Birth Injuries

Baltimore, Maryland

There is no more joyous occasion than the birth of a child. Unfortunately for some happy parents, their joy is marred by physical injury or deformity directly related to the birthing process. More than four million children are born each year in the U.S. For some, serious developmental issues or even death may result.

A birth injury is defined as any damage or injury to the infant's body occurring before, during, or slightly after the child's birth. Birth injuries vary from minor, easily resolved issues to issues so severe the infant does not survive. Complications of pregnancy or labor such as prolonged labor, where the baby is unusually small or large or when the baby is in a difficult position during labor and delivery, can bring about difficulties for a new born.

Possible causes for birth injuries include:

• Breech Delivery
• Delayed Cesarean Section
• Fetal Distress
• Placenta Abruption
• Medical Negligence

These birth injuries may afflict the child with:

• Mental Retardation
• Cerebral Palsy
• Erb’s Palsy
• Epilepsy
• Autism

When Medical Negligence Plays a Part

Many birth injuries are caused by a health care professional’s medical negligence such as, when oxygen deprivation or head trauma occurs during the delicate birthing process. For example, Cerebral Palsy, caused by oxygen deprivation, affects more than 10,000 babies each year.

Other traumatic birth injuries include:

• Erb's Palsy
• Traumatic Brain Injury
• Brain Stem Injuries
• Closed Head Injury
• Anoxia and Hypoxia
• Infections
• Seizures
• Stillbirths
• Prenatal asphyxia
• Shoulder Dystocia
• Fractures
• Spinal cord trauma
• Intracranial hemorrhage

Has your child suffered from birth injury due to medical negligence? The laws governing medical negligence state that you have a right to hold heath care professionals liable for these and other circumstances:

• Prolonged or difficult labor
• Failure to detect an umbilical cord wrapped around the infant’s neck
• Failure to quickly perform emergency C-section
• Failure to test and treat pregnancy-related conditions
• Misdiagnosis of pregnancy-related conditions
• Failure to detect negative fetal vital signs

To learn more about birth injuries, please visit our Questions About Birth Injuries page.

Help is Available

You will carry the burden and expense of your child’s care for a lifetime. To find out more about your rights, and how you can obtain the compensation you deserve to help you care for your child, please contact the experienced and knowledgeable birth injury attorneys at The Yost Legal Group.