Birth Trauma Attorneys

Child birth is a complex process. Although most babies are born healthy, two to seven babies in every thousand are injured during the birthing process. Some injuries are due to the baby’s size and position during labor; others’ birth injuries can be attributed to the negligence of doctors, nurses and other medical personnel. The lifelong consequences to the family can be devastating.

Listed below are a few of the more common types of birth injuries that occur when doctors make mistakes.

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral Palsy is a brain injury associated with birth trauma. Cerebral Palsy is often caused by birth asphyxia- lack of oxygen to the brain. Constant fetal monitoring by trained medical professionals is the best way to assess the health of the baby during the birthing process. Certain changes in the baby’s heart rate require immediate medical attention.

The symptoms of cerebral palsy range in severity and may include:

  • difficulty with fine motor skills such as writing
  • inability to balance or walk
  • seizures
  • mental retardation
  • uncontrollable hand motions or drooling

The most common type of cerebral palsy is spastic CP. In spastic CP, the muscles are stiff and permanently contracted.

In developed countries, cerebral palsy occurs in 2-3 of every 1,000 live births. In the United States alone, approximately 12,000 infants and young children will be diagnosed with cerebral palsy each year. Cerebral palsy is the second most expensive developmental disability to care for. Over an average lifetime, it will cost nearly $100,000.

Brachial Plexus Injury

Brachial Plexus Birth Injuries are the result of trauma to the  Brachial Plexus, a network of nerves stemming from the spinal cord and into the shoulders and arms.  During child birth, brachial plexus injuries can occur when the baby’s neck, shoulder, or arm regions are subject to excessive straining or stretching.  This strain is often the result of shoulder dystocia, or difficult child birth in which doctors have trouble delivering the baby through the mother’s pelvic region either due to the size of the baby, its position, or the mother’s narrow pelvic region.

Depending on the extent of the damage done to the infant’s nerves, brachial plexus injuries can either be short-term or long-term problems. In many cases, brachial plexus injuries actually heal within the first six months of birth; in other cases, the baby has to go through traumatizing therapies or surgical interventions.  In the most severe of nerve traumas, the injury is permanent, leaving the baby with a crippling injury that will leave him/her with limited function in that limb.

Erb’s Palsy

Erb’s Palsy is a form of Brachial Plexus Injury, in which trauma to the arm’s main nerves at C5-C6 are severed, causing paralysis of the limb. Some babies recover fully on their own, while others require extensive therapies, surgical interventions, and lifelong functional limitations in the limb.

Finding the Answers

Caring for a child with a birth injury- be it Cerebral Palsy, Brachial Plexus Injury, Erb’s Palsy, or various other birth trauma conditions- requires vast emotional and financial resources.

At Goren, Goren & Harris, we are experienced Medical Malpractice Attorneys who understand the medical issues involved in handling a birth trauma case. We work with nationally recognized doctors to evaluate and provide expert testimony for our cases.

Goren, Goren & Harris is proud of our expertise in the area of birth trauma. Our case results have been published in various legal journals and include:

  • Failure to do a timely C-Section to remove a baby in distress causing cerebral palsy
  • Failure to give oxygen to a premature newborn who needed help breathing just after birth
  • Failure to diagnose and treat an infection in the mother causing the child to be injured
  • Failure to use proper techniques in delivery to avoid Erb’s Palsy, causing permanent arm injury

If you believe medical negligence may have caused harm to your baby, fill out the consultation form to the right, or call Goren, Goren & Harris at 1-800-6700-LAW. We will put over 40 years of birth injury experience to work for you to get your child the financial compensation and support your family needs and deserves.