Understanding head size immediately after delivery in a brain injury case can go a long way in helping a family understand some of the crucial issues present if they are contemplating bringing a medical malpractice case. For many families who have experienced a brain injury at birth (i.e. an HIE brain injury) with their baby there can be many questions.
The purpose of this educational article is to help a family that is in this situation understand some of the crucial issues in which these cases present. Understanding head size and anticipating possible defenses for this issue can be critical in helping a family assess the situation and make the best decision possible.
Why Should Defenses Matter?
When performing a birth injury investigation for a family it is important for the attorney or law firm to have a firm grasp as to not only the medical issues present, but also the facts of the case. In these cases, when they are filed, the defendants will have their own attorneys representing them. These attorneys will put forth certain defenses for their client.
One method that is used when defending a birth injury, or medical malpractice case is to show that the plaintiff, the person bringing the lawsuit, has not met all of the elements needed to be successful in their case. In this process, one of the elements of proof is causation. To put causation another way what this means is that the doctor, or the nurse, or the hospital must be the cause of your baby’s brain injury. If the defense can show that something else caused the injury, then the plaintiff might lose on the issue of causation.
Understanding Head-size Immediately After Birth…
When a baby’s head size immediately following birth is below the average range the defense may get to work in saying that the cause of your baby‘s brain injury was not something that the doctors or the nurses or the hospital did, but that the cause was something that happened earlier in pregnancy. One of the reasons that they may put forth this argument is because when a baby grows and develops the brain also grows. As the brain grows the head must grow to accommodate the brain. If the baby’s head size is outside the normal range immediately after birth the argument is going to be that the brain was injured earlier in pregnancy and that is why the head size is outside of the normal range.
However, this argument falls apart when a baby’s head size is in the normal range immediately after delivery. The reason being is because if the baby’s head size is normal immediately after delivery, an argument can be made that the brain developed without injury throughout the pregnancy and that if the baby has a brain injury at birth, the injury more than likely occurred closer to labor and delivery.
These are just some of the issues that may come up when a baby has suffered a brain injury at birth. Understanding head size immediately after delivery in a brain injury case can be an important issue in these types of situations. If you have more questions about this issue because your baby has suffered a brain injury at birth, my information is below. I invite you to pick up the phone and call me. I speak with families like yours all the time about these issues and I will be happy to listen to your baby’s story.
Marcus B. Boston, Esq.
2 Wisconsin Circle, Suite 700
Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815
1-833-4 BABY HELP
