Birth Injury

Contact this Fort Lauderdale Birth Injury Lawyer if your child has sustained a birth injury anyplace in the State of Florida. Birth injuries can be devastating. A day that begins with all of the hope and joy of a new baby can end in disaster and fear for the future. In these situations, while nothing may be able to reverse the incident, compensation to help with your child’s future care and needs is important.

Birth injuries can be caused by all sorts of things. For example, during a difficult delivery, oftentimes forceps or vacuum extraction are used to help pull the baby from the mother’s birth canal. However, such tools may exert extreme pressure on a baby’s face, and paralysis may result. Symptoms of this can include inability to move the face or close the eyes.

Another condition which may occur during a vacuum extraction is caput succedaneum, which is a condition wherein an infant may experience extreme swelling on his or her scalp. Cephalohematoma may also result from improper use of birth-assisting tools such as forceps. Cephalohematoma presents as a raised bump on an infant’s head. It is usually a symptom of a bleed.

Babies can also become stuck on the mother’s pelvic bone during delivery (this is referred to as shoulder dystocia). When this happens, there is a way for a doctor to gently remove the baby from the pelvic bone. However, when the doctor pulls on the baby in the wrong direction or with too much force, he or she may cause permanent damage to the baby. This can be in the form of a brachial palsy injury. Brachial palsy injuries include erb’s palsy and klumpke’s palsy. With both of these conditions, the infant may have an inability to control the movement of his or her hands or arms.

Babies may also sustain fractures or broken bones during a delivery gone wrong. For example, many babies sustain fractured/broken clavicles during a vaginal delivery while “breached” (i.e., feet-first). If the doctor chooses to deliver the baby this way, the baby may sustain a broken collarbone or shoulder. This can cause the baby to have lack of movement on the side of the fracture.

For a free, no obligation consultation, call Mr. Quackenbush at 954-448-7288. He will discuss your case with you for free if your child has sustained a birth injury occurring anyplace in the State of Florida (including Miami, Miami-Dade County, West Palm Beach and Palm Beach County).

Once he begins working on your case, Mr. Quackenbush will operate on contingency. This means that there will be no charge to you until you’ve received compensation in your case, so there is no risk to you.

Brain injuries can be perhaps the worse type of birth injury. They are frequently caused by a lack of oxygen to the baby’s brain (also known as a hypoxic event). Such oxygen deprivation can be caused during pregnancy. For example, if the umbilical cord is tangled up or otherwise damaged, the baby might not get enough oxygen during pregnancy – and a brain injury could result. Damage to the placenta may also cause oxygen deprivation in the developing baby’s brain.

Oxygen deprivation can also occur during a labor gone wrong. For example, if a labor is taking too long and your doctor doesn’t attempt to somehow quicken the process, then your child may go for a while without oxygen and experience severe brain damage.

Finally, oxygen deprivation can occur after delivery if your doctor doesn’t properly monitor a baby. Oxygen deprivation can cause all sorts of problems for an infant, including seizures and developmental delays.

Cerebral palsy can be one of the worst results of a birth injury. Cerebral palsy is a neurological condition that can affect an infant’s muscle coordination, control and movement. As a result, an infant with cerebral palsy may demonstrate “spastic” movement and may consistently shake. Cerebral palsy can also affect an infant’s reflexes and ability to balance.

Children with cerebral palsy also often demonstrate cognitive impairment. As a result, such children often fail to meet certain developmental milestones, such as milestones for speech. Due to lack of muscle coordination, children with cerebral palsy may have difficulty eating.

Children with cerebral palsy oftentimes experience seizures frequently. Finally, children with cerebral palsy frequently have vision problems, and their eyesight is oftentimes very poor.

Other symptoms of cerebral palsy include gait problems (i.e., problems with walking), speech difficulties, learning disabilities, intellectual impairment, hearing problems, breathing problems, and difficulty with bowel/bladder control.

Cerebral palsy can be caused by a hypoxic event (lack of oxygen in the brain). This can occur either during pregnancy, during a labor gone wrong, or after the baby is delivered. Typically, the longer the brain is deprived of oxygen, the worse the case of cerebral palsy will be.

Hypoxic episodes can be caused by an OBGYN who doesn’t properly monitor a mother and her baby during pregnancy, inadequate monitoring of a baby during labor on the part of nurses, or negligence in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU).

Failure to perform an emergency C-section is another example of negligence on the part of an OBGYN. An OBGYN is responsible for adequately testing and diagnosing certain complications during pregnancy. If the OBGYN doesn’t do this, a resulting complication arises and an avoidable injury results, the OBGYN can be held responsible for the baby’s injury.

Uterine damage, cord prolapses, and placenta previa are a few of the conditions that might require an emergency C-section. If they exist, your doctor doesn’t order an emergency C-section and your baby is injured as a result – you may have a birth injury case against the doctor that was in charge of monitoring your baby.

Improper use of medications (such as the labor-inducing drug Pitocin) is another example of medical malpractice that can cause a birth injury.

Other types of birth injuries which can be caused by a labor gone wrong include brain damage, hemorrhaging, and spinal cord damage.

If your child tragically passes away during a labor or delivery, then you may be able to pursue a medical malpractice wrongful death case on your child’s behalf. You or your spouse will receive compensation for your loss from the case.

Any type of birth injury can have devastating consequences for the baby and for the baby’s family. One of these consequences is that the baby’s injuries will most likely require expensive medical care in the years going forward. The family of a baby who sustains a birth injury deserves compensation in order to pay for the baby’s medical care in the future.

In order to determine how much this care might cost, Mr. Quackenbush will most likely hire an expert called a life-care planner. This expert will evaluate the baby’s injuries and determine how much the baby’s medical care will be expected to cost in the future.

Another type of birth injury occurs when a mother is hurt during labor or delivery. Typical types of injuries to mothers during births include vaginal tears, uterine injuries, episiotomy, preeclamsia, spinal cord damage, hemorrhaging, and sepsis. If your wife has tragically passed away during a labor, you may be able to pursue a medical malpractice wrongful death case on her behalf. In that situation, you will most likely be appointed the personal representative of your wife’s Estate, and you will be the beneficiary of (i.e., receive compensation for your loss from) the Estate.

The statute of limitations for a birth injury case in the State of Florida is two-years from the date of the malpractice or from the date you knew or should have known of the malpractice. For example, if malpractice was committed and you didn’t know of the malpractice or the harm caused until later on, then the two-year time period wouldn’t begin running until you either knew or should have known that the injury had occurred.

Nevertheless, if you believe that a doctor, hospital or other medical provider negligently caused your child’s birth injury, you should contact Mr. Quackenbush as soon as possible to make sure you begin your case within the proper time limitations.

Call 954-448-7288 for a free, no obligation consultation. If your child has sustained a birth injury which occurred anyplace in the State of Florida, Mr. Quackenbush will discuss your case with you at no charge to you.

Upon beginning work on your case, Mr. Quackenbush will operate on contingency – which means that he won’t get paid a dime until you’ve made a recovery in your case. So, there is no risk to you.