birth injury
Birth injuries have
been reported to occur in approximately 3 of every 100 births.
Most births and deliveries are joyous events that are handled properly by medical care professionals, however, about three times in every hundred births there is some type of serious birth injury.
Complications in the process of pregnancy, labor and delivery can result in a wide variety of complications for a newborn baby. These complications are referred to as "birth injuries". The most serious birth injuries involve damage to the brain: Brain Damage, Traumatic Brain Injury, Brain Injury and Ergs Palsy. The severity of these injuries varies greatly - from very mild injuries to injuries that cause the death of an infant. These brain injuries are caused by oxygen deprivation or bleeding inside the brain from trauma during pregnancy, labor or delivery.
There are many "natural" circumstances wherein oxygen deprivation can occur during the labor and delivery process: the umbilical cord can become compressed or twisted in the birth process; the baby is too large to pass through the birth canal easily, or the baby is breach or sideways in the womb.
There are also many circumstances where brain damage or brain injuries are caused by mistakes made by doctors, hospitals or other medical professionals during the delivery process: a delay in performing a necessary C-section delivery, complication with a VBAC (vaginal birth after C-Section) delivery - such as uterine rupture, use of excessive force during the delivery, or a miscalculation in the size of the baby, causing a traumatic delivery. Most birth injuries are the result of induced or C-Section deliveries.
An experienced personal injury law firm, such as Paulson Coletti Trial Attorneys, should be consulted if you suspect that birth injuries were caused by medical negligence. The attorney should be consulted immediately after birth, even if all the injuries and damages are not yet known. Paulson Coletti Trial Attorneys has significant experience in successfully handling and understanding these catastrophic and complex medical claims. If you or your child have suffered an injury due to suspected improper care during your pregnancy, labor or delivery, please call our office at (503) 226-6361.
To determine if a birth injury was caused by negligence, all the medical records need to be obtained and reviewed. An expert needs to review the records, a summary of the records should be made and the medical literature often needs to be collected to determine whether the case has merit. The process can take several months. Since the cases are very difficult, expensive to win and are fought strenuously by our opponents our firm must turn down far more cases than we take. However, when our firm believes we can prove a serious birth injury was caused by negligence or medical malpractice, we do everything we can to obtain a successful outcome for the family and child.
Brain Injury AssociationBrain Injury Association of Oregon
Head Injury Hotline
Brain Injury Society
Department of Commerce
