Birth Injuries, Birth Defects, & Michigan Medical Malpractice Claims

Many types of injuries can occur during pregnancy, labor or after birth. Some of the most common types of birth injuries include cerebral palsy, erb's palsy, and brachial palsy. Birth trauma is an injury to the child during the delivery. Caring for a child with a birth injury, caused by the negligence, costs an unfathomable amount over the lifetime of the child. Filing a medical malpractice claim through can result in much needed financial assistant for medical expenses and other costs.

Medical error can cause birth injuries or can increase their severity or permanence. Medical errors include: failing to anticipate birth complications, such as your baby's twisted umbilical cord; failure to respond appropriately to bleeding; failure to respond to fetal distress; delay in ordering a cesarean section when medically necessary; misuse of forceps or a vacuum extractor during delivery; or poor after-care after.

Injuries can occur during the birth of a child. A child can suffer permanent brain injury, Cerebral Palsy, nerve injury or even death as well as other complications later in life like learning difficulties, emotional difficulties and mental retardation.

One of the common birth injuries is shoulder dystocia which can be caused during delivery by a physician's improper use of forceps. Besides pain, the injury results a limited ability to move a hand or arm. Often a baby suffering from shoulder dystocia cannot lift their arm above the shoulder level. Other common birth injuries are Erb's Palsy and Brachial Plexus injuries.

Lack of oxygen to the brain during delivery can cause an anoxic or mechanical injury. Anoxic injuries are those caused by a reduced oxygen supply during delivery. The same kind of brain damage can be produced by a physical trauma during birth. This type of physical trauma is known as a "mechanical injury," such as a fractured skull.

Indicators that a fetus has an higher risk of birth injury include a difficult, prolonged labor, improper use of medication by the pregnant mother, a large fetus or a breech birth. An unreasonable delay in performing an emergency cesarean section can increase the risk of injury.
A pregnant woman with gestational diabetes faces a greater risk of complications at birth. About two to seven babies out of a thousand births will suffer birth injuries. Every precaution to ensure a healthy delivery should be pursued by seeing a competent pre-natal physician.

The statute of limitations for birth injury cases varies from state to state. In Michigan, you must file a lawsuit within two years after the minors 10th birthday. If you miss a deadline, your claim will be lost forever. To avoid these severe consequences it is important that you contact a Michigan birth injury lawyer so that you may make a medical malpractice claim.

How to Find a Birth Injury Attorney?

Finding a birth injury attorney is not something that anyone expects to do when they are planning for their new baby. When the unthinkable happens, however, it is critical to understand the ins and outs of finding a birth injury attorney that is right for you and your emotional and financial situation.
Decide to consult with a birth injury attorney. Many families are faced with the choice of seeking out an attorney or simply letting the injury fade as a painful memory. Unfortunately, many states have a statute of limitations on birth injury claims. This means that if too much time has passed since the birth injury, you may not be able to raise the claim, ever. If you are unsure if you have a claim, or are reluctant to bring one while you are in such emotional turmoil, seek out a birth injury attorney for a consultation if for nothing else.

Look for a birth injury attorney that offers free consultations. A reputable birth injury attorney will meet with you to discuss your options and tell you honestly if you have a claim for free. This one consultation can save you years of wondering whether you did the right thing by not pursuing a birth injury claim. Further, nearly all birth injury attorneys only get paid when and if you have your claim settled or won, so you won't have to worry about paying out of pocket attorney's fees.

Ask the birth injury attorney if they have ever handled cases like yours. Despite the jokes made at their expense, attorney's are bound by a code of ethics, and most attorneys will let you know up front if they are qualified to handle your case or they will refer you to someone who is.

Present all the facts, no matter how trivial they may seem, to your birth injury attorney. Write down any thoughts or memories you have that may help the attorney do their job. Remember, when in doubt, write it out.