HIE Birth Injury Lawyers Representing Children and Families

What Is Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy?

Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy is brain dysfunction or injury associated with too little oxygen and blood flow. “Hypoxic” refers to insufficient oxygen. “Ischemic” refers to insufficient blood flow. And “encephalopathy” refers to impaired brain function. The interruption may happen before, during, or shortly after birth.

The outcome is different for every child. Mild HIE may leave few lasting concerns. A more serious injury can lead to cerebral palsy, epilepsy, developmental or cognitive impairments, or difficulty with movement, communication, and feeding. The same loss of oxygen and blood flow can affect the heart, kidneys, liver, and other organs.

Possible Signs and Diagnosis of HIE

HIE may first appear as very low activity, weak muscle tone or reflexes, trouble breathing or feeding, abnormal movements, or seizures. A baby may also need extensive resuscitation or respiratory support. Because several conditions can cause these signs, doctors must evaluate the newborn promptly.

Doctors use the pregnancy and delivery history, a neurological examination, blood gas results, organ function, an electroencephalogram (EEG), and brain imaging to assess the baby. The EEG can reveal seizures. An MRI may show the location and pattern of injury. And an Apgar score describes a newborn’s condition at a particular time. However, a low score alone cannot diagnose asphyxia or predict a child’s neurological outcome.

Mild, Moderate, and Severe HIE

Doctors generally classify HIE as mild, moderate, or severe. They examine the baby’s alertness, movement, muscle tone, reflexes, breathing, and seizures. Eligible newborns with moderate or severe HIE may receive therapeutic hypothermia. Follow-up examinations, EEG findings, MRI images, and development provide a fuller view of the injury.

Is HIE Always a Birth Injury Claim?

An interruption of oxygen and blood flow can happen during pregnancy, labor, delivery, resuscitation, or early newborn care. A placental abruption or uterine rupture can abruptly reduce that supply. A prolapsed umbilical cord, major hemorrhage, respiratory failure, or cardiac arrest are also triggering events. Prolonged fetal heart rate abnormalities may warn that the baby is already in danger.

Unfortunately, an emergency can occur despite appropriate medical care. An HIE claim depends upon when warning signs appeared, how the team responded, and whether timely treatment or delivery could have prevented or reduced the injury. The records and medical opinions must support those conclusions.

What an HIE Claim Must Establish

An HIE birth injury claim needs medical support on two central points. A provider failed to meet the accepted standard of care, and that failure caused or contributed to the injury. Physicians must also explain when and how the brain was deprived of oxygen and blood flow.

Independent physicians reviewing the case look for other explanations, including infection, placental disease, fetal stroke, a congenital or metabolic condition, or an injury earlier in pregnancy. Their conclusions help the attorneys decide whether the evidence supports a claim and who may be responsible.

Medical Errors That May Contribute to HIE

Labor and newborn care can change quickly. Doctors and nurses must recognize a developing danger and respond in time to protect the baby. Their actions are judged against the information available at the time.

Errors During Prenatal Care

Prenatal visits and testing may reveal a threat to a baby’s oxygen supply or placental blood flow. The records show how providers followed a high-risk pregnancy, responded to reduced fetal movement or abnormal results, managed severe hypertension or preeclampsia, and chose the timing of delivery.

Errors During Labor and Delivery

Fetal heart rate monitoring shows how a baby is tolerating labor. Problems can arise when no one recognizes a concerning pattern, the care team fails to communicate, labor-inducing medication continues as the tracing worsens, or delivery comes too late. A placental abruption, uterine rupture, prolapsed cord, severe bleeding, or sustained loss of the fetal heart rate demands an urgent response.

Errors During Resuscitation and Newborn Care

A newborn who cannot breathe effectively may need ventilation within moments of birth. Chest compressions, medication, or an advanced airway may follow. Questions arise when resuscitation is delayed, seizures or organ problems go unrecognized, or the team misses the window to evaluate cooling. Medical specialists determine whether the delay caused additional injury.

How Does Therapeutic Hypothermia Treat HIE?

Therapeutic hypothermia, often referred to as “cooling treatment,” lowers an eligible newborn’s body temperature under carefully controlled conditions. Cooling can limit some of the secondary brain damage that develops after oxygen and blood flow return.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) reports that cooling begun within six hours of birth and continued for 72 hours reduces the risk of death or moderate-to-severe neurodevelopmental impairment in newborns at 36 weeks’ gestation or later with moderate-to-severe HIE.

Doctors have a short window to decide whether a baby is eligible for cooling. A hospital without the necessary neonatal resources may need to arrange a transfer. The chart should show when a team suspected HIE, assessed the baby, and began cooling. But timely therapeutic hypothermia only tells part of the medical story.

As the AAP notes, cooling does not by itself confirm hypoxia-ischemia as the cause of encephalopathy. A malpractice claim still requires evidence that negligent care caused or worsened the injury.

How HIE Lawyers Investigate Medical Negligence

Oftentimes, parents remember parts of the crisis: some triggering event, a sudden trip to the operating room, bright lights, masked figures in scrubs sounding as though they were speaking another language. It is not the parents’ responsibility to remember what doctors said or did. Recording events as they unfolded is the responsibility of the medical providers.

Those records supply the clinical details needed to determine whether negligence occurred and caused or worsened the injury. The Yost Legal Group listens to the family, obtains the evidence, and builds the case around the facts.

Medical Records and Evidence

Fetal monitor strips may reveal when the baby began to struggle. Medication records and notes from nurses, anesthesia providers, and the operating room show how the team responded. Cord blood gases, Apgar scores, resuscitation notes, and placental findings help explain the baby’s condition at birth.

The NICU chart follows the baby’s examinations, seizures, organ function, and cooling. EEG data record brain activity over time. MRI images may reveal a pattern of injury and help physicians reviewing the case estimate when it occurred. Specialists compare the sources because each answers a different question.

Medical Experts and Legal Causation

The medical issues determine which specialists are needed. An obstetrician may assess the fetal monitoring and delivery decision. A neonatologist may address resuscitation and cooling. A pediatric neurologist or neuroradiologist can interpret the EEG and MRI findings.

Independent physicians reviewing the case determine when the interruption began, how long it lasted, and whether an earlier response would have changed the outcome. They also consider evidence of an earlier injury or another cause. As with many things in life, timing is everything.

How Are HIE and Cerebral Palsy Related?

Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy identifies an injury process involving insufficient oxygen and blood flow to a newborn’s brain. Cerebral palsy (CP) describes a group of disorders that affect movement, balance, and posture after abnormal development or damage in the baby’s brain.

After moderate or severe HIE, a child may later be diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Epilepsy, developmental delays, cognitive impairments, and sensory concerns are also possible outcomes.

Doctors rely on examinations, imaging, and the child’s development to assess the relationship between HIE and cerebral palsy. If the medical evidence connects the conditions, a legal investigation must still determine whether negligent care caused or contributed to the original HIE injury.

How HIE May Affect a Child’s Future Needs

No two cases are alike because no two children are alike. In the event of HIE or other birth injury, a child’s doctors, therapists, and family must shape care around the child’s individual needs. Depending upon the injury, support may include therapy, medication, seizure management, assistive technology, specialized education, home modifications, or help with daily activities. Needs may change as the child grows.

The legal claim should reflect the child’s day-to-day life. We also consider what kind of support reviewing physicians and therapists expect the child to need down the line. Life-care planners and economists then translate those recommendations into a detailed projection of future services and costs.

Compensation in an HIE Birth Injury Claim

When medical negligence causes or worsens HIE, a legal recovery can help pay for care and provide financial security. Available damages depend upon the evidence and governing law.

An HIE lawsuit may seek compensation for:

• Past and future medical treatment
• Physical, occupational, feeding, and speech therapy
• Medication, seizure care, surgery, and rehabilitation
• Mobility devices, communication systems, and other assistive technology
• Home or vehicle modifications
• Specialized education and developmental services
• In-home assistance or long-term care
• Lost future earning capacity
• Pain, suffering, and other legally recoverable damages

A life-care plan for a child with HIE outlines three factors: the services the child is reasonably expected to need, when those needs may arise, and what the care is likely to cost.

HIE Settlements Obtained by The Yost Legal Group

Since 1988, The Yost Legal Group has been fighting for individuals and families who have been harmed due to the negligence of others. No amount of money can compensate for the emotional toll of a birth injury like HIE. There are unique hardships for families and for the children themselves.

Families who are raising a child with HIE need all the support they can get. The experienced HIE lawyers at The Yost Legal Group provide that support by navigating the legal landscape to get families the justice they deserve because the monetary toll is quantifiable. We help families seek the compensation they need to give their children the lives they deserve.

$5,000,000 Settlement in an HIE Birth Injury Case

In this $5,000,000 HIE settlement, a full-term pregnancy was complicated by low amniotic fluid and fetal distress. Decelerations continued, Pitocin was ordered, and the tracing worsened. Almost an hour passed before an emergency cesarean section. The child sustained a profound brain injury and required 24-hour care. The case settled before trial.

$4,000,000 Settlement in an HIE Birth Injury Case

In this $4,000,000 HIE settlement, the fetal heart rate disappeared from the monitor after an artificial rupture of membranes. Another monitor also detected no fetal heart rate before an emergency cesarean section. The child sustained permanent HIE and a seizure disorder. The case settled before trial.

$3,800,000 Settlement in an HIE Birth Injury Case

In this $3,800,000 HIE settlement, a full-term pregnancy was followed by prolonged fetal distress and an emergency cesarean section. The child sustained permanent brain damage. The case settled before trial.

These results reflect three families and three distinct medical histories. Every HIE claim depends upon its own evidence, and prior results do not guarantee a similar outcome.

The Yost Legal Group provides the same high level of care to all potential clients, and when we accept an HIE case, we work hard for, fight for, and support the family with the utmost care.

Why Choose The Yost Legal Group for Your HIE Case?

For nearly 40 years, The Yost Legal Group has represented injured children and families across many types of complex litigations. We understand how to develop cases that combine detailed medical evidence, expert testimony, and a careful assessment of a child’s future needs.

Families work with real people from the first call. Our in-house Intake Team listens and gathers the information needed for an initial review. When we accept a case, our Litigation Team obtains records, builds the medical timeline, consults qualified experts, and keeps the family informed as the case develops.

Our Baltimore-based handles HIE cases nationwide, including Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, Oklahoma, Oregon, Texas, and many other states. Whether we can accept a particular case depends upon its facts and the law that applies.

We pursue claims against hospitals, physicians, nurses, and other responsible parties. We also deal directly with insurers and defense teams.