What Is The Most Common Birth Injury?
Most of us wouldn’t have thought about the possibility of birth injuries when we imagine the birth of a healthy child. It’s true that the vast majority of labors are uneventful or that they result in a baby with no significant injuries. Six to eight out of every one thousand births in the United States involve birth injury. We need to know the most typical forms of birth injuries. What should you do if your child is one of those affected?
There are approximately 28,000 injured newborns in the United States annually, or 6-8 per every thousand births. Certain injuries are relatively minor, while others can leave a person permanently disabled. No parent should go through the trauma of having a child born with a birth injury. Professional help from a birth injury lawyer settlements is recommended if you are in this situation.
How to Pursue a Birth Injury Settlement
Birth injury settlement cases take place when negligent medical professionals. They delivered the child (defendants) consent to giving the injured child’s family a lump sum of money (plaintiff).
When a child is born with an avoidable injury, the child’s family can receive financial compensation through a birth injury settlement. Children and their families have been given millions of dollars from settlements involving birth injuries.
You can improve your chances of receiving compensation for a birth injury by working with an experienced attorney. The assistance of an excellent attorney may be able to secure financial compensation to cover your child’s medical expenses.
A settlement is reached when the parties agree on an amount the defendants will compensate to cover expenses associated with the birth injury. If a settlement isn’t reached, the case could go to trial. To pursue a settlement for a birth injury, you should first speak with an attorney.
Most Common Birth Injury
Cerebral Palsy
Two to three out of every thousand newborns may be affected by cerebral palsy, a condition characterized by delayed motor skill development, muscle weakness, and muscle spasms. Birth injuries are a typical cause of cerebral palsy. Extreme hypoxic episodes, which can result in cerebral palsy, can be caused by not properly monitoring the laboring mother, using subpar birth techniques, or not recognizing fetal distress.
While surgery can improve the child’s condition, there is currently no cure for cerebral palsy, and treatment can last for years, if not a lifetime. Consequences of cerebral palsy include a heightened risk of visual and auditory impairments, cognitive and language delays, and articulation difficulties.
Fractured Collarbones
The collarbone is a typical bone to break during a difficult delivery. These fractures usually heal independently, but in some cases, the baby will need to be immobilized while it heals.
Caput Succedaneum
Swelling or discoloration of the scalp (caput succedaneum) is a defining feature of this condition. A caput succedaneum is a congenital disability caused by forceps or other delivery tools pressing down on the baby’s head. Caput succedaneum is not fatal and typically resolves without medical intervention.
Hemorrhages
“Intracranial hemorrhage” and “subarachnoid hemorrhage” refer to bleeding between the two membrane layers surrounding the developing brain. When an optical blood vessel ruptures due to pressure changes during birth, the result is a subconjunctival hemorrhage.
Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injuries are among the worst injuries that can happen at birth, and they can be caused by the use of forceps that is too strong, damaging the baby’s nerves or spinal cord. Paralysis and other neurological issues are common sequelae.