Birth Injuries and Cerebral Palsy
Fort Worth Cerebral Palsy Attorney
Dallas Birth Injury Lawyer
Cerebral Palsy Injury Attorney | Cerebral Palsy Lawyers | Birth Injury Wrongful Death Lawsuits | Birth Injury Negligence | Cerebral Palsy damages | Birth Injury Death Law Firm
As a Texas medical doctor and Personal Injury attorney, I am providing this information and commentary. A child’s birth should be a time of joy and celebration. But, when a birth injury occurs due to medical malpractice, the happiness turns to sadness as parents and family members are suddenly faced with a bleak future.
About seven in every 1,000 babies in the United States are born with a birth injury. These injuries can occur because of a mother’s illness or pre-existing health condition, complications during delivery or because of negligence on the part of doctors, nurses or hospitals during the delivery process.
This tragedy is immeasurable Whether your baby survived a serious birth injury or died as a result of an obstetric error. You and your family can experience extraordinary financial strain and stress for many years to account for unforeseen medical expenses, physical therapy, special education needs and specialized medical equipment.
What Is a Birth Injury?
The terms "birth injury" and "birth trauma" refer to injuries to a baby that result from complications during labor and delivery.
Common Examples of Birth Injuries - Birth injuries range from mild to severe, from minor bruising to nerve or brain damage. Common injuries include:
Bruising and Forceps Marks - A baby can have bruising on the face or head from passing though the birth canal, and from contact with the mother's pelvic bones and tissues. If forceps are used during delivery, they may leave temporary marks or bruises on the baby's head. Vacuum extraction can also cause bruising to the head, and may cause a scalp laceration.
Subconjunctival Hemorrhage - This common birth injury results in bright red band around the iris of one or both of the baby's eyes. This does not cause damage to the eyes, and usually disappears completely within a week to ten days.
Facial Paralysis - Pressure on the baby's face during labor or birth, or the use of forceps during childbirth, may cause injury to a baby's facial nerves. If a nerve is merely bruised, the paralysis will ordinarily clear up within a few weeks. With more severe nerve damage, it may be necessary to surgically repair the damaged facial nerves.
Brachial Palsy Injuries (Erb's Palsy and Klumpke's Palsy) - this condition occurs when the brachial plexus (the group of nerves that controls movement of the arms and hands) is injured. This injury most often results from "shoulder dystocia", a term which describes birth difficulties which result when the baby's shoulders impair its passage through the birth canal. When injury causes only bruising or swelling, the baby will ordinarily recover within three months. In more severe cases, there may be permanent nerve damage, and physical therapy and surgery may be required.
Fractured Bones - The most common bone fracture is to the clavicle (collar bone), usually during difficult births or breech delivery. In most cases, the baby recovers quickly once the bone is immobilized.
Brain Injury - Birth difficulties can result in oxygen deprivation to the baby as a result of blood loss, or the twisting or compression of the umbilical cord. Prolonged oxygen deprivation can cause brain damage, and may result in seizure disorders, cerebral palsy, or mental impairment.
Causes of Birth Injuries
Injuries to a baby are more likely during a difficult delivery. The difficulty of delivery is affected by such factors as:
* The baby's size. When a baby weighs more than eight pounds, thirteen ounces (four kilograms), birth injury becomes more common. Also, premature babies (those born before 37 weeks) are more prone to injury.
* Cephalopelvic Disproportion - This occurs when the size and shape of the mother's pelvis is not adequate for the child to be born by vaginal delivery.
* Difficult labor ("Dystocia"), or prolonged labor.
* The baby's position - a "breech birth", where the child's buttocks or legs are presented first, is more likey to result in birth injury.
If a mother experienced complications during a prior birth, doctors should be on alert for possible complications during any subsequent birth.
Medical Malpractice
Medical error can cause birth injuries, or can increase their severity or permanence. Examples of Medical errors include:
* Failing to anticipate birth complications and difficulties (diagnosis and treatment) associated with a larger baby, or in cases involving maternal health complications;
* Failure to respond appropriately to bleeding;
* Failing to observe or respond to umbilical cord entrapment;
* Failure to respond to fetal distress and failure to properly monitor the baby's vital signs during labor(including irregularities in the fetal heartbeat);
* Delay in ordering cesarean section (c-section) when medically necessary;
* Misuse of forceps or a vacuum extractor during delivery;
* Inappropriate administration of Pitocin, a hormone used to induce labor.
* Failure to take remedial action such as implementing manual maneuvers to relieve a baby whose shoulder is stuck during delivery.
In evaluating a possible malpractice claim, we will ordinarily want to review all of the baby's medical records, including those of the child's birth and neonatal care, and will also have them reviewed by an obstetric physician.
Contact an experienced birth injury medical malpractice lawyer Dr Shezad Malik to discuss your baby's injuries. We can help you understand your legal options when the negligence of an obstetrician or other medical personnel compromised the safe delivery of your baby.
Contact Dr Shezad Malik to discuss a birth injury in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
During this emotionally and financially difficult time, the Dr. Shezad Malik Law Firm can provide important advice to families affected by such birth injuries as cerebral palsy, shoulder dystocia, and Erb’s palsy.
Cerebral Palsy
Children who are affected by cerebral palsy have trouble with balance or coordination, fine motor skills or other movements. Other cerebral palsy symptoms, such as seizures or mental retardation, may be present as well.
Cerebral palsy may also occur when doctors or nurses fail to properly monitor a baby’s condition during labor or delivery. If the baby does not receive enough oxygen during the delivery process, a brain injury can result which could lead to cerebral palsy.
Doctors and their staff must be alert to changes in the baby’s vital signs during labor or delivery to prevent this type of birth injury.
Problems during delivery
If problems during the delivery process cause a child’s shoulder to become lodged in the womb (shoulder dystocia), an injury may occur in the brachial plexus, the bundle of nerves leading to the arms.
Children who experience a brachial plexus injury may suffer from Erb’s palsy, a condition which causes a weak or paralyzed arm on one side of the body. In some cases, a brachial plexus injury leading to Erb’s palsy symptoms may occur because a doctor uses too much force to deliver the child from the womb.
Our birth injury attorneys have the experience necessary to handle your case in a professional and compassionate matter. Contact Dr. Shezad Malik today to schedule your free consultation. We focus on the representation of families whose children have developed a disability as a result of negligent medical care.
Information and commentary provided by Dallas Fort Worth Personal Injury Attorney Dr Shezad Malik. The Dr Shezad Malik Law Firm can be contacted in Dallas toll free at 888-210-9693 or in Fort Worth at 817-900-8439. If you or a loved one has been injured from a birth injury, please fill out our contact card for a free consultation.
Click here for Map and location.
Our law firm’s principal office is in Southlake and we have offices in Fort Worth and in Dallas, Texas, but we represent people across Texas, for Personal Injury and Wrongful Death, in cities and areas including the following: Abilene, Albany, Alice, Alpine, Amarillo, Angleton, Arlington, Austin, Bay City, Baytown, Beaumont, Benavides, Big Spring, Boerne, Bonham, Bowie, Brazoria, Brownsville, Brownwood, Bryan, Buffalo, Carthage, Centerville, Childress, Clarksville, Cleburne, College Station, Commerce, Conroe, Corpus Christi, Corsicana, Crockett, Daingerfield, Dalhart, Dallas, Decatur, Del Rio, Denton, DFW Metroplex, Dumas, Eagle Pass, Eastland, Edinburg, El Paso, Emory, Ennis, Fairfield, Falfurrias, Fort Stockton, Fort Worth, Freer, Gainesville, Galveston, Garland, Gatesville, Gilmer, Granbury, Grapevine, Greenville, Groom, Harlingen, Henderson, Hillsboro, Houston, Huntsville, Irving, Jacksboro, Jasper, Kaufman, Kerrville, Killeen, Kingsville, Kingwood, Laredo, Liberty, Livingston, Llano, Longview, Lorena, Lubbock, Lufkin, Mansfield, Marathon, Marshall, McAllen, Mesquite, Midland, Mineola, Mineral Wells, Mount Pleasant, Mount Vernon, Nacogdoches, New Braunfels, Odessa, Orange, Ozona, Palestine, Pampa, Paris, Pasadena, Pearland, Pecos, Pharr, Plainview, Port Arthur, Quinlan, Raymondville, Richland, Rio Grande City, Rio Grande Valley, Sanford, Sonora, San Angelo, San Antonio, San Marcos, Seguin, Shamrock, Sheffield, Sherman, Spring, Stephenville, Sulphur Springs, Sweetwater, Tawakoni, Temple, Terrell, Texarkana, Texas City, Thurber, Tulia, Tyler, Van Horn, Vernon, Victoria, Waco, Waxahachie, Weatherford, Wharton, Whitesboro, Whitewright, Wichita Falls, Wills Point, The Woodlands, and Woodville, Texas.
Dallas Birth Injury Lawyer
Cerebral Palsy Injury Attorney | Cerebral Palsy Lawyers | Birth Injury Wrongful Death Lawsuits | Birth Injury Negligence | Cerebral Palsy damages | Birth Injury Death Law Firm
As a Texas medical doctor and Personal Injury attorney, I am providing this information and commentary. A child’s birth should be a time of joy and celebration. But, when a birth injury occurs due to medical malpractice, the happiness turns to sadness as parents and family members are suddenly faced with a bleak future.
About seven in every 1,000 babies in the United States are born with a birth injury. These injuries can occur because of a mother’s illness or pre-existing health condition, complications during delivery or because of negligence on the part of doctors, nurses or hospitals during the delivery process.
This tragedy is immeasurable Whether your baby survived a serious birth injury or died as a result of an obstetric error. You and your family can experience extraordinary financial strain and stress for many years to account for unforeseen medical expenses, physical therapy, special education needs and specialized medical equipment.
What Is a Birth Injury?
The terms "birth injury" and "birth trauma" refer to injuries to a baby that result from complications during labor and delivery.
Common Examples of Birth Injuries - Birth injuries range from mild to severe, from minor bruising to nerve or brain damage. Common injuries include:
Bruising and Forceps Marks - A baby can have bruising on the face or head from passing though the birth canal, and from contact with the mother's pelvic bones and tissues. If forceps are used during delivery, they may leave temporary marks or bruises on the baby's head. Vacuum extraction can also cause bruising to the head, and may cause a scalp laceration.
Subconjunctival Hemorrhage - This common birth injury results in bright red band around the iris of one or both of the baby's eyes. This does not cause damage to the eyes, and usually disappears completely within a week to ten days.
Facial Paralysis - Pressure on the baby's face during labor or birth, or the use of forceps during childbirth, may cause injury to a baby's facial nerves. If a nerve is merely bruised, the paralysis will ordinarily clear up within a few weeks. With more severe nerve damage, it may be necessary to surgically repair the damaged facial nerves.
Brachial Palsy Injuries (Erb's Palsy and Klumpke's Palsy) - this condition occurs when the brachial plexus (the group of nerves that controls movement of the arms and hands) is injured. This injury most often results from "shoulder dystocia", a term which describes birth difficulties which result when the baby's shoulders impair its passage through the birth canal. When injury causes only bruising or swelling, the baby will ordinarily recover within three months. In more severe cases, there may be permanent nerve damage, and physical therapy and surgery may be required.
Fractured Bones - The most common bone fracture is to the clavicle (collar bone), usually during difficult births or breech delivery. In most cases, the baby recovers quickly once the bone is immobilized.
Brain Injury - Birth difficulties can result in oxygen deprivation to the baby as a result of blood loss, or the twisting or compression of the umbilical cord. Prolonged oxygen deprivation can cause brain damage, and may result in seizure disorders, cerebral palsy, or mental impairment.
Causes of Birth Injuries
Injuries to a baby are more likely during a difficult delivery. The difficulty of delivery is affected by such factors as:
* The baby's size. When a baby weighs more than eight pounds, thirteen ounces (four kilograms), birth injury becomes more common. Also, premature babies (those born before 37 weeks) are more prone to injury.
* Cephalopelvic Disproportion - This occurs when the size and shape of the mother's pelvis is not adequate for the child to be born by vaginal delivery.
* Difficult labor ("Dystocia"), or prolonged labor.
* The baby's position - a "breech birth", where the child's buttocks or legs are presented first, is more likey to result in birth injury.
If a mother experienced complications during a prior birth, doctors should be on alert for possible complications during any subsequent birth.
Medical Malpractice
Medical error can cause birth injuries, or can increase their severity or permanence. Examples of Medical errors include:
* Failing to anticipate birth complications and difficulties (diagnosis and treatment) associated with a larger baby, or in cases involving maternal health complications;
* Failure to respond appropriately to bleeding;
* Failing to observe or respond to umbilical cord entrapment;
* Failure to respond to fetal distress and failure to properly monitor the baby's vital signs during labor(including irregularities in the fetal heartbeat);
* Delay in ordering cesarean section (c-section) when medically necessary;
* Misuse of forceps or a vacuum extractor during delivery;
* Inappropriate administration of Pitocin, a hormone used to induce labor.
* Failure to take remedial action such as implementing manual maneuvers to relieve a baby whose shoulder is stuck during delivery.
In evaluating a possible malpractice claim, we will ordinarily want to review all of the baby's medical records, including those of the child's birth and neonatal care, and will also have them reviewed by an obstetric physician.
Contact an experienced birth injury medical malpractice lawyer Dr Shezad Malik to discuss your baby's injuries. We can help you understand your legal options when the negligence of an obstetrician or other medical personnel compromised the safe delivery of your baby.
Contact Dr Shezad Malik to discuss a birth injury in the Dallas-Fort Worth area.
During this emotionally and financially difficult time, the Dr. Shezad Malik Law Firm can provide important advice to families affected by such birth injuries as cerebral palsy, shoulder dystocia, and Erb’s palsy.
Cerebral Palsy
Children who are affected by cerebral palsy have trouble with balance or coordination, fine motor skills or other movements. Other cerebral palsy symptoms, such as seizures or mental retardation, may be present as well.
Cerebral palsy may also occur when doctors or nurses fail to properly monitor a baby’s condition during labor or delivery. If the baby does not receive enough oxygen during the delivery process, a brain injury can result which could lead to cerebral palsy.
Doctors and their staff must be alert to changes in the baby’s vital signs during labor or delivery to prevent this type of birth injury.
Problems during delivery
If problems during the delivery process cause a child’s shoulder to become lodged in the womb (shoulder dystocia), an injury may occur in the brachial plexus, the bundle of nerves leading to the arms.
Children who experience a brachial plexus injury may suffer from Erb’s palsy, a condition which causes a weak or paralyzed arm on one side of the body. In some cases, a brachial plexus injury leading to Erb’s palsy symptoms may occur because a doctor uses too much force to deliver the child from the womb.
Our birth injury attorneys have the experience necessary to handle your case in a professional and compassionate matter. Contact Dr. Shezad Malik today to schedule your free consultation. We focus on the representation of families whose children have developed a disability as a result of negligent medical care.
Information and commentary provided by Dallas Fort Worth Personal Injury Attorney Dr Shezad Malik. The Dr Shezad Malik Law Firm can be contacted in Dallas toll free at 888-210-9693 or in Fort Worth at 817-900-8439. If you or a loved one has been injured from a birth injury, please fill out our contact card for a free consultation.
Click here for Map and location.
Our law firm’s principal office is in Southlake and we have offices in Fort Worth and in Dallas, Texas, but we represent people across Texas, for Personal Injury and Wrongful Death, in cities and areas including the following: Abilene, Albany, Alice, Alpine, Amarillo, Angleton, Arlington, Austin, Bay City, Baytown, Beaumont, Benavides, Big Spring, Boerne, Bonham, Bowie, Brazoria, Brownsville, Brownwood, Bryan, Buffalo, Carthage, Centerville, Childress, Clarksville, Cleburne, College Station, Commerce, Conroe, Corpus Christi, Corsicana, Crockett, Daingerfield, Dalhart, Dallas, Decatur, Del Rio, Denton, DFW Metroplex, Dumas, Eagle Pass, Eastland, Edinburg, El Paso, Emory, Ennis, Fairfield, Falfurrias, Fort Stockton, Fort Worth, Freer, Gainesville, Galveston, Garland, Gatesville, Gilmer, Granbury, Grapevine, Greenville, Groom, Harlingen, Henderson, Hillsboro, Houston, Huntsville, Irving, Jacksboro, Jasper, Kaufman, Kerrville, Killeen, Kingsville, Kingwood, Laredo, Liberty, Livingston, Llano, Longview, Lorena, Lubbock, Lufkin, Mansfield, Marathon, Marshall, McAllen, Mesquite, Midland, Mineola, Mineral Wells, Mount Pleasant, Mount Vernon, Nacogdoches, New Braunfels, Odessa, Orange, Ozona, Palestine, Pampa, Paris, Pasadena, Pearland, Pecos, Pharr, Plainview, Port Arthur, Quinlan, Raymondville, Richland, Rio Grande City, Rio Grande Valley, Sanford, Sonora, San Angelo, San Antonio, San Marcos, Seguin, Shamrock, Sheffield, Sherman, Spring, Stephenville, Sulphur Springs, Sweetwater, Tawakoni, Temple, Terrell, Texarkana, Texas City, Thurber, Tulia, Tyler, Van Horn, Vernon, Victoria, Waco, Waxahachie, Weatherford, Wharton, Whitesboro, Whitewright, Wichita Falls, Wills Point, The Woodlands, and Woodville, Texas.