On behalf of Malone Law Office posted in medical malpractice on Wednesday, February 7, 2018.
If your child was born with a birth injury, you will likely have an infinite number of questions while you try to determine the best way to help your child cope with his or her situation. You may also have serious questions about how you’re going to pay for costly treatments associated with your child’s birth injuries.
Personal injury lawyers who represent parents of children with birth injuries tend to hear a handful of similar questions from clients. Let’s address a few of the most common birth injury questions here.
How are birth defects and birth injuries different?
People often use the terms “birth injury” and “birth defect” interchangeably. However, there is an important difference between these two terms. A birth injury happens during the birthing process. Perhaps, with a birth injury, the baby’s shoulder gets trapped in the birth canal during labor and the delivery team applies more than minimal traction to the baby’s head. This can tear and rip nerves from the spinal cord resulting in severe and permanent nerve damage often resulting in a paralyzed and useless arm. As for birth defects, these can happen before birth, during the baby’s developmental process while it is still in the womb.
Birth injuries and birth defects can both happen naturally due to no person’s fault, or they can happen due to the negligence and failures of the treating physician, problems with medication or sometimes, mistakes made by the mother.
What could prompt a birth injury or birth defect lawsuit?
In most birth injury or birth defect cases, the treating physician failed to timely respond to or failed to appropriately assess a dangerous circumstance. A doctor might also prescribe a dangerous drug that results in a birth injury, or a drug manufacturer might be to blame for creating a dangerous product that harms babies.
Do you have questions?
If your child suffered harm around the time of delivery, you may be wondering why the health care providers won’t talk to you about what really happened or directly answer your questions. You may be wondering how you are going to provide the assistance your child needs to maximize his or her quality of life. And you may be wondering how the necessary services your child needs will be paid for. We can help answer your questions. You may contact us at malone@malonelaw.com.
