Portland Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy Attorney

If your family has experienced an injury, you should speak with a Portland hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy attorney to see how we can help. You might be entitled to compensation. Our skilled team at Paulson Coletti Trial Attorneys PC works diligently to protect your rights and ensure that you understand all options available to you.

Portland Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy Resources

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Why Choose Our Attorney?
What is Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)?
How Does Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy Occur?
Possible Signs of HIE
How Our Portland HIE Injury Attorney Can Help
What Damages May Be Available?
Speak to a Lawyer Today

Why Choose Our Portland Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy Injury Attorney?

• The personal attention that each of our clients receives is one of the things that sets Paulson Coletti apart from the rest. We selectively choose the cases we take on and provide each client with the attention to detail and personal service that they deserve.
• Our experienced legal team is made up of assertive negotiators and tenacious trial lawyers. We will work hard to negotiate a settlement you can be happy with, but if settlement negotiations falter, we will not waiver from our goal when taking the case to court.
• Nothing out of your pocket is yet another reason to contact us. Our Portland medical malpractice lawyer offers free consultations and will only get paid if our efforts recover financial compensation for you.

What is Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)?

Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE) is a brain injury occurring when the brain is not getting the oxygen or blood flow needed to function correctly. HIE may happen between pregnancy, labor, delivery, or once the baby is born. Being starved of oxygen or blood flow can have a detrimental impact on the baby’s brain.

It is possible that children who experience HIE may avoid long-term consequences. Others are mildly affected, while others suffer more moderately. Some experience far more serious outcomes that end in long-term disabilities.

Brain injuries due to HIE can result in cognitive impairments such as cerebral palsy or epilepsy. The full extent of the effects of HIE becomes more evident as the baby grows and changes. It is possible to miss the signs of brain damage due to HIE until the children are five or six years old.

How Does Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy Occur?

When oxygen is restricted, hypoxia happens. The body starts to shut down because it cannot operate appropriately when experiencing an oxygen deficit. This can be particularly catastrophic when it happens during the birth process.

As the organs shut down, they can sustain damage. When compression of the umbilical cord happens during childbirth, the baby can have less oxygen than their body needs, leading to hypoxic brain damage. The decrease in oxygen can cause catastrophic injuries to the newborn’s brain.

Listed below are some hypoxic brain injury issues that may occur:

• Seizure disorders such as epilepsy
• Permanent speed problems
• Communication disabilities
• Vision loss
• Hearing loss or impairment
• Difficulty balancing and developing good motor skills
• Developmental illnesses and delays

It only takes about four minutes, starved of oxygen, for tissues to begin dying. Hypoxic brain injuries are, therefore, very damaging. Your healthcare team must protect your life and the life of your baby. If a failure to protect your baby ends in injuries associated with hypoxic brain injury.

Healthcare providers have a responsibility to protect the life and well-being of newborns. If your baby has suffered serious injury or developmental delays caused by hypoxic brain damage, our birth injury lawyer can help.

Possible Signs of HIE

Sometimes, HIE does not always present in an obvious way. Often, newborns who lack oxygen during birth will experience symptoms immediately and severely. HIE may begin to show up over the hours, days, and weeks that follow.

Possible Symptoms of HIE

Symptoms of HIE may develop in various ways. Some common ways that they may manifest are as follows:

• Seizures with no explanation
• Intense and lingering lethargy
• No appetite or interest in feeding
• Vomiting following a feeding
• Sensitivity to light and on the opposite end of the spectrum, no reaction at all to light
• Breathing difficulty

Some even more serious symptoms include:

• Entering a comatose state
• Paralyzing seizure

If you notice these symptoms, have your child evaluated by a medical professional immediately.

How Our Portland HIE Injury Attorney Can Help

It is important to have an experienced medical malpractice and birth injury lawyer on your side. A birth injury attorney will review your case and determine who may have caused the injuries your child sustained. Childbirth and delivery can move fast, and obstetricians and those involved in the delivery often are forced to make decisions in the blink of an eye.

These snap decisions often save lives but can result in birth injuries. Some of these injuries are impossible to avoid, but there are times when a medical professional’s decision is deemed negligent.

Your attorney with Paulson Coletti Trial Attorneys PC will look at the tests ordered and the fetal monitoring, along with all the medical documents of the case, to paint an accurate picture of the delivery. Our skilled team works hand in hand with medical experts who will assess the data so as to determine whether your child suffered a preventable birth injury or if their injury was unavoidable.

What Damages May Be Available in Your Case?

Damages are typically available to the baby and their parents in an HIE case. Listed below are some of the common damages awarded for birth injuries cases in Portland:

• Medical expenses
• Physical and occupational therapy
• Alterations to the home
• Medical and mobility equipment
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional anguish
• Punitive damages, which are not always added, but can be if the negligence was particularly egregious

If the childbirth injuries the infant sustained prove to be fatal, the family of the newborn could be entitled to burial expenses and the traumatic emotional damage sustained because of the loss of a child.

There could also be a budget to provide for future care since this can be such an expensive undertaking.

Speak to Our HIE Injury Lawyer Today

Reach out to a Portland birth injury lawyer with Paulson Coletti Trial Attorneys PC to ensure the damages you and your family deserve are available to you. Taking care of a child with a birth injury can be expensive and challenging. We understand this and will strive to resolve your case with the maximum compensation amount. Contact us today to schedule your free initial consultation.