Atlanta Birth Injury Lawyer
Children are miracles, and every parent prays for a perfect and healthy baby. But, tragically, medical malpractice is the cause of many birth injuries, including death called a “fetal demise,” and brain damage from a lack of oxygen, which is called HIE or Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy. These devastating birth injuries injuries can be caused by careless nurses and doctors who are not paying attention to the baby and the fetal monitoring strips during labor and failing to promptly deliver a baby when the baby is suffocating from a lack of blood flow. There are different ways birth injuries can occur, and it can be difficult for families to understand exactly what went wrong. If you suspect that your baby was injured during birth, contact an experienced birth injury lawyer in Atlanta, Georgia, right away to investigate your case. The attorneys at The Moses Firm are experienced and dedicated advocates for families who have suffered a tragic loss or harm associated with severe birth injuries. Call us today at 404-721-1050 to speak to one of our experienced Atlanta birth injury lawyers.
Common Causes of Birth Injuries in Atlanta, Georgia
One of the classic types of birth injuries and medical malpractice cases are brain damage to a baby during a delivery. This can occur when there is reduced blood flow (and oxygen) to the baby, and nurses and doctors fail to pay attention and negligently delay in delivering the baby.
One common medical malpractice scenario is when a delivery is being induced with a medication called Pitocin (or Oxytocin), which causes the mother to have contractions. Each time the mother has contractions, it squeezes the baby and reduces the blood flow (and oxygen in the blood) to the baby. If this occurs t0o frequently, the baby will be deprived of oxygen and will eventually suffer brain damage or HIE if permitted to continue. When there are too many contractions being caused by Pitocin, the standard of care is to turn down or turn off the Pitocin.
Obstetricians and labor and delivery (“L&D”) nurses are trained to evaluate the administration of Pitocin by monitoring and accurately interpreting fetal monitoring strips which shows the baby’s heart rate and the mother’s contractions. These fetal monitoring strips tell the L&D nurses when there are too many contractions and when the baby is suffering from too many contractions by their abnormal heart rates. L&D nurses should actively be looking for variable decelerations, late decelerations, bradycardia, prolonged decelerations, and minimal variability. Unfortunately, someone L&D nurses get distracted fail to look at the fetal monitoring strips as frequently as they should or they just make mistakes in interpreting them properly. When this occurs, the baby can suffer a devastating injury like brain damage/HIE and cerebral palsy.
If your baby has suffered a birth injury, it may have been caused by negligent nurses and/or doctors that did not follow national standards and guidelines. If you have questions regarding whether you have a birth injury claim, it is critical to hire a Georgia lawyer who knows Georgia law, Georgia courts, and Georgia juries.
Common Types of Birth Injuries in Atlanta, Georgia
Birth injuries come in various forms and impact different parts of the infant’s body. Some of the more common types of birth injuries are as follows:
- Cerebral palsy: cerebral palsy occurs when babies do not receive adequate oxygen during the birth process. Cerebral palsy is a neurological condition that impairs a baby’s muscle tone, motor skills, and movement. These infants will often also experienced cognitive impairments, learning disabilities, speech difficulties, low bone density, lung disease.
- Fetal demise: babies can die from a lack of oxygen in the womb. This can be caused by a variety of things, but could be related to a nuchal cord, that is, when the umbilical cord is wrapped around the baby’s neck. It is important to monitor the electronic fetal monitor for signs that the baby needs more oxygen.
- Brachial palsy: brachial palsy is a condition resulting from injuries to a group of nerves that impact the arms and hands. The nerve group is referred to as the brachial plexus. These injuries can take place when the baby’s shoulder is difficult to deliver. Babies impacted by injuries to their brachial plexus may have trouble flexing and rotating their arms. Although in most cases, the damage will result in bruising and swelling and injuries will heal within a matter of months, there are other more severe cases in which the nerves may suffer tearing, leading to permanent damage.
- Fractures: fractures involve the breaking of bones during the birth process. But some of these fracture are completely preventable e.g. when fractures occur during a cesarean section from a careless doctor.
If your baby suffered a birth injury, your family might be entitled to compensation. Although some injuries may not have been preventable, many others could be avoided if doctors detected problems sooner or use more caution while delivering the baby.
Call the Atlanta Medical Malpractice Attorneys at The Moses Firm Today
The injuries caused during birth can lead to lifelong complications for the infant and financial strain on the family, and the birth injuries could have been caused by careless healthcare providers. Even when serious mistakes have been made, you can expect nurses and doctors to hire aggressive defense lawyers who will make countless excuses to deny responsiblity. Therefore, it is critical to hire (1) an experienced birth injury lawyer who familiar with the medicine at issue, but to also hire (2) a local Atlanta birth injury lawyer who is familiar with Georgia law, Georgia juries, and the judges and lawyers who will work on their case. At The Moses Firm, our compassionate, dedicated attorneys understand how important it is for our clients to recover compensation that can help them better support their child and provide the best possible quality of life for the injured infant. Call us today at 404-721-1050 to learn more about how we can help you and your family.
