Atlanta Birth Injury Attorneys
Birth Injury
A birth injury or birth trauma is any event during a baby’s birth that causes harm to the baby. While a newborn can often make a full recovery from a mild physical injury suffered during birth, many birth injuries in Georgia leave the child with life-long disabilities or other medical conditions.
According to the U.S. Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality, birth injuries affect approximately 74 newborns out of each 10,000 who are born in the U.S. each year. Although they are relatively rare, birth injuries cause a great deal of distress to families, as well as causing serious injury to the child and even the mother in some instances. The staggering medical costs of caring for a person with disabilities caused by a birth injury demonstrate the need for hospitals to minimize situations in which a birth injury may occur, as well as the need for families to seek compensation when hospital, nursing or physician negligence results in a birth injury.
Types of Birth Injury
Birth injuries come in many forms. Cerebral palsy is a well-known neurological condition that affects as many as 10,000 newborns each year, according to the National Institutes of Health. Cerebral palsy may be caused by brain damage that occurs during birth. The use of forceps or similar instruments, a vacuum-assisted delivery, or lack of oxygen at a critical moment may all increase an infant’s risk of developing cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy cannot be cured, and many people who have the condition live with muscle paralysis, loss of coordination, developmental delay, and other conditions. Many will require mobility aids like wheelchairs or walkers in order to get around, as well as help from physical therapists and other medical professionals throughout their lives.
Facial nerve palsy is another neurological condition that can result from an Atlanta birth injury. In facial nerve palsy, the seventh cranial nerve is damaged, leaving one side of the baby’s face partly or totally paralyzed. Some infants recover spontaneously from facial nerve palsy, but those with severe cases will have to adapt to their disability throughout their lives, often by requiring additional medical care, therapy, and equipment.
Birth injuries can also include hemorrhages, or internal bleeding, in the brain or other body organs, which can lead to permanent cognitive or physical disabilities. Nerve damage from a birth injury can impair a newborn’s ability to move his or her limbs properly or cause problems with internal organs, which cannot communicate fully with the brain if certain nerves are injured.
For example, an injury to the brachial plexus, which is the network of nerves connecting the arm and hand to the brain, can result in paralysis, numbness, pain, or tingling in the arm or hand. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, damage to the brachial plexus can occur if a newborn’s shoulder is stretched too much during delivery, a condition referred to as shoulder dystocia. While some children recover from a brachial plexus injury within the first few months of their lives, others need physical therapy, surgery, or specialized equipment to maximize their chances of a full recovery.
Open Communication, Solving Your Legal Problems
Children suffering from birth injuries or the disabilities that follow need all the time, love, care, and attention their families can provide. They also need medical care that addresses their particular needs and helps them function at their best. If your child has been injured during birth, the experienced Atlanta birth injury medical malpractice attorneys at The Law Offices of Wayne Grant, P.C. can help you understand your legal options and determine whether seeking compensation is right for your family. Contact us today for more information about how we can help.
