What is HIE, or hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy? The context of this HIE posting stems from the position of when parents may want to hold the hospital, doctors, and nurses responsible for their baby’s traumatic brain injury at birth. Understanding HIE from a medical legal standpoint is paramount for parents who think that a birth trauma/injury lawsuit is the way to go.
As I have stated in the past, just having a result that was not expected is enough to conclude that medical malpractice is the cause of your baby’s injury. The law requires certain elements to be met for a family, or plaintiff in this case, to be successful.
What Is HIE (When Parents Might Want To Sue)?
When asking the question what is HIE, and looking at it from a medical legal perspective, what we are essentially asking is whether there was a departure from the standard of care, which is what caused the injury or the harm. To find this answer, we use medical experts who will review the medical records associated with the case, and give opinions as to not only the standard of care, but whether the departure from the standard of care is what caused the injury or the harm.
As to the question of what is HIE, it is a reduction in blood and oxygen, which leads to a brain injury. Birth injury attorneys like myself use things like the readings from the electronic fetal heart monitor to help us understand whether there was evidence of your baby not tolerating a vaginal delivery. Certain types of evidence is enough to place doctors and nurses on notice that interventions must take place to help the baby. If these interventions are not acted upon, or acted upon in an untimely manner, serious injury to the baby can occur.
If you have more questions about your baby’s HIE diagnosis from a medical legal perspective, I invite you to reach out to me at my contact information below. It costs nothing to have an information session with us to understand your baby’s story.
Marcus B. Boston, Esq.
2 Wisconsin Circle, Suite 700
Chevy Chase, Maryland 20815
1-833-4 BABY HELP
