Your Birth Injury Lawyers in Detroit
Legally Reviewed and Edited by: Terry Cochran
If you have suffered any type of birth trauma, such as your baby sustaining a birth injury in the period of delivery or shortly before, it could be the result of medical negligence.
While birth injuries can happen at any point in the nine months of pregnancy before labor and delivery, it is important to ascertain whether any injury to the baby occurred due to factors beyond anyone’s control or was the result of medical negligence, known in legal terms as medical malpractice.
Medical malpractice occurs when a doctor, nurse, medical facility, or medical provider does not fulfill the standards of care a professional is expected to provide, causing injury to the patient. It can happen at any point in the patient’s care, from the diagnostic and preventative stages through treatment.
Seeking Compensation for Medical Malpractice
If you or your child sustained injuries during a birth in Michigan and you suspect medical malpractice is the cause, consult experienced attorneys from a reputable Michigan law firm about your options. Attorneys at Cochran, Kroll & Associates, P.C. will ensure that a child with birth injuries resulting from medical malpractice has their medical needs met. Pursuing a malpractice claim for compensation can ease the burden on families dealing with this trauma.
At Cochran, Kroll & Associates, P.C., we seek justice on behalf of clients who have endured the distressing experience of birth trauma, and we do so through understanding and empathy to bolster a firm client-attorney relationship. To help you evaluate a birth injury case, we offer a free initial consultation at our Detroit offices.
Was My Child’s Birth Injury a Result of Medical Negligence?
A birth injury can happen at any stage during pregnancy, but the majority of cases involving medical negligence occur during the end stages of labor and delivery. Injuries to the baby’s brain can be caused by oxygen deprivation and reduced blood flow. These factors may worsen when there’s too much physicality during delivery.
Other causes can include failure by medical staff to notice a distressed fetus or anticipate birth complications (such as a twisted umbilical cord), the inadequate use of delivery tools, a failure to respond adequately to bleeding or delaying a C-section.
To determine whether your child’s birth injury was a result of medical negligence, you should consult with an experienced birth injury lawyer who specializes in the medical malpractice field. At Cochran, Kroll & Associates, P.C., our senior partner Eileen Kroll is also a registered nurse, bringing a knowledgeable perspective to all medical malpractice cases.
Eileen has over 30 years of experience litigating medical malpractice and helping families cope with the emotional distress of processing birth trauma. Uncovering the truth and securing compensation in cases where medical negligence has occurred can provide immense relief to those affected. Eileen will be able to thoroughly review your medical records and produce a timeline of prenatal and birthing events, which will then be reviewed by obstetricians and physicians who specialize in delivery.
Common Types of Birth Injuries
The following are the most common causes and outcomes of birth injuries:
Erb’s Palsy
Erb’s palsy is the common name for brachial plexus palsy, a birth injury that can occur if a baby’s neck is stretched to one side during a tough delivery. It occurs in 1-3 of every 1,000 births. The brachial plexus is the network of nerves that runs down the spine, which sends feeling to nerves in the arms, controlling the muscles in wrists and hands and shoulders and elbows.
If the upper nerves are torn, stretched, or compressed due to a problematic delivery, a child can sustain loss of muscle function, permanent damage, or paralysis of the arm. The infant can also become developmentally impaired. Symptoms are likely recognizable at birth, but determining the extent of the damage may not be possible until the baby is three to six months old.
Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy is a cluster of disorders that affect normal movement in different parts of the body resulting from brain damage at birth. The degree of severity varies but can cause problems with coordination of movement, gait, posture, and muscle tone. It is essentially a paralysis of voluntary movement in some parts of the body. Mismanagement of the condition can lead to worsened motor skills over time. Brain damage can also result in milder conditions such as ADHD.
Eye Injury
A newborn may experience a subconjunctival hemorrhage, a burst blood vessel in the white of the eye. This is common in newborns who have experienced birth injuries, as the rising blood pressure can cause the eye blood vessel to burst.
This can occur when force is exerted while attempting to deliver a baby that is stuck or when birthing tools such as a vacuum extractor or forceps are used. It can also occur in the event of an umbilical cord wound tightly around the baby’s neck. While this is fairly common in newborn infants and should normally heal within weeks, in some instances, it can lead to permanent eye damage.
Head Trauma and Skull Fractures
The skulls of newborn babies are soft and flexible, putting them at higher risk for skull fractures during delivery when medical instruments are used to maneuver them through the birth canal. There are different types of skull fractures, but they can lead to traumatic brain damage resulting in permanent physical or intellectual disability. Skull fractures account for between 2-20% of deadly trauma in children.
Skeletal or Spinal Cord Injuries
Skeletal or Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) occurs due to a hyperextension of the fetal head, either in the uterus or as a result of a forceful delivery with forceps, and it can be difficult to diagnose. Symptoms depend on where the spinal cord has been injured.
Injuries in the neck can cause loss of muscle function in the arms and legs, while those in the upper spinal cord can cause weak chest muscles and difficulty breathing. Injuries to the lower spinal cord may result in paraplegia.
Failure to Diagnose – Medical Malpractice
The failure to diagnose or misdiagnosis of a birth injury is the basis of many medical malpractice lawsuits. However, misdiagnosis alone does not necessarily constitute medical malpractice or grounds for a lawsuit.
To form the basis for a medical malpractice lawsuit, the failure to diagnose or misdiagnosis must result in a lack of treatment, delayed treatment, or unsuitable medical care that directly contributed to the baby’s worsening condition.
Birth Injury and Malpractice in Detroit
The legal team at Cochran, Kroll & Associates, P.C. will thoroughly evaluate each stage of your delivery, from prenatal care through labor to aftercare, to identify when the birth injury occurred and whether it was due to negligence. If so, we can move forward with a claim based on the nature and extent of your child’s injury and future needs. Though we cannot emotionally alleviate your birth trauma, we can assist in winning financial compensation and easing the financial needs for your child’s treatment or care.
Call us toll-free today at 1-866-MICH-LAW or www.cochranlaw.com to book a free consultation and get started. With our skilled legal team and their extensive medical background, you’re in good hands.
No Fee Unless We Recover For You
Our contingency fee means that we only get paid if we win your case, without exception. This means there is no risk to you deciding to proceed with a birth injury medical malpractice case. As experienced birth injury lawyers in Detroit, Michigan, it is immensely important for us to help give parents peace of mind by securing financial compensation for their child’s birth injury, so they can concentrate on their child’s care. If you have a case, we will work hard to win it for you.
Disclaimer : The information provided is general and not for legal advice. The blogs are not intended to provide legal counsel and no attorney-client relationship is created nor intended.
