Bringing a child into the world is one of the most tender and amazing events that parents experience. However, at times, the birthing process can go awry, leaving newborns with birth injuries.
If you are worried about a potential injury to your child during birth, or a medical professional injured your child during the birthing process, you are not alone. Three babies are born with a birth injury each hour, amounting to 28,000 each year.
Types of birth injuries
- Brain injury: lack of oxygen during birth and bleeding in the brain could lead to devastating, life-long disability or injury.
- Spine injury: Mishandling a child during birth could lead to spinal bruising or tearing, and in some cases leave a child paralyzed.
- Nerve injury: Injury to the brachial plexus nerves in a baby’s arm and shoulder is common during deliveries where a medical professional was pulling or tugging the child. This type of injury is known as palsy and can result in loss of feeling or partial paralysis.
- Bone injury: During delivery, if a bone is twisted or turned the wrong way, it can end up broken. Baby bones heal faster than adults, but it can be expensive.
When are birth injuries due to malpractice?
Sometimes, babies are born with injuries or defects that neither you nor a medical professional could prevent. In these cases, a malpractice suit would likely not do you any good. However, if you can prove that the doctor or nurse played a part in your child’s birth injury, you may be able to seek compensation through a lawsuit.
The road to recovery for babies born with birth injuries is a long and costly one, especially for parents. If you decide to pursue a lawsuit against the negligent medical professional that caused the injury, you must prove that they:
- Owed you and the child a duty of care
- Breached the duty of care
- The breach had a direct cause of injury or death
Dealing with birth injuries in your newborn child can be traumatic. Knowing that you could gain compensation for necessary treatment or medical bills may provide some relief.