Babies are quite fragile and require a lot of care. No parent wants to see their child suffer from a birth injury. A birth injury is when an injury occurs to a baby during or soon after birth, often while they are still in the hospital. There are many kinds of birth injuries. Here are a few to know about.
Palsy is a form of nerve damage. Brachial Plexus Palsy (Erb’s Palsy) and Krupke’s Palsy are often caused when a doctor pulls too hard on a baby as they leave the womb. The former causes damage to the arm nerves, while the latter causes damage to the leg nerves. Erb’s Palsy often happens when babies are too large and get their shoulders stuck on the mother’s pelvis, a condition called shoulder dystocia.
Cerebral palsy happens when the brain is damaged in some way that affects motor control. There are lots of ways for this to happen. While it can be caused by a birth defect, it can also be caused by a birth injury. There have been many lawsuits filed against doctors for causing cerebral palsy in a baby because they damaged the brain in some way.
Another common condition for babies is infant jaundice. If treated, this usually is not a problem. But untreated infant jaundice can cause a form of brain damage called kernicterus and cause life-long complications.
We have collected stories and information about birth injuries so you can learn more about these conditions. If you feel that a medical professional has harmed your baby, do not hesitate to reach out to Chalik Law for a free consultation.
Understanding NEC in Fragile Newborns and the Role of NICU Care Key Takeaways: Necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC) is a severe intestinal condition that primarily affects premature, very low birth weight infants in the NICU, causing inflammation, infection, and tissue death that can progress to perforation. Because prematurity itself carries independent risk, a NEC diagnosis alone does…
What Fetal Heart Rate Monitoring Is Supposed to Catch During Labor Key Takeaways: Electronic fetal monitoring warns the delivery team that a baby may be losing oxygen, and ACOG’s updated guidance on fetal heart rate monitoring matters to Fort Lauderdale parents because those professional standards often inform what qualified physicians call reasonable care in a…
Understanding Erb’s Palsy and Birth Injury Liability in Plantation Key Takeaways: Yes, a doctor in Plantation can be held liable for Erb’s palsy when the injury results from a failure to meet the accepted standard of care during labor and delivery, such as applying excessive traction or mismanaging shoulder dystocia. Liability depends on proving both…
How Epidural Errors Happen During Labor and Delivery Key Takeaways: Epidurals are generally safe, but administration errors like incorrect dosage, improper placement, or failure to monitor can cause serious complications including oxygen deprivation, heart problems, and brain injuries. Warning signs include low heart rate, poor muscle tone, breathing difficulties, low Apgar scores, seizures, and missed…
Infants are more susceptible to head injury than adults given that their heads are proportionately bigger and they have yet to develop the muscles and coordination that adults have. While most head injuries in infants are minor, serious brain injuries can occur in traumatic accidents and during complicated births. Causes of Infant Brain Injury Infants,…
A Brachial plexus injury, also known as Brachial plexus palsy, is an injury that occurs during the delivery of a newborn when the head and shoulder are abnormally stretched, damaging the nerves of the shoulder. This birth injury may cause your newborn’s arm to lay limp or have limited mobility in the shoulder and/or hand….
Child head injuries get lots of attention in the sports arena, but concussions aren’t limited to young athletes and high school football players. Infants and toddlers also are prone to head injury. This is especially true as infants and young toddlers begin to crawl, walk and explore the world around them. Seeing your baby “bonk”…
Erb’s Palsy, which is also referred to as brachial plexus birth palsy, is a type of obstetric brachial plexus injury that can occur due to complications at the time of delivery. The brachial plexus is a system of spinal nerves that convey messages from the spine to the shoulders, arms and hands. The most typical…
The parents of a baby born in 2013 filed an Erb’s palsy lawsuit alleging that their infant son will suffer neurological damage and be disabled for the rest of his life due to the negligence of physicians and the attending midwife at his birth, at Family Health Centers of Southwest Florida. The birth injury lawsuit…
Epidurals have become a common method for managing pain during labor and delivery. Over half of all pregnant women in the United States choose to receive the injections for pain relief during childbirth. An epidural injection is a regional anesthesia administered intravenously around the lower spinal cord area. It is popular because it can help…
Doctors are responsible for carefully monitoring both the mother and baby to ensure the pregnancy is progressing normally. One possible complication that can arise is fetal macrosomia. The condition refers to a baby being larger than average for its gestational age. Pregnant women who have been diagnosed with fetal macrosomia require proper medical attention as…
A new study has found that expectant mothers with asthma may be at a greater risk of delivering prematurely if they are exposed to high levels of traffic-related air pollution just before conception and in early pregnancy. National Institutes of Health researchers noted both short-term and continuous exposure to carbon monoxide and nitrogen oxides increased…
In this month’s Florida Injury Report, we look at the five most preventable Fort Lauderdale birth injuries. [powerpress]
The United States has a high caesarean-section rate of 32.5 percent in comparison to the average of 28 percent among developed nations. The high rate has been controversial as the surgical procedure is not always medically necessary. While C-sections may be performed due to a woman’s personal preference, in some cases they are required for…
A new app called QUiPP could help doctors predict the risk of preterm deliveries. Infants born before 37 weeks’ gestation are considered premature. Each year 15 million babies worldwide are born prematurely. More than one million die from the resulting birth injures and complications. Doctors use several factors to determine the risk of premature birth…
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…
Simulation using manikins is becoming an integral part of medical training around the country to help improve the quality of care for patients. Research indicates that simulated learning environments contribute to preparing medical staff for emergencies, enhance their skills and allow them to practice rarely used procedures. In addition, simulator training is credited with reducing…
The Florida Supreme Court in December 2015 decided not to hear a dispute over whether the University of Miami could be held liable for the actions of two physicians it employed through its medical school. The case concerned a baby who sustained a brain injury during delivery in 1998 at Jackson North Maternity Center in…
In June 2015, The Federal Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services launched an investigation into the unusually high mortality rate among infants who underwent open heart surgery between 2011 and 2013 at St. Mary’s Medical Center in West Palm Beach, Florida. The investigation was triggered by a CNN report which stated that 12.5% of infant…
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…
