Today we will explore HIE issues in the context of a birth injury investigation. The issues covered in this article, and supporting video, will give readers and viewers a snapshot of some of the areas of concern when looking to understand the cause of a baby’s HIE brain injury.
This post is a continuation of a discussion that I had with a mother in Prince Georges County Maryland looking to understand the birth injury process. Please remember that the information that I am providing today is general in nature and that if you have specific questions they could speak with your attorney about these issues.
What Is HIE?
So, the first thing we need to do is define and give a context for HIE. HIE is short for hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy. This is a medical condition that can occur when there is a reduction in blood and oxygen and that reduction in blood and oxygen can lead to a brain injury. One question that many families have when they reach out to us is what caused the injury?
For some babies, the cause of an HIE diagnosis can be genetic or developmental in nature. What this can mean is that during the baby’s development something happens which leads the baby to suffer an injury. There are certain genetic conditions that can occur during development which can lead to a baby having a traumatic brain injury. Genetic and developmental issues can occur through no fault of anyone.
With the above stated, there are some instances in which in HIE traumatic brain injury is caused because of the negligence of either a doctor, or a nurse, or a hospital. We will discuss these issues below.
HIE Issues Explained By PG County Baby Brain Injury Attorney
To be blunt, some HIE issues are caused because of the negligence of medical professionals. What I mean is that in some cases failure to diagnose and treat a condition like fetal distress can lead to a baby suffering a brain injury.
During labor and delivery, doctors and nurses use a device called the electronic fetal heart monitor to learn in real time how well a baby is tolerating a vaginal delivery. This device is reading not only the baby’s heart rate, but also mom’s contraction patterns and things like acceleration and deceleration patterns, among other things.
When fetal distress goes undiagnosed or untreated and a baby’s fetal reserves are depleted, then the baby can suffer an HIE injury. This is because the fetal heart monitor may be showing that the baby is having blood and oxygen, or profusion problems. When this happens, these issues need to be addressed. Failure to do so can lead to the traumatic brain injury HIE in some instances.
If your baby has suffered an HIE brain injury at birth and you are in Prince George’s County Maryland or any Maryland County for that matter, including Baltimore City, what I invite you to do is to pick up the phone and call me. I speak with families like yours all the time about HIE issues and I will be happy to listen to your baby’s story. My contact information is below.
Marcus B. Boston, Esq.
2 Wisconsin Circle, Suite 700
Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815
1-833-4 BABY HELP
