A baby’s arrival is an exciting, emotional time. Everyone has waited many months to finally meet their new family member. Sometimes, everything doesn’t go as planned, and the baby is injured during labor and delivery.
The possible birth injuries that a child can suffer during their birth, or in the time surrounding it, range from minor to life-threatening. The mother may also suffer injuries while giving birth, during the prenatal period, or shortly after the delivery of their newborn. Most of the time, birth injuries are not caused or prevented by any willful action of the hospital staff; however, there are instances when a doctor or other health professional is at fault, at least partially. If you believe mistakes were made during your delivery or the care involved in preparing or executing your childbirth in New Jersey, you should contact a birth injury lawyer immediately.
Are Birth Injuries Permanent?
It depends on the injury. Your doctor should be able to advise you of the treatment plan and prognosis for your child. Someone who has seen many cases of birth injuries has a much better understanding of the next steps and what to expect in the way of a timetable for healing. There are a few injuries that are permanent, such as cerebral palsy and Erb’s palsy. Other types of birth injuries need little medical intervention such as bruises, caput succedaneum, also known as “cone head,” and some swelling.
Most Common Types of Birth Injuries
Birth injuries can occur to babies and mothers during delivery. Some of the most common injuries to babies are related to a lack of oxygen or pressure on the head or spine. Cerebral palsy is a permanent birth injury that affects muscle control. Erb’s Palsy and Klumpke’s Palsy are nerve-related conditions, as is Horner Syndrome. Several birth injuries are related to blood flow or lack of oxygen: Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE), Periventricular Leukomalacia (PVL), pneumothorax (in one lung or both), Intraventricular Hemorrhage (IVH), and infant skull fractures. Undetected infections can also cause birth injuries. One of the gravest is infant meningitis, which is passed from mother to child and can cause cerebral palsy or even death. Any infection is extremely dangerous for the mother and the baby and can cause brain damage, premature delivery, or cerebral palsy.
Mothers suffer from birth injuries as well. In three out of four women who give birth, there is a partial or complete tear of the perineal area. If the damage is severe, there can be nerve damage; a condition called pudendal neuralgia which causes pain in the perineal area that can last for months or become permanent. Injury to the pelvic floor is another issue as are a uterine or rectal prolapse, and a ruptured uterus. If the mother had preeclampsia, high blood pressure and edema may continue to manifest for at least six weeks after delivery. Severe untreated preeclampsia in the mother can even cause a stroke.
Symptoms of Birth Injuries
The symptoms vary according to the condition, but there are several conditions or behaviors to look for, such as sharp crying that does not subside, excessive saliva, stiff limbs, hands in a claw-like shape, weak reflexes or none, blindness, deafness, excessive fatigue, loss of appetite, low/high heart rate, and low/high respiration rate. Also, babies who have to be resuscitated or intubated at delivery are more likely to have a birth injury. The Apgar score, rated when the baby is born on a scale of 1 (lowest) to 10 measures breath, skin tone, heart rate, reflexes, and muscle tone. The Apgar is done immediately after the delivery and 5 minutes later. Frequently, babies with a low Apgar will improve the second time. Blood gas tests can be done from the blood in the umbilical cord to determine if the baby had any health issues before being born.
Injuries in the mother will most likely be detected during the examination following the delivery. Some may heal with time, and others may require surgical intervention.
Prevailing Causes of Birth Injuries
There are a plethora of perils when it comes to delivering a baby. In terms of maternal factors, obesity, diabetes, preeclampsia (HBP), primigravida, cephalopelvic disproportion, oligohydramnios (low amniotic fluid) all increase the risk of birth injury. In terms of the baby, low birth weight, large for gestational age, breech position, infection, and umbilical cord complications (prolapse, knotted, too short, nuchal cord). Issues during the delivery that can harm the infant include misuse of forceps or vacuum extractors, which may cause bleeding in the skull, bruising, and cranial fractures. If a doctor waits too long during a prolonged delivery to do a C-section, there could be consequences for the baby and the mother.
Can The Hospital or the Doctor Be Held Responsible?
First, sometimes the doctor isn’t the focus of the errors which were made that caused your baby’s injury. Health workers such as nurses, paramedics, midwives, anesthesiologists, ultrasound technicians, and any others who played a part in any errors that occurred can be held legally responsible. Second, it must be proven that the hospital or the health workers were negligent by not providing the standard of care required and that negligence resulted in the infant’s injury. Sometimes, couples find it difficult to accuse their doctor, with whom they have established a relationship for at least 9 months, for causing harm to their child, but a birth injury can leave a family devastated emotionally and economically. A doctor who made a dangerous or careless error should expect a lawsuit.
Is There a Deadline to File a Claim for a Birth Injury in New Jersey?
You have under the child’s thirteenth (13) birthday to file a birth injury claim, but you don’t want to wait too long because evidence can be lost if too much time has passed. Bringing a claim against a medical provider requires intensive investigation to recognize and assess liability, and that is before negotiations with the opposing side and actually proving the case if it goes to trial. In other words, you want to begin this process right away to position yourself for success. Not only that, but your child may need extensive financial reserves to provide for their care and pay for treatment and recovery. The longer you want to sue for a birth injury, the longer you have to wait to receive the compensation your child needs.
Seeking Compensation if Your Child has been Injured at Birth
Out of every 1,000 births, 6 to 9 deliveries are affected by a birth injury. Most of them can be treated and over time are no longer an issue. But there are those cases where treatment was inadequate and the resulting birth injuries are serious and permanent. There is very little worse than the helpless feeling of seeing an infant in pain, their future marred by a condition that affects them physically or cognitively. A suit against the person or people whose negligence caused their condition will not change what happened, but it could prevent other families from experiencing it. A monetary settlement could also provide for needed treatments, equipment, therapy, etc.
Contact Our Monmouth County NJ Birth Injury Lawyers to Review Your Case Today
At Chamlin, Uliano, & Walsh, our birth injury attorneys have the resources and the experience to help you through this difficult time. We have access to excellent medical specialists and doctors who can review your case. We know your concerns about your family’s future cause you stress, and we want to help ease that burden. The injury law team at our firm is committed to doing all we can to reach a financial recovery for your baby and your family.
Contact our West Long Branch office for your free, confidential consultation at (732) 440-3950 or toll-free at 888-328-9131. You can also briefly describe your birth injury case and request a free case review online. We serve clients in Freehold, Toms River, Red Bank, Middletown, Rumson, Howell, Wall, Holmdel, Ocean Township, and towns throughout Ocean and Monmouth County. Entrust us with your child’s future by getting in touch and assessing the viability of a claim for birth injury compensation.