Medical Malpractice is a frequent cause of traumatic injuries during birth. At Rosenbaum & Associates our team of lawyers and expert medical consultants pride themselves on helping families uncover whether medical errors were responsible for these devastating injuries.  Cerebral palsy and other birth injuries can occur during the delivery process or by improper prenatal care. If a doctor or nurse fails recognize fetal distress or responds too slowly your child could suffer a life long disability. We are experienced in handling and understanding these complex medical issues.

Common Delivery Errors include:
-Failure to monitor fetal strips
-Misread fetal strips
-Improper use of forceps or vacuum
-Failure to perform caesarean section

Was there malpractice?

Certainly there are instance where child's condition is the result of genetics, such as a chromosomal disorder, however far to often these life altering conditions are the result of malpractice. For example, significant injuries can occur when the doctor or nurse fails to read (or inaccurately reads) the fetal monitory strips. If the strips indicate fetal distress then the doctor must act immediately, otherwise the fetus could be deprived of its vital oxygen supply. As result this delay the baby can sustain brain damage that could have been avoided. In other cases, the misuse of forceps or vacuum during delivery can cause traumatic brain injury. The newbornes skull is still very soft, there if too much pressure is applied there can be a direct trauma to the brain.

Cerebral palsy, Erb’s Palsy, and Brachial Plexus Palsy are some the common results from birth injuries. While physical or speech therapy can help improve a child’s development, the impact of cerebral palsy and other birth injuries are typically permanent.

How the injury occurs

The brain is the primary center for regulating and coordinating all body activities. Essential to the regulation and coordination of these body activities is the transmission to the brain of oxygen obtained through air inhaled and exhaled during the act of respiration. Traumatic birth injuries is a broad description which is used to describe both avoidable and unavoidable mechanical and anoxic trauma to the brain of an infant during labor and delivery.

Anoxic trauma involves a situation in which there is diminished oxygen in the arterial blood supply despite the infant's otherwise-normal ability to carry oxygen. The diminished oxygen in the blood supply may be due to a reduced oxygen supply, respiratory obstruction, or inadequate respiratory movements.  This can result in serious conditions, including cerebral palsy.

Mechanical trauma involves some physical act to the body, usually the skull of the infant, which prevents the needed transmission of oxygen to the brain of the infant.

If you would like more information please call us at 1-800-7-LEGAL-7, or click here for a Free Case Evaluation.