Albuquerque Birth Injury Attorney
Was your baby injured in a hospital? Call an Albuquerque personal injury lawyer today!
Did something gone terribly wrong during your labor and delivery? If you or your child suffered harm or injury during labor and/or delivery, then you may have been the victim of medical negligence. All hospitals, nurses, and obstetricians have a standard of care that they must follow. When a physician or other member of his or her medical team fails to uphold that standard of care, innocent mothers and infants can be seriously injured if not killed as a result.
Searching for a medical malpractice attorney in Albuquerque to fight for you? The Law Office of James H. Wood PC can guide you.
A birth injury refers to damage that is caused either before, during, or after delivery of an infant. When the infant sustains a birth injury, their injuries can range from minor and temporary to permanent, lifelong disability or death. While some birth injuries are common such as slight bruising or swelling of the soft tissue of the baby's eyes, face and scalp, or minor bone fractures from traveling down the birth canal, other birth injuries can be far more severe resulting in brachial plexus injury, brain damage or cerebral palsy.
Types of Birth Injuries
With modern medical technology, most birth injuries are entirely preventable. Unfortunately improper medical care or medical negligence during labor and delivery can cause physical harm to the mother and child or both. A birth injury can cause minor fractures, broken bones, nerve damage and permanent brain damage.
Some of the most common birth injuries include:
- Brachial plexus injuries (Erb's Palsy and Klumpke's Palsy)
- Horner Syndrome (drooping eyelid on side effected with brachial plexus injury)
- Broken bones
- Spinal injuries
- Brain injuries
- Cerebral palsy (CP)
- Facial paralysis
Perhaps the most serious causes of birth injuries are lack of oxygen to the brain. There are three main causes of brain injury during or immediately following delivery: reduced oxygen, trauma and reduced glucose. During a problematic delivery, two or more of these causes can occur and often times if one of these occur, they will trigger a secondary event that will contribute to the brain injury. During labor and delivery, anything that impedes the delivery of oxygen can begin the cycle of brain injury. This can include problems with the mother's ability to supply oxygen to the placenta, or it can include any problem with the proper functioning of the placenta or even damage or compression to the umbilical cord during labor and delivery.
Another concern that many mothers may not be aware of is the fact that excessive Pitocin can cause contractions to come less than two minutes apart, making it impossible for her body to replenish the oxygen supply. If Pitocin is causing the contractions to come on too strong and too frequently, then someone on the healthcare team should shut off the Pitocin because failure to do so can result in the brain damage or death.
What can go wrong during labor and delivery?
There are a number of things that can go wrong during labor and delivery; however, some of the common mistakes made by obstetricians and their medical team include:
- Miscalculating the size of the baby (large infants)
- Unnecessary delays in a C-Section delivery
- Use of excessive force during delivery
- Choosing the inappropriate delivery method
- Failure to promptly treat lack of oxygen, infection or bleeding
- Giving the wrong dose or type of oxytocin or misoprostol
- Using a vacuum extraction when a C-Section or forceps is necessary
Protecting the Rights of You & Your Family
If you believe that your infant has sustained a preventable birth injury due to medical negligence, then we urge you to contact us at the Law Office of James H. Wood PC. Our founding attorney James H. Wood is a Board Certified Trial Lawyer with over 20 years' experience in the field of personal injury law. There is nothing more sacred in this world than the health and safety of you and your children.
Since most medical malpractice lawsuits have a statute of limitations, we urge you to contact our office as soon as possible to discuss the details of your injury claim.
