Perey Law Group, PLLC has represented many families of babies who were seriously injured at birth. A birth injury is defined as any type of damage to an infant during birth or just before or after birth. Some common types of birth injuries include:
· Nerve damage
· Temporary paralysis
· Bone fractures and breaks
· Skeletal deformities
· Brain damage
· Cerebral palsy
· Erb's palsy
· Brachial plexus palsy
If your child suffered injury at birth, we can help you understand your rights. Contact us today for a complimentary consultation with an experienced birth injury lawyer.
Mistakes by Healthcare Professionals
The most serious birth injuries involve damage to an infant's brain, causing brain damage, traumatic brain injury, seizures, and mental retardation. These brain injuries are often caused by a loss of oxygen to the baby's brain or by bleeding inside the brain from trauma during a pregnancy, labor, or delivery.
There are "natural" circumstances in which oxygen deprivation can occur during the labor and delivery process (such as when the umbilical cord gets twisted or compressed in the birth process, or when the baby is too large to pass through the mother's birth canal easily, or when a baby is breach or sideways in the womb). However, there are also many circumstances in which oxygen deprivation and other causes of birth injury are due to mistakes during the perinatal period by doctors, nurses, midwives, laboratory staff, or other medical professionals. Here is a partial list of such circumstances:
· A delay in performing a necessary cesarean delivery
· Complications with a vaginal birth after cesarean-section delivery
· Uterine rupture
· Use of excessive force during the delivery
· A miscalculation in the size of the baby, causing a traumatic delivery
Newborn babies are vulnerable to injury in many ways — and babies who are born prematurely are even more vulnerable. The brain of a newborn is fragile, the bones are quite soft, internal organs are newly developed, and the immune system is "inexperienced." An injury sustained at the critical time period around a child's birth can have devastating and permanent effects.
Moreover, birth injuries are most likely to occur in cases of difficult birth. Some of the conditions that increase the risk of medical mistakes and birth injuries are:
· Large baby
· Premature baby
· Prolonged labor
· Difficult labor
· Breech delivery
If your child suffered trauma at birth and you suspect that the injury was caused by medical malpractice, you can turn to Perey Law Group, PLLC. Our firm has the experience and resources to expertly evaluate medical injuries, and we have the compassion and understanding to help you deal with the heavy toll that a birth injury can take on your family.
Contact our staff today to schedule a consultation. We look forward to helping you and your family.
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Perey Law Group, PLLC
1606 8th Avenue North
Seattle, WA 98109
Phone: (206) 443-7600
Fax: (206) 443-4785