Birth injuries are always tragic. They can cause harm and grief for the affected family, and in some rare cases, can even cause an infant (or their delivering parent) to lose their life. If you’re worried about birth injuries, there are four birth injuries you should concern yourself with, as these are sometimes serious enough to warrant the filing of a birth injury lawsuit:
1. Intraparenchymal Hemorrhage
If an infant experiences bleeding within the brain tissue itself, the injury is known as an intraparenchymal hemorrhage. These hemorrhages occur most frequently when a baby is born preterm. Additionally, intraparenchymal hemorrhages occur more commonly due to underdevelopment in the infant’s brain, rather than a birth-relevant injury or mistake. However, there are instances where improper tool use or delivery precautions can cause an otherwise healthy and not-at-risk infant to suffer from intraparenchymal hemorrhages.
These are some of the more dangerous and immediately caution-raising hemorrhages that a newborn can be inflicted with, so doctors have to stay on their toes when dealing with an intraparenchymal hemorrhage. Otherwise, they could make a serious mistake that will lead to complications serious enough to warrant a birth injury lawsuit. Understanding birth injury lawsuits can be complex, but this website has information that will make the issue much more cut and dry for those not in the know. With the right professional assistance, you can ensure that any injury you or your infant suffer during delivery is made right with a proper lawsuit.
2. Cephalhematoma
When an infant’s internal bleeding leads to blood accumulation directly below their periosteum, cephalohematomas can appear. These injuries are soft in feel, and can drastically increase in size after a birth is finished. While they may look nasty, they rarely lead to serious complications, and will naturally heal themselves over a few weeks. That being said, in rare cases, if the cephalohematoma is not addressed properly, it can lead to long-term health issues or even further blood clotting. When this happens due to negligence on a medical worker’s behalf, the infant’s parents could have a case for a birth injury lawsuit.
Thankfully, this is rarely the case and infants that suffer from cephalohematomas rarely have to worry about the injury in the long term. Even in the short term, the fairly benign nature of the injury keeps parents from panicking.
3. Epidural Hematoma
Epidural hematomas develop between the outer layer of tissue protecting an infant’s brain, and the infant’s skull. Skull fractures and other head-located bone injuries are the most common cause of epidural hematomas during deliveries. The hematoma has the potential to increase the pressure in and around the infant’s brain, which if left unaddressed and controlled, can lead to serious, and even life-threatening complications for the affected infant.
This can even cause the skull to bulge, which will show clear and obvious signs that the infant needs immediate medical treatment to prevent further complications and injuries. Epidural hematomas can lead to a wide range of medical complications, including seizures and sleep apnea. These conditions can be incredibly harmful to an infant’s health in the first few weeks of their lives, so poorly or negligently treated epidural hematomas in infants could be cause for a birth injury lawsuit in some cases.
4. Head Molding
Head molding is the one birth complication on this list that is not technically referred to as an “injury.” Instead, head molding refers to complications during birth that can cause the head to experience a shape change due to pressure. While this is often not a serious affliction, it can cause some artificial or superficial damage that can affect the infant’s quality of life later on. In most cases, head molding happens naturally.
But in the rare cases where extreme head molding is caused due to a doctor’s negligence, a lawsuit could be justified. To determine whether an injury your infant (or yourself) has experienced during birth is serious to justify a potential lawsuit, you should reach out to an experienced and successful birth injury lawyer in your immediate area. They will know whether the doctor that’s being blamed has a history of malpractice or negligence, after all.
Stay Safe During Delivery
By going to a hospital known for safe, hyper-professional delivery operations, you can give yourself and your infant a great shot at experiencing a complication-free birth. While minor injuries are not uncommon during birth and are rarely a cause for widespread concern, rare injury cases are serious enough to warrant a lawsuit against the medical team or hospital that’s responsible for the injuries occurring.
