How Do I Know if My Child Has a Birth Injury?

While giving birth is a beautiful miracle, it can also be challenging. Some mothers and their babies may experience birth trauma that results in birth injuries to newborns. Some of these injuries are normal and will be resolved on their own with time to heal. Other injuries are more severe and have lasting impacts.

If you suspect that your child experienced a birth injury as a result of medical malpractice, speak with a medical professional to get a second opinion. They can identify birth injuries, potential causes, and possible long-term impacts on the child’s health and development.

Signs and Symptoms of a Birth Injury  

Babies can experience a broad range of injuries during birth. This can make identifying birth injuries difficult. Common signs can include behavioral and developmental signs or physical indicators. Symptoms can also change and evolve as the child grows. Common signs of a birth injury include poor motor skills, floppy body control, low heart rate, and abnormal muscle tone development. The baby may struggle to walk or have vision, hearing, or oral impairments.

Symptoms can also become apparent through cognitive developmental delays. There could be behavioral changes, increased fussiness, or drooling. There could also be a failure to meet developmental milestones.

“There can be signs of medical malpractice in the way the healthcare professionals interact with the parents,“ states Paul Slager, who is a medical malpractice attorney at Silver Golub & Teitell in Stamford, Connecticut. “If the parent’s questions are not getting answered or they feel kept in the dark about procedures and test results, this can be a sign that something questionable is happening.”

Signs of Head and Brain Injuries

Some of the most devastating birth injuries are to the baby’s head. Brain damage can have lasting impacts, leading to developmental disabilities. Some minor swelling, bruising, and scrapes are normal and will heal within days, while more severe injuries like skull fractures, hemorrhaging, and brain damage will require medical treatment.

Skull fractures are not common. Depending on the injury, it can be minor or potentially brain-damaging. A hemorrhage may not have any symptoms but can create lasting disabilities. Babies with severe hemorrhaging could be lethargic, have seizures, or won’t eat.

Brain damage can also happen from oxygen deprivation. The lack of oxygen can result in cerebral palsy and other cognitive disabilities. Symptoms of cerebral palsy can include floppy or rigid limbs or involuntary movements. Symptoms don’t appear until early childhood. Possible brain injury can be from these conditions.

• Subarachnoid hemorrhage
• Subdural hemorrhage
• Epidural hematoma
• Intraventricular hemorrhage
• Intraparenchymal hemorrhage
• Cephalohematoma

Signs of Nerve Damage

Babies can experience nerve damage before or during delivery in the birth canal. Generally, nerve injuries impact the child’s muscle control. However, most heal and overcome their nerve injuries without long-term negative impacts.

1. Facial Nerve Injury

The facial nerve is the most common nerve injury experienced during delivery. It can happen because of the baby’s positioning and the nerve getting pressed. A common symptom is a lopsided facial muscle control. Generally, no treatment is required, and the condition can go away when the baby is a few months old.

2. Brachial Plexus Injury

A common nerve injury babies experience is Erb’s palsy, which is an injury to the brachial plexus nerves. These are a large bundle of nerves in the neck and shoulder that lead to each arm. A doctor may pull on the baby’s arm or arms during a difficult delivery. This can injure these nerves, causing weakness and paralysis. Most babies recover without treatment, but severe cases may require physical therapy.

3. Phrenic Nerve Injury

Some newborns experience a phrenic nerve injury. This is the nerve that is in the diaphragm. Injury can result in the newborn having trouble breathing. This type of injury usually resolves within a few weeks.

Signs of Skin and Soft Tissue Injuries

Soft tissue and skin injuries are common and generally minor. They happen from the use of instruments during delivery. These injuries are usually minor and heal on their own. You may see bruising, swelling, and redness.

Signs of Spinal Cord Injuries

Experiencing spinal cord injuries is rare but not impossible. When it doesn’t happen, it typically results from overstretching during delivery. A spinal cord injury causes paralysis and is usually permanent. The baby will experience paralysis from the point of spinal injury down. If it occurs in the neck area, it is typically fatal because it prevents the baby from breathing.

Signs of Bone Injuries

Physical injury can happen even when the delivery is entirely normal with no medical malpractice. A common injury of this type is a fractured collarbone (clavicle). The fracture may not be discovered until days after the delivery when the baby doesn’t move one of their arms. There is no treatment; the bones will heal within a few weeks. Fracture of the arm (humerus) or leg (femur) bones can also happen. If the fracture is severe, the doctor may splint the limb.

Understanding Causes of Birth Injuries

The delivery process is a complicated one, with risks for the mother and baby. To prevent the majority of the most common types of birth injuries, doctors should monitor the mother and baby before, during, and after birth. That way, potential conditions and complications can be identified and diagnosed to reduce the risk of injury.

1. Delayed Birth

One of the most common causes of birth injuries is a delayed birth. This is when delivery lasts for longer than 18 hours. During this time, excessive pressure on the baby’s head can result in elevated fetal distress, increased blood pressure, and developmental issues with the baby’s brain. If the baby’s blood pressure increases too high, the child is at risk of stroke or cardiovascular problems.

The monitoring medical team needs to recognize a delayed birth and take steps to address and prevent it.

2. Oxygen Deprivation

Babies experiencing oxygen deprivation during birth can experience a wide range of injuries that can have a lasting impact on the baby’s life.

There are several reasons a baby may experience a lack of oxygen. The doctor could break the mother’s water too early, the baby could be too high up, the doctor could try to hurry up the pregnancy, or there could be umbilical prolapse. While some of these causes are entirely preventable, others are not. However, it is how the doctor addresses the unpredictable issues that can result in injury. To complicate problems, a baby’s lungs are not fully developed. This makes them weaker and more susceptible to oxygen deprivation.

3. Medical Malpractice

The healthcare staff’s actions could directly cause the newborn’s injury. Medical malpractice is when healthcare professionals deviate from the generally accepted procedural standards. This could be a lack of action, negligence, or purposeful harmful action.

For example, the doctor or staff could use excessive force that results in blunt force trauma. Incorrect use of forceps or vacuum extractors can cause brain damage. The doctor could improperly manipulate the baby’s body during birth, which results in oxygen deprivation, nerve damage, or muscular injury.

4. Other Causes

Other conditions that can cause birth injuries may or may not be medical malpractice, such as certain prescribed medications or infections that can cause injury to the mother or baby during pregnancy or delivery. If medical staff diagnosed and responded to the issue correctly, but the baby still suffered injuries, the parents may not have a medical malpractice claim. In contrast, the medical staff could have been negligent in preventing or treating these causes once diagnosed. In this situation, the parents may have a medical malpractice claim.

Getting a doctor’s second opinion and speaking with a lawyer can help you determine if you have a possible birth injury medical malpractice claim.

Legal Considerations for Birth Injury Cases

You may have the right to file a malpractice lawsuit against the healthcare providers involved in your care during pregnancy and delivery. Managing your child’s birth injury can be expensive and time-consuming.

Each state has a statute of limitations that gives you a specific amount of time to file your medical malpractice lawsuit. Some states extend this time beyond the standard specifically for birth injury cases. For example, in Florida, it is called Tony’s law. Parents have until the child is eight years old to file a medical malpractice claim for birth injuries.

To have a successful birth injury medical malpractice claim, you must present evidence supporting your claim to the court. This will include various forms of evidence that show your child suffered injury as a direct result of a healthcare professional’s malpractice. You will also need evidence to validate your economic and non-economic loss claims. Finally, you will need to include documentation that can justify future ongoing care. Evidence you will need to collect and submit include:

• Medical records
• Financial records
• Expert opinions
• Witness statements

Slager explains that it is important to show a connection between the medical care provider’s actions and the injury. “Look at the medical treatment records and test results to determine the baby’s development. Then locate and identify aspects of the pregnancy and delivery that could suggest that is where the injury happened.”

Consulting With a Birth Injury Attorney

It is normal for some babies to experience birth injuries. Not all signs of a birth injury indicate you should take legal action. If you have doubts or suspicions, get a second opinion on your child’s injury and consider speaking with a birth injury lawyer. They can discuss your legal options and possible recovery of damages.

Visit the Super Lawyers directory to search for a lawyers who practice birth injury medical negligence.