Birth Injury

Birth injuries are a relatively common occurrence in the United States. Approximately 7 out of every 1,000 births involve an injury of some kind. The types of injuries are vast, ranging from skull fractures or broken bones to more permanent conditions such as cerebral palsy or developmental disorders.

The causes of birth injuries are equally diverse. They can range from prolonged labor to oxygen deprivation to excessive force applied by medical professionals during the birthing process. Obviously, a baby’s body is incredibly fragile and mishandling by doctors, nurses, and others can lead to devastating results.

While physical injuries can often be diagnosed within a year of birth, other conditions, especially mental or emotional conditions, may go undiagnosed until a child reaches school age. Symptoms of birth injuries are often confusing. Indeed some, such as excessive crying or sleep problems, can mimic less severe conditions, thus delaying critical diagnoses.

Other symptoms, however, should not be overlooked. For example, children whose birth injuries have caused cerebral palsy will exhibit symptoms such as: seizures, weak reflexes, limp limbs, excessive drooling, and an arched back while crying. These sorts of symptoms tend to appear immediately after birth and should never be ignored.

According to the Center for Disease Control, approximately 1 in 345 children in the United States suffers from Cerebral Palsy. For those unfamiliar with CP, it is a group of neurological disorders that can impact both developmental skills and motor control. Sadly, it is often caused by medical negligence that results in oxygen deprivation during delivery.

In addition to the physical and emotional toll on families facing birth injuries, the lifetime financial costs can be phenomenal. For example, while the United States Department of Agriculture estimates that it costs roughly $284,000 to raise a healthy child, the cost of raising a child with disabilities can be staggering; ranging from $1 million for a child with cerebral palsy (treatment costs only) to $2.3 million for children with intellectual disabilities.

Despite these costs, most people are unaware of how many birth injuries are the result of medical malpractice. Frighteningly, malpractice can occur during the mother’s pregnancy, as well as during the delivery itself. Things like failing to monitor fetal heart rate or improper use of forceps can have devastating and lifelong consequences. Likewise, a hospital’s failure to terminate or otherwise discipline medical professionals with a history of birth injury occurrences may also be to blame for a child’s disabilities.

Distraught families, many of whom are conditioned to view medical practitioners as flawless and to blame themselves for their child’s disability, often forgo legal proceedings that can help them bear the ongoing costs involved with their child’s condition. And while medical malpractice isn’t always the sole cause of a severe birth injury, it’s certainly worth exploring your rights with a legal professional.

If you need additional information about birth injuries, or would like to discuss your family’s situation with a Texas Trial Lawyer who is familiar with handling birth injury lawsuits, please call us at 254-633-2813 (Waco area) or 409-753-0000 (Beaumont area). If you prefer, you can fill out our online intake form and we will contact you. The consultation is free; the advice is priceless.

Contact An Experienced Birth Injury Lawyer

For additional information about birth injuries, contact us at 254-761-3300 (Waco area) or 409-753-0000 (Beaumont area). Alternatively, you can fill out our online intake form and one of our experienced condemnation trial attorneys will contact you.