Genetics and a HIE claim, or to ask the question is a different manner, what role can genetics play in a HIE claim in which it is your position that the doctors and nurses are the cause of your baby’s HIE diagnosis? When parents contact us regarding an investigation into what caused their baby’s HIE diagnosis, more and more parents are informing us of genetic and other types of testing that medical professionals are suggesting as the cause of the HIE diagnosis. The world of genetic testing can be confusion to many. Unless you are trained in this area, it can be hard to understand what all of this can mean.
The purpose of this HIE educational article is to help you understand from a medical legal standpoint why this may not be the last time you hear about genetics in an HIE claim on behalf of your baby. At the conclusion of this article and supporting video you will be able to see how genetics, and other conditions can be used as a defense to your claims.
CAUSATION AND A HIE CLAIM
With any medical malpractice claim there are certain things that you, as the person bringing the claim, must prove. One of those things is causation. What this means is that you must prove through your evidence that the cause of the injury (in this case your child’s brain injury and subsequent issues if any) is something that the doctors and nurses failed to do for your child. In the context of a birth trauma case, one example might be failing to properly diagnose fetal distress.
Fetal distress, in this context, is a baby failing to tolerate a vaginal delivery and as a result, needs to be delivered through emergency C-section. When doctors fail to diagnose fetal distress, there is a chance that the baby may suffer an injury to the brain because of reductions in blood and oxygen. Investigating and finding out this is the case makes a strong argument that the cause of the baby’s brain injury, or HIE diagnosis, was something that the doctors and nurses caused.
GENETICS AND A HIE CLAIM
When genetics as the cause of the a HIE diagnosis are claimed, and there is hardly any evidence in the record to support this finding, this is an attempt to move the cause of the injury into an area in which the doctors and nurses are not responsible. Remember, I said above that you as the person bringing the HIE claim must put forth your evidence connecting something that the doctors and nurses failed to do as the cause of the HIE injury.
For some families, genetics may be the initial alleged cause of a HIE diagnosis, but as time moves further into the future and other information is revealed, the cause of the HIE diagnosis has nothing to do with a genetic cause, rather something that was not done during labor and delivery. Therefore, for some families, having an investigation done into the matter can either confirm initial findings, or offer a better explanation as to things.
DOES YOUR BABY HAVE A HIE DIAGNOSIS?
If you would like to speak with me further regarding an investigation into the cause of your baby’s HIE diagnosis, this is what I invite you to do. Pick up the phone can call me.
I talk with families all the time about MAS, HIE, CP (cerebral palsy) and I would be happy to listen to your story. I can be reached at 301-850-4832.
Marcus B. Boston, Esq.
2 Wisconsin Circle, Suite 700
Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815
1-833-4 BABY HELP