Your brain needs enough oxygen and blood for it to function regularly. During childbirth, an inadequate supply of oxygen to the infant’s brain can lead to moderate to severe brain injury. Prompt hospital intervention is necessary for the infant to avoid severe or worse, fatal brain injury.
Effects of Brain Injury in Infants
Babies who survive fetal distress during childbirth or immediately after can suffer brain injury which symptoms include:
- Delays in development of motor skills
- Neurodevelopmental delays
- Cognitive problems
- Epilepsy
In many situations, the extent of a brain injury can only be determined within a few years of the situation that caused the brain injury. Consequently, an infant with brain injury may manifest symptoms when as a child, he or she experiences difficulty with fine motor skills and gross motor skills, has a learning disability, and has poor or limited social skills.
If your child has sustained a brain injury during child birth, your main goal is to seek the best treatment and care for your child, pay all your medical bills and care expenses, and secure your child’s future expenses. Speak to an experienced brain injury attorney as well about your child’s brain injury to understand what your legal options are.
Brain injury arising from fetal distress can be prevented with early detection of fetal distress. Signs of fetal distress include low heart rate, weak or no breathing, poor muscle tone, and excessive acid in the blood. At the hospital, doctors and nurses can perform specific tests and use appropriate equipment to measure fetal heart rate, blood acidity, and meconium staining, allowing for prompt treatment or intervention measures. Without early detection and prompt intervention, the infant is at an increased risk of brain injury.
Damages for Brain Injury
A child who suffered severe brain injury recently won a lawsuit in which a Chicago jury awarded damages amounting to $53 million. More than half of the award covers the child’s future caretaking expenses and future medical expenses. The brain injury case arose from an incident that happened 12 years ago when the child’s mother went to the defendant hospital complaining of her unborn baby’s lack of movement.
The lawsuit alleged that doctors and nurses at the hospital failed to:
- Detect abnormal fetal heart rate patterns which would show that the fetus was already in distress; or severely deprived of oxygen
- Carefully monitor the mother and baby
- Obtain accurate cord blood gases
- Perform timely cesarean section
Due to hospital personnel negligence, the child sustained severe brain injury and now has severe cerebral palsy. Further, the child is confined to a wheelchair and requires his mother’s assistance to eat, bathe, and get dressed.
Call a Portland Brain Injury Attorney
At the law firm of Dwyer Williams Cherkoss Attorneys P.C., our attorneys have the depth and experience to handle complex brain injury cases. We will examine medical records, identify the negligent party, and assess the extent of your damages.
We invite you to call us today at (541) 617-0555 to arrange for your free initial consultation. We handle injury and wrongful death lawsuits on contingency fee basis.