Child Birth Injury in Massachusetts

There are few moments of joy in life to be compared to holding your newborn child for the first time. They come into the world, and suddenly everything becomes more real. They look at you with tiny hopeful eyes and grip your finger with tiny hands, and the rest of the world fades away.

Nothing can bring this moment crashing down like discovering that your newborn has sustained an injury due to the negligence or medical malpractice of the physicians in the room.  If your child has sustained injuries, you may want to contact and engage the services of an experienced Massachusetts attorney.

What Causes a Childbirth Injury?

While enduring delivery, was a medical professional negligent towards you, and did damage occur as a result? If so, affected parents have a chance of bringing a medical malpractice lawsuit for compensation in Massachusetts.

During the labor and delivery process, timing and action are two crucial elements. Sometimes an infant suffers a birth injury. This can mean that a medical practitioner either made a poor judgment call or failed to act appropriately. However, if the Massachusetts medical provider’s actions go against the standard of care, then it may fit the legal definition of negligence.

To prove birth injury, negligence must have a direct connection to the damage. One of the most unfortunate elements of childbirth injury is not discovering the effects right away. Some injuries are discernible immediately after they happen. However, things that affect the brain may not be evident until developmental milestones come, and are not reached.

The Boston Globe reports that a family received a $30 million settlement due to negligence that led to an injury during the delivery process that caused permanent brain damage to their child. In January 2013, Massachusetts General Hospital failed to apply a fetal heart rate monitor, which led to the failure to detect that the infant’s heart rate had severely dropped. After the 5-hour vaginal birth, the child was found to be unresponsive. While he survived, he had permanent brain damage. The use of a heart rate monitor would have detected the drop and allowed for the team to carry out a cesarean section.

Even further, there are quite a few scenarios that may cause a child to sustain an injury while being born in Massachusetts. One of the following examples may apply to your circumstances.

Improper Vacuum Usage

Sometimes a mother has difficulties delivering a baby through the birth canal. Massachusetts medical professionals may intervene and use a vacuum to assist. The machine is a standard instrument that can help suction the baby down and out of the birth canal. The vacuum attaches to the baby’s head or shoulders. Nurses and doctors are responsible for placing it appropriately. However, sometimes the vacuum is not attached where it should be. This error can cause severe injury to the mother and the infant during childbirth.

Improper Use of Forceps

There are other options when a mother is having difficulty delivering her child. For example, the baby can be improperly positioned in the womb. Attending medical professionals may use forceps to help move it through the birthing canal. Appropriate use of forceps reduces oxygen deprivation. This tool also reduces the chances of fetal distress that can result in birth injuries.

Still, the medical professionals that are birthing a child must use extreme care. The improper use of forceps can cause severe injuries to the head. Additionally, this device can also cause nerve damage in the neck or the chest.

Hypoxia

Hypoxia is a medical condition that occurs when the brain of a baby is not receiving enough oxygen. The most common cause before and during delivery is the umbilical cord becoming tangled around the baby’s neck.

This condition often occurs due to a damaged or infected placenta. Thankfully, most Massachusetts medical professionals can identify hypoxia well in advance. As a result, they can intercede to eliminate the chances of the infant or the mother facing harm.

However, if the professional medical staff does not take action quickly enough, asphyxiation may occur. This can result in causing a child to develop severe physical or mental disabilities. Accordingly, medical staff may be liable for any damages that happened.

Cesarean Section Delay

An emergency C-section may become necessary when an infant experiences fetal distress. This can occur if the baby’s heartbeat drops due to issues like the mother’s blood pressure, placental abruption, or other breathing complications. These situations demand immediate medical attention to prevent harm to both mother and child.

Doctors may also perform a C-section for other reasons, such as improper positioning of the baby, failure to descend into the birth canal, or prolonged labor without sufficient dilation. Each case is unique, but these circumstances often require swift action to ensure a safe delivery.

However, delays in performing a cesarean can have serious consequences. If medical staff fail to act in time, both the mother and baby may face severe and lasting injuries. Proper judgment and timely intervention are critical in these high-stakes situations.

What Are Some Other Possible Causes of Childbirth Injury in Massachusetts?

Other types of medical neglect that could result in injuries to the child or the birth mother include:

  • Failing to perform sufficient prenatal testing
  • Not using labor-inducing drugs timely
  • Failing to diagnose or treat infections, umbilical cord entrapment, placental abruption, premature rupture of the membranes or placenta previa
  • Not addressing changes in the baby’s condition

Subconjunctival Hemorrhage

A sub-conjunctival hemorrhage is more commonly referred to as bleeding in the eye. This is characterized by red patches in the whites of a child’s eyes. Childbirth Injuries states that, while this injury can be more common than others and does not always require medical intervention, there are serious cases that need to be attended to. If left unchecked it can lead to permanent damage. This may also be an underlying symptom of a worse injury.

Lack of Prenatal Care

The National Library of Medicine states that the lack of proper prenatal care, and the lack of exposure to this care from medical providers, can be devastating to a child. If proper prenatal care is not taught, offered, and observed, it can lead to a variety of problems. Premature births, low birth weight, infections for both mother and child and even death for the mother and child. These deaths can generally be attributed to preventable infections during the perinatal and postnatal periods.

Why Should You Take Action for Your Child Birth Injury?

It is essential that any parent whose child has been diagnosed with a birth injury in Massachusetts, take action to seek financial compensation. The most practical reason to pursue a childbirth injury lawsuit is to protect your financial future. A child and their mother may have to deal with a lifetime of setbacks and disabilities. The costs for treatment, medical equipment, and medications can overwhelm your budget quickly. As well, the trajectory of your life or your child’s can depend on pursuing civil action.

The Center for Disease Control reports that Massachusetts has one of the lowest infant mortality rates in the U.S. Along with New Hampshire and Vermont, Massachusetts has a 3.8 infant mortality rate for every 1,000 live births. Still, if you have experienced injury to yourself or your child during the delivery process, you may want to contact an experienced attorney in Massachusetts.

Work With an Experienced Local Child Birth Injury Lawyer in Massachusetts

If you expect birth injury medical malpractice in Massachusetts, you should take action. Cases can vary sharply depending on the state in which the injury occurs. Find a local child birth injury lawyer to navigate the often difficult waters of birth injury lawsuits. We can even help you connect with an attorney across Massachusetts state lines.

Submit a request online or call us today at (866) 345-6784 to get in touch with an experienced lawyer in your area!

About the Author

Aaron is a professional legal writer with a B.S. in English Education from Southern Illinois University – Carbondale. He has written, published, and edited thousands of legal articles for RequestLegalHelp, which has connected over 5 million people to legal help in the United States.

With over five years of experience writing thousands of legal articles for law firms across the U.S. and Canada, Aaron specializes in covering federal, state, and city-level legal issues ranging from auto accidents to wrongful terminations.

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