The birth of a child is one of the most joyous occasions a family experiences. When something goes wrong and that new baby is injured, it can be absolutely heart breaking. Birth injuries can range from extremely minor injuries to serious lifelong conditions like cerebral palsy. If your child had been diagnosed with cerebral palsy, it is important for you to understand what may have caused it and whether it could have been prevented.
Causes of Cerebral Palsy
At a very basic level, cerebral palsy is caused by damage that occurs while the brain is developing. This damage can occur during pregnancy, during delivery, or very early in a child’s life. In some cases it is not possible to determine what caused the damage to occur. In other cases, however, the damage can be linked to exposure to radiation or infection in utero, hypoxia, or birth trauma. Hypoxia and birth trauma in some cases may be caused by a doctor’s negligent treatment of the baby or the mother during delivery. For example, in cases where a baby is too large or in the wrong position, if a doctor does not pursue a caesarean section in time the baby may suffer a head injury. In other cases, the doctor may use an inappropriate amount of pressure on the baby’s head or neck during delivery. Use (or misuse) of certain medical devices may cause these injuries, as well. Issues with the umbilical cord can lead to hypoxia which ultimately can cause brain damage, as well.
How Doctors are Held Responsible
The primary tool patients have to hold doctors responsible for their negligence is filing a medical malpractice claim. One of the key issues in these cases, though, is that the parents often do not know exactly what caused their child’s cerebral palsy and, even if they do know or believe that it was something that the doctor did that caused it, they often have no way of knowing whether the doctor acted appropriately and their child’s condition was an unfortunate but unavoidable consequence, or whether the doctor failed to live up to the standard of care.
That is why the attorneys at Goldstein Hayes & Lina, LLC are so passionate about parents like you. Contact us so you can have a full, detailed conversation with a birth injury lawyer as soon as possible after you realize there is a problem. We handle these cases regularly and consult regularly with medical experts in the field, and we can help you determine whether your doctor acted appropriately in your situation. If he or she did not live up to the standard of care, it is important that he or she be held responsible both to prevent this from happening to another family and to make sure that your child’s medical and personal care needs are taken care of in the long term.
Contact Goldstein Hayes & Lina, LLC
If you or a loved one has suffered injuries due to the negligence of your doctor, the experienced attorneys at Goldstein Hayes & Lina, LLC are here to help you with your case. Contact us today for a free consultation.