Birth Injury
Our Experience
Our attorneys and medical professionals at Needham Johnson have many years of experience in evaluating claims involving medical negligence and birth injury. One of our attorneys is also a board certified Maternal-Fetal Medicine physician, a specialist in high risk as well as routine pregnancies. Our firm has successfully litigated many cases for clients who have been injured or lost their lives as a result of medical or surgical negligence, including negligence occurring at the time of delivery. Both of our doctors possess the medical knowledge required to evaluate prenatal care, intrapartum (during labor and delivery) care, and post-partum (after delivery) care, including delivery records, operative reports and other medical documents. They conduct a detailed client interview and a thorough review of the medical records, to determine if a medical error was made during the pregnancy or delivery which resulted in a preventable injury or death.
What is a Birth Injury?
A birth injury is any injury which occurs during the time of labor and delivery. The majority of medical malpractice cases involving birth injury center around two areas:
• Cerebral palsy due to fetal distress during labor, and
• Brachial plexus injury due to excessive traction (pulling) on a baby's head during the deliver of the body.
What is Cerebral Palsy ?
Cerebral palsy is a condition of permanent brain dysfunction characterized by abnormal movements, which appears early in life and frequently includes mental retardation and seizures. It occurs in about 2 of every 1000 live births, and may be caused by brain injury before, during or after birth. Cerebral
palsy involves permanent brain injury due to the death of brain cells (neurons). One of the causes of brain cell death may be a lack of oxygen getting to the baby during labor. Often there are signs during labor that the fetus is not tolerating the labor process and is being deprived of oxygen. The fetus sends this distress signal through an abnormal fetal heart rate tracing (fetal monitoring). Permanent brain damage, including cerebral palsy, may in some cases be avoided with timely intervention by doctors and nurses caring for a mother whose baby shows evidence of fetal distress. Failure on the part of the delivery attendants to recognize and respond to an abnormal fetal heart tracing may lead to a delay in delivery, and result in a child with permanent brain damage known as cerebral palsy.
What is a Brachial Plexus Injury?
The nerves running out of the spine in the area of the neck are known as the “brachial plexus.” A brachial plexus injury is an injury to one or more of these nerves that control the function of the hands and arms. These nerves can be torn at the time of delivery, when a delivery attendant (doctor or midwife) pulls too hard and in the wrong direction on the baby's head. This injury often occurs when there is difficulty during the delivery of the shoulder, a condition known as a shoulder dystocia. There are recognized maneuvers doctors may use to free the shoulders from a “stuck” position and achieve delivery of the baby's body without injury to the brachial plexus; however, if these maneuvers for shoulder dystocia are not used, and the neck is stretched when the doctor or midwife pulls on the head, the result can be a child with a brachial plexus injury. While some mild brachial plexus injuries resolve over time, others lead to permanent injury with an arm that does not function normally. This dysfunction may affect any of the major muscle groups of the arm: deltoid, triceps, biceps, or hand flexors, depending on the nerve that was stretched at delivery. The resulting injury may be a minor impairment or a major disability where the child's arm hangs limply at his or her side.
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