5 Most Preventable Birth Injuries

A jury rendered an award of $53 million to a 12-year-old boy who was born with a serious brain injury following 12 hours of fetal distress in the course of the delivery. The trial in the medical malpractice cased lasted one month, and was initiated in December 2013 by the boy’s guardian, who filed a...

Pregnant women may sometimes require assisted delivery through the use of medical instruments to help the baby’s passage through the birth canal. In such cases, the doctor uses either a vacuum device or forceps to aid childbirth. An assisted delivery may be necessary if the mother is undergoing a lengthy, difficult labor and is too...

Babies with brachial plexus palsy may be at a higher risk of developing plagiocephaly, or flat head syndrome, a condition that causes an infant’s head to be misshapen. Brachial plexus palsy is a birth injury that results in weakness or the loss of movement in a baby’s arm due to the collection of nerves around...

Doctors and hospitals are using past medical malpractice cases to avoid repeating mistakes that could put patients at risk and give rise to future claims. Shoulder dystocia was found to occur the most frequently among the birth injury lawsuits examined. According to The Wall Street Journal, malpractice insurers and medical specialty groups are analyzing thousands...

Brachial plexus injuries are among the most common types of birth injuries today. They affect the network of nerves that extends from the neck to the shoulder, arm and hand. Brachial plexus injuries can be caused by a number of factors during the delivery process, including birth trauma or shoulder dystocia, where the baby’s shoulder...

For expecting mothers, nothing is more traumatizing than the thought of losing an unborn child. If you’ve been in a car accident while pregnant, you may have fears about whether or not your baby is going to be okay. After a car accident when pregnant, you should seek medical attention immediately. If either you or...

Legal Options if Your Child Suffered Birth Injuries in Homestead Related to Negligence The U.S. Census Department estimates that there are 1,344 women in Homestead, Fla., between the ages of 15 and 50 who gave birth in 2012. These are, of course, happy times for the families, though if a child suffered birth injuries the...

Researchers have claimed doctors should not assume that a mother who has previously undergone a vaginal delivery is exempt from the risk of her subsequent babies sustaining brachial plexus birth injuries. A recent study analyzed all brachial plexus birth injuries that occurred between October 2003 and March 2013 at an academic medical institution. There were...

Wrongful birth is a type of pediatric malpractice. It occurs when a parent is not given information about potential birth defects or medical complications that could influence the parent’s decision to avoid conception or terminate a pregnancy. Depending on the circumstances, you may be eligible to recover compensation from the doctor who performed a wrongful...

Some common birth injuries associated with C-sections include: Facial or body cuts Fractures Spinal cord injuries In addition to these common C-section birth injuries, other risks are present if the anesthesiologist did not administer the drug properly during a C-section delivery procedure. These potential injuries include low blood pressure, blood clots, and internal bleeding. There...

Trauma during the labor and delivery process can lead to either minor or severe birth injuries. These injuries might include: Broken or fractured bones Infections Cerebral Palsy Brain trauma Skin lacerations Brain swelling Lack of oxygen Neurological disorders Some of these birth injuries, like a lack of oxygen or bruising, may go away over time....

When a mother hears that her newborn baby suffered a birth injury, she is often not prepared for this news and doesn’t know much about birth injuries. So, when a mother hears the terms Erb’s palsy and shoulder dystocia used after her baby is born, she needs to understand the connections between the two birth...