Birth Injuries

Bringing a new life into the world should be a time of joy and celebration. For too many parents, however, it is a time of heartbreak and loss. Birth injuries can bring life-threatening risks, result in long-term and irreversible mental and physical limitations, and present a lifetime of challenges to the parents and child. These tragedies are often compounded by the fact that they could have been avoided. Every year, thousands of children and their families struggle in the aftermath of injuries to infants caused by doctors, nurses, delivery room personnel, and others who make catastrophic mistakes during pregnancy, labor, or delivery.

Birth injuries can manifest themselves in any number of ways. Many birth injuries are apparent immediately. Others, however, don’t become known until months, years, or even decades later. Whenever parents realize that something may have gone wrong and start looking for answers, they need help, support, and guidance. They need someone to make sense of what happened and why. And if their baby’s birth injury was caused by avoidable medical errors, they need someone who can hold accountable those who are responsible and get them the compensation and resources they need and deserve.

The Louisiana birth injury attorneys at the Patrick Yancey Law Firm in Houma understand that no amount of money can turn back time and prevent the tragic missteps that hurt a baby. But with compassion, determination, and a steadfast commitment to our clients, we can help parents build a better life for their child and themselves.

Common Errors That Lead to Avoidable Birth Injuries

Some of the most common occurrences of medical malpractice which can lead to serious birth injuries or infant death include:

• Failure to detect and respond to fetal distress.
• Failure to recognize and address preeclampsia.
• Fetal heart rate monitoring errors.
• Labor induction and Pitocin mistakes.
• Failure to perform an emergency Cesarean section.
• Misuse of a vacuum extractor.
• Negligent use of forceps.
• Failure to treat meningitis.
• Improper prescription or administration of medication or anesthesia.
• Failure to prevent or treat neonatal and postnatal infections.
• Failure to address prolonged labor.

Birth Injuries Caused by Medical Malpractice

Many of the acts of medical malpractice that occur during childbirth involve injuries to the child’s brain. A child can be deprived of oxygen and suffer asphyxia due to a physician’s failure to detect and address a twisted umbilical cord. Misuse of forceps or vacuum extractors can harm an infant’s brain by putting undue pressure on it or depriving it of necessary blood flow.

These kinds of birth injuries and others involving the infant’s brain can lead to long-term challenges for a child and his or her parents. In addition to physical, emotional, and psychological issues, oxygen deprivation and other birth injuries can be the source of learning disabilities and cognitive problems as the child grows.

Birth injuries and conditions which are often caused by medical negligence include:

• Cerebral Palsy
• Erb’s Palsy
• Klumpke’s Palsy
• Brachial plexus injuries
• Brain damage
• Hypoxia
• Anoxic brain injury
• Neonatal and postnatal infections
• Bone fractures

Not everything that goes wrong during pregnancy or in a delivery room is the result of mistakes by doctors and other healthcare professionals. But when those professionals fail to use the judgment, make the decisions, and provide the care necessary to prevent injury to the child, it can constitute medical malpractice. In such cases, a skilled and experienced medical malpractice attorney can seek and obtain compensation for the pain and injuries such conduct caused.

At the Patrick Yancey Law Firm, we are allies and advocates for parents who are struggling with the aftermath of a birth injury to their child. When you meet with one of our Louisiana birth injury lawyers for your free initial case evaluation, we will take the time to carefully listen to your story, answer your questions, and help you forge a path forward. We consider it a privilege to serve Louisiana families like yours, so please call us today.