Do you doubt that genetics is what caused your baby’s birth injury, and as a result, you are wondering what else can you do? To put the question another way, do you have any other options when doctors tell you that genetics is the cause of your baby’s brain injury (or other birth injury), but fail to really follow up with you regarding your questions? Or, does your baby not necessarily manifest some of the symptoms present in the genetic diagnosis?
One of the main points of this birth injury article is to help you understand what can be done when there is doubt genetics is what caused your baby’s birth injury. Before moving forward, it is important for you to understand that in some cases, the cause of a birth injury can be genetic. With that said, I will get more into detail about this below.
WHAT ROLE CAN GENETICS PLAY IN BIRTH INJURY CLAIMS?
To be successful in Maryland in a birth trauma case, there are certain elements that must be met to prove your case. These elements surround the following:
- DUTY
- BREACH OF DUTY
- CAUSATION
- DAMAGES
For the purpose of this article, I will focus on the third element, causation. What this means is that you, the plaintiff (the person bringing the case) must be able to prove that the injury was because of something the doctor/nurses/hospital (defendant) did or did not do. This is causation in its simplest forms.
If the defense can point to another cause of the injury, then they can prevent you from meeting the causation element in your claim. Failure to prove causation will sink your birth injury claim. This is where genetics can come into play.
When genetics is raised, what the defense is saying is that the cause of the baby’s injury had nothing to do with what the defendant may or may not have done. Genetics can be a defense that is raised as more facts are discovered in the process of moving through the lawsuit.
DOUBT GENETICS IS WHAT CAUSED YOUR BABY’S BIRTH INJURY?
So, the question is, what can you do as parents if you doubt that genetics is what caused your baby’s birth injury, or you feel that the doctors are not providing answers to your questions regarding your baby? The short answer is that you can move to get a second opinion as to the diagnosis and even possible treatment.
In some cases, a second opinion may shed light on other issues that may have been present during labor and delivery and those issues are what “caused” your baby’s birth injury. For example, the lack of oxygen during labor and delivery can create a condition called hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), which is essentially a reduced level of blood and oxygen, leading to a brain injury. HIE can be the foundation for a subsequent cerebral palsy diagnosis. A second opinion might conclude that something like what I just mentioned is the reason for the birth injury.
Before I leave this section, I want to remind you that the power of the second opinion when you doubt genetics is what caused your baby’s birth injury is that the second opinion can help confirm or rule out a current diagnosis. Remember, as a parent you must do what you feel is the best course of action for your baby.
DO YOU HAVE MORE QUESTIONS REGARDING YOUR BABY’S BIRTH INJURY?
If you have more questions about what has happened to your baby, you can call me, and we can chat about it. In some cases, genetics may be the cause of your baby’s injury, but in other cases it is not. The condition is used to try and absolve the defendants from being help responsible for causing your baby’s injury, and lifelong challenges.
I can be reached at 301-850-4832. I answer questions regarding labor and delivery, brain injuries, cerebral palsy diagnosis, and much more surrounding birth injuries all the time and I would be happy to listen to your story.
Marcus B. Boston, Esq.
2 Wisconsin Circle, Suite 700
Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815
1-833-4 BABY HELP
