Can You Sue a Hospital for Birth Injury?

Understanding Birth Injuries

“Birth injury” is an umbrella term that includes a huge variety of conditions and complications. These injuries can impact the baby, the mother, or both. Every birth injury case is unique, which means that it would be impossible to describe every potential situation.

Common Birth Injuries

Some of the most common sources of a birth injury lawsuit include:

•         Brain injury or brain damage
•         Skull fractures
•         Hemorrhage
•         Cerebral palsy
•         Erb’s palsy
•         Brachial plexus injury
•         Spinal cord injury
•         Hypoxia and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy
•         Fractured bones

Symptoms of Birth Injuries

Because the spectrum of potential birth traumas are so broad, the list of potential symptoms is enormous. In the baby, common symptoms include bruising, muscle weakness, swelling, and cognitive and physical developmental issues. In the mother, common symptoms of birth trauma include perineal tears, pelvic floor damage, fractures, and infections.

Medical Errors Causing Birth Injuries

When medical malpractice is the root cause of a birth injury, it’s important to investigate filing a birth injury lawsuit as soon as the injury is identified. Not only are there statutes of limitations in place that define how long you have to sue, but the longer you wait, the harder it is to gather important evidence.  Often, the most critical evidence necessary to support a birth injury lawsuit can be found in the medical records. Most states require medical providers to maintain full and accurate medical records reflecting the care provided to a patient.  However, medical records don’t always include a full and accurate description of the care provided and record falsification, though rare, does occur.

Medical errors are more common in complicated births, such as cesarean sections and those where fetal distress occurs. Some other circumstances where birth injuries are more likely include:

• Use of forceps or vacuum delivery
• Severe maternal bleeding or tearing
• Failure to switch from a vaginal birth to a C-section when fetal distress is a factor
• Improper medical care, such as a medication mistake

In short, the more tasks a health care provider performs, the greater risk there is for a medical error to occur.

Proving Medical Malpractice in a Birth Injury Case

Proving that your hospital or medical provider has breached their duty of care can be an uphill battle. The more evidence you can bring to the table, the better your chances of compensation.

Elements of Medical Malpractice

The definition of medical malpractice has four parts:

•         The medical professional has to have a duty of care to the patient.
•         They have to have deviated from the regular standard of care.
•         This deviation needs to cause harm to the victim directly.
•         The victim has to suffer measurable damages as a result.

Medical negligence has similar elements. The primary difference between negligence and malpractice is that negligence is unintentional, while malpractice occurs when a medical professional is aware of the potential consequences of their actions.

Evidence of Medical Malpractice

Proving that medical or hospital malpractice is what led to a birth injury requires evidence. An experienced medical malpractice attorney can help you sort out exactly what you need to provide. Proving medical errors generally requires multiple types of proof, which can include:

•         The victim’s medical records
•         Eyewitness testimony from medical providers and others
•         Expert testimony from a third party
•         Employment records proving where the damage occurred

Difficulty of Proving Medical Negligence Caused a Birth Injury

The defending party’s lawyers will vigorously defend birth injury lawsuits, which is another reason to hire an experienced birth injury lawyer early. Cerebral palsy litigation is particularly fraught, as it’s common for defendants to argue that the birth trauma is caused by multiple factors and that the plaintiffs are also liable.

In some cases, the defendant may argue that the case is the result of prematurity or a congenital birth defect, rather than an injury. Birth defects, as the name suggests, are present at birth. But birth injuries are sometimes resulted from medical negligence, rather than natural causes. An experienced birth injury lawyer will review medical records and consult with experts to determine if the birth trauma was caused by medical negligence rather than natural causes.

Consult with Cohen, Placitella & Roth

Our team of lawyers has earned a distinguished reputation for achieving life-changing outcomes by combining decades of experience, tenacity, and fresh strategic perspectives to each case we undertake. We champion and seek justice for our clients guided by a shared goal of doing what’s right and making a positive lasting impact on their lives.

Have you or a loved one experienced a birth injury? The law offices of Cohen, Placitella & Roth can help you with every step of the process. Contact us today at cprlaw.com or reach out to us at (888) 560-7189.