difficult and expensive medical treatment that may be necessary for many years and even an entire lifetime.
Which Birth Injuries Can Cause Developmental Delays?
“Developmental delay” is a fairly broad term that indicates a child is not reaching appropriate developmental milestones at a certain age. These include cognitive, physical, verbal, auditory, and emotional abilities that persist over time. Some begin relatively early and are quite clear, while others may develop more slowly and take time to recognize.
Common Causes of Infant Skull Fractures Due to Medical Negligence
A child’s birth can be an intense and frightening experience, even when things go well. New parents experience so many unknowns, and in retrospect, the entire process can seem like a blur. Yet it is crucially important to be alert and pay close attention during your child’s birth because sometimes things do not go as planned.
Infants can sustain injuries during childbirth, and some of these injuries are unavoidable. Other times, however, they happen as a consequence of negligence on the part of a medical provider. Skull fractures are an all-too-common injury that infants may sustain because of a medical mistake or oversight. If your infant was seriously hurt or killed during childbirth, contact an experienced Illinois birth injury attorney to learn about your legal options.
Common Causes of Skull Fractures During Childbirth
Skull fractures can happen for many reasons; no matter the cause, they can pose serious risks to an infant’s life. Some common reasons an infant’s skull might be fractured during childbirth include:
Can I Sue My Doctor if My Infant Suffered From Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy?
Both mothers and infants are at a heightened risk of complications and injuries during labor. Sometimes, injuries happen because of unpredictable events; other times, a provider’s negligence is responsible for causing problems. One of the most dangerous forms of birth injuries is hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), or a lack of oxygen to the brain during birth. Infants who do not have sufficient access to oxygen during labor can suffer from permanent brain damage and even die. Providers must be aware of the risk factors that heighten the potential for HIE and can be held liable for birth injuries resulting from failure to provide a safe and appropriate standard of care.
What is Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy?
Although there are many ways that a lack of oxygen can damage an infant during childbirth, HIE specifically refers to an inadequate supply of oxygen to the brain. Many complicating factors can contribute to HIE, including, but not limited to:
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