Causes of Birth Injury

You may have a claim for monetary damages if the actions, decisions or inactions of health care professionals resulted in serious injury or death during pregnancy, labor, or delivery. The Becker Law Firm represents clients in birth injury and death cases statewide and beyond.

Call (440) 252-4399 to schedule a free case evaluation with our team today.

What Can Go Wrong During Pregnancy, Labor, and Birth?

Pregnancy must be properly managed, and the baby must be regularly and accurately monitored. From the initial sonograms to the time of birth, doctors have a legal obligation to follow the medical standards of care to protect babies and their mothers. Failure to follow these standards can lead to pregnancy complications and birth injuries.

When obstetricians make mistakes, babies can suffer a lifetime of medical problems like cerebral palsy, shoulder dystocia, seizure disorders and developmental delays. In the worst cases, these mistakes can be fatal.

Common causes of birth injury include:

• Lack of oxygen: including serious birth injuries such as permanent brain damage and death due to oxygen deprivation
• Pregnancy-related negligence: including birth injury cases involving mismanaged gestational diabetes and mismanaged preeclampsia, eclampsia and HELLP syndrome.
• Cephalopelvic disproportion (CPD): when the fetus is too large to fit through the mother’s pelvis
• Shoulder dystocia: when the baby’s shoulder becomes wedged against the mother’s pubic bone, halting the progress of delivery
• Delivery trauma: including trauma caused by the use of vacuum extractors or forceps as well as improper delivery technique
• Infection: including Group B strep, toxoplasmosis, listeria, herpes simplex, HIV and other infections resulting in septic shock, meningitis and/or encephalitis
• Negligent high-risk birth management: including cases of advanced maternal age, premature birth, the birth of twins or other multiples, suspected large fetus, vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC), premature rupture of membranes (PROM) and preterm premature rupture of membranes (P-PROM)
• Failure to prevent, diagnose or treat: uterine rupture, prolapsed umbilical cord or fetal distress
• Obstetrical negligence other than by an obstetrician: including negligence by midwives, family doctors, and obstetrical nurses
• Potentially dangerous medications: including anesthesia-related negligence
• Postpartum negligence: including failure to recognize and treat conditions in the mother or child after delivery

The Medical and Legal Aspects of Birth Injury

Medical negligence cases require an in-depth understanding of anatomy, medical standards, and the law. The birth injury attorneys at The Becker Law Firm benefit from the knowledge of the medical professionals on our team. When necessary, we also work with well-credentialed experts to identify preventable causes of the injury or death. Our Ohio birth injury attorneys are here to answer your questions and advise you of your legal options.

Learn more about the medical and legal aspects of birth injury below:

• Birth injury vs. birth defect: A birth injury that could have been prevented had the medical professionals followed accepted standards of care is actionable. Most birth defects are not preventable, and therefore not actionable. We can help you determine whether medical negligence was involved in your case.
• Pregnancy and prenatal care: Negligent medical care during pregnancy can cause life-altering injury or death to the mother or her developing fetus. How do you know if the care you received — or should have received—was responsible for harm to you or your child? Our law firm can get your questions answered.
• Labor and delivery: Mistakes made during labor and delivery can cause permanent brain damage, disability, and death. Our lawyers can help determine if malpractice caused birth trauma that harmed the mother or child.
• Postpartum complications: Failure to recognize and respond to complications after the birth can result in life-altering injury to the mother or her child, or in the death of either or both.
• Types of birth injury: These conditions can be caused by medical negligence before, during or after childbirth.
• Causes of birth injury: Many types of medical mistakes can result in a birth injury. We discuss some of the most common birth injuries.
• Legal recourse: Learn about your legal options and how we can help you pursue justice and financial compensation for the harm you and your child have suffered.
• Verdicts and settlements: Our law firm has achieved successful results for numerous families harmed by birth injuries. We are proud to have made a difference in the lives of our clients.