When medical professionals fail to follow expected standards of care and their negligence results in birth injuries, it is known as medical malpractice. Parents can file a lawsuit against these healthcare providers for financial compensation after their child suffers an injury that could have been prevented.
A settlement can help cover the lifelong costs of medical treatment and rehabilitation, including specialized equipment. It can also provide peace of mind for the injured family. Talk to Alabama Birth Injury Lawyer expert today.
The Power Of Advocacy
A powerful tool in the fight for justice, advocacy is a method of empowering individuals and communities to address issues of inequality. It can take many forms, from raising awareness to influencing policy and decision-making. When used effectively, it can shift the ways in which we think about problems and work to create a more equitable society.
Advocacy can be seen from a variety of perspectives, each offering unique insights into its power and effectiveness. From a legal standpoint, advocacy involves using laws and regulations to promote change; from a social justice perspective, it seeks to challenge and dismantle oppressive systems that perpetuate inequality; while from a grassroots perspective, it empowers people to take action and make their voices heard.
Regardless of the particular angle through which we view it, advocacy is one of the most effective ways to create meaningful change. Taking part in advocacy efforts can help us to tackle complex challenges, including those that impact the health and well-being of families. This is especially true when working in collaboration with other like-minded individuals and organizations. This can increase the likelihood that our voices will be heard, and also ensure that we are able to build a strong, unified front to tackle issues of inequality.
As the recent #MeToo movement and other social movements across the globe demonstrate, a unified community can have significant impact in changing cultural norms and driving real change. For example, the #MeToo movement led to significant reforms in sexual harassment policies, while the civil rights movement helped bring about historic changes in racial equality laws and public opinion.
For non-profits and mission-driven entities, leveraging the power of advocacy is critical to achieving their goals. This can be done in a variety of ways, from creating public events to sending emails to legislators. Throughout the years, many has invested in advocacy to advance opportunity and improve lives around the world. These efforts have included promoting the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, influencing governments to abolish the death penalty and pass helmet laws in some countries, and laying the groundwork for a country’s successful vote on same-sex marriage.
Blood Tests
A child’s birth is usually a joyful event, but not all births go according to plan. Sometimes, the medical staff’s actions (or inactions) during labor and delivery result in a birth injury that leads to long-term, lifelong health problems for both mother and child. When that happens, a birth injury lawyer can help the family recover compensation from the responsible medical providers.
The first step in any birth injury lawsuit is to establish medical negligence. Working with medical experts, a birth injury attorney will analyze the actions (or lack thereof) of the attending medical team and show how they deviated from professional standards that could have prevented the injury.
For example, many birth injuries such as cerebral palsy are caused by a lack of oxygen to the brain during the birthing process. A birth injury attorney will show how the medical team failed to recognize fetal distress signals or failed to deliver the baby via cesarean section in time to prevent hypoxia, which can cause permanent brain damage.
The next step is to establish damages for the family. A successful birth injury case can recover past, present, and future medical expenses as well as non-economic damages like pain and suffering. Depending on the extent of your child’s injuries, your attorney may also work with a specialist to estimate your family’s projected future care costs in what is called a life-care plan.
Obtaining financial compensation is important for families of children who suffer from permanent birth injuries that would have been avoided with proper medical care. Choosing an experienced birth injury attorney early in the legal process can ensure that your family’s claim is filed within the appropriate legal deadlines. Top lawyers offer free case evaluations and work on a contingency basis, which means that you don’t pay any fees unless your lawsuit is successful. They will also have access to valuable medical databases that can strengthen your claims and increase the potential payout of your case.
Early Diagnosis
Birth injuries can have a major impact on children and their families. While many of these injuries cannot be prevented, a large number of them are avoidable if medical professionals properly monitor and intervene during labor and delivery.
Some of the most common types of birth injuries involve physical problems, such as a broken collarbone, as well as neurological issues like cerebral palsy and Erb’s palsy (a type of brachial plexus injury). These conditions often occur due to shoulder dystocia, a condition that occurs when an infant’s shoulders get stuck during childbirth. This prevents the infant from getting adequate oxygen and can lead to serious and permanent injuries, such as a broken clavicle, brain damage, or even paralysis.
Other causes of birth injuries include medical errors, such as a mix-up with medication or an error when using certain tools or instruments. These problems can lead to complications that range from blood clots to oxygen deprivation or even severe brain trauma.
While some of these mistakes can be caused by a medical professional’s lack of training or inexperience, some cases are the result of medical malpractice. If a doctor fails to uphold standards of care and these actions cause harm to the mother or baby, they may be liable for a wrongful birth claim.
There are ways to help prevent these types of birth injuries by ensuring that mothers have access to accurate information about the risks of labor and childbirth. This includes counseling women on their risk factors and birth philosophy and helping them find OB-GYNs who share these values.
Ideally, this approach would also allow doctors to identify women who are almost certain to experience an injury during vaginal delivery and offer them cesarean delivery. This would help reduce the risk of injuries and improve outcomes for both mother and infant.
If you have questions about whether a birth injury was avoidable, you can talk directly to a labor and delivery nurse for support. Cerebral Palsy Guide has a team of nurses on-call to answer your questions, and they can connect you with an experienced birth injury attorney who can assess the case.
Newborn Fractures
Newborns are fragile and prone to injuries, especially fractures. While many birth injuries are unavoidable, the risks can be reduced with proper monitoring during pregnancy and labor and delivery. Having regular ultrasounds and blood tests can help detect complications such as high blood pressure or preeclampsia that could cause problems during childbirth.
Other preventative measures include choosing a health clinic or obstetrician that is familiar with your particular pregnancy and birthing plans, such as a high-risk OB-GYN who is familiar with the type of birth you want to have. It is also important to find a medical professional that shares your philosophy on childbirth and has a good track record of successful deliveries.
When an injury occurs, it is critical to act fast. A delay can significantly increase the impact of the injury on your baby. If your baby has a skull injury, such as a depressed fracture or a ping-pong-like indention called a cephalohematoma, these can put pressure on the brain and are dangerous.
Another type of newborn injury is damage to the brachial plexus, which is a network of nerves that runs from the neck down the arm. This can cause weakness or paralysis in the arm, usually noticed during routine checks in the hospital after birth. This type of injury is often temporary.
Growth plate fractures can occur in the legs and arms, particularly when the bone is first forming, so it is more prone to injury. These are often due to a force applied during the vaginal delivery that bends or twists the bone. X-rays are often used to diagnose these injuries, but you can make a simple splint at home with a rolled up paper towel or blanket, a small firm pillow, a piece of wood, a rolled-up coloring book, or any other straight, sturdy object slightly longer than the bone and joint.
Despite our best efforts, some birth injuries are still unavoidable. If your baby has a birth injury that you believe was caused by medical negligence, contact a lawyer as soon as possible to discuss your options.