A Baltimore City Maryland birth injury lawyer can help parents try to understand the complex issues surrounding their child’s injury during birth. Birth injuries can lead to the parents searching for answers to the many questions that follow the birth injury. Questions such as what may have caused the injury, to where to go from here, are the types that parents are seeking answers for. Another list of questions drawn from the parents are as follows:
The ultrasound of a baby.
- Why are the doctors blaming me for the injury?
- If my baby has cerebral palsy, can I sue the doctors/hospital?
- How do I even know if is it worth it to file a Maryland birth injury case?
If you are reading this Maryland birth injury educational article and have the same questions, please understand that you are not alone. One of main reasons parents contact a Baltimore City Maryland birth injury lawyer is because of the many unanswered questions racing in their minds surrounding birth injury with their child.
A BALTIMORE CITY BIRTH INJURY LAWYER CAN HELP
If a child is not meeting certain neonatal milestones, this is due to complications experienced during birth, which leads to parents beginning to worry. In these situations, doctors and other medical professionals may suggest that the child may be looking at long term challenges in the future, such as developmental delays due to a brain trauma injury.
A Baltimore City Maryland birth injury lawyer can assist parents and their families to find answers because under Maryland law, medical experts are required in birth injury cases. For birth injury cases in Maryland, the following elements are required:
A young boy with a cerebral palsy diagnosis
- Duty
- Breach of Said Duty
- Causation
- Damages or an injury
If any of the elements above are missing, your birth injury case will be unsuccessful. The role of the medical experts is to give an opinion(s) on the elements previously mentioned and to testify as to whether the attending doctor performed below the standard of care owed to you as a patient, which led to your baby’s injury. A simple way to understand the term standard of care is to think what a reasonable and careful doctor or nurse would do in the same situation as the doctor or nurse that is treating you.
CEREBRAL PALSY IS THE MOST COMMON MOVEMENT DISABILITY IN CHILDREN
According to facts provided from the March of Dimes, cerebral palsy is the most common disability in children. This information is also supported by the Centers for Disease Control (CDC).
To simplify, cerebral palsy is a collection of medical conditions which targets areas of the brain that are associated with movement. When this condition is present, it makes it difficult for the child to perform basic functions such as standing, sitting up, and balancing themselves.
A child could develop cerebral palsy due to a lack of oxygen experienced at birth. An injury to the brain can occur if the baby is suffering from a lack or decreased level of oxygen, which could also lead to fetal distress.
HYPOXIC ISCHEMIC ENCEPHALOPATHY OR “HIE”
Doctors and nurses utilize a device called a fetal heart monitor to aid in detecting fetal distress, in which HIE can be the outcome if left untreated in a reasonable amount of time. Your Baltimore City birth injury lawyer will ensure that the strips produced from the fetal heart monitor are reviewed when investigating a Maryland birth injury case.
MRI of the brain.
The purpose of the fetal heart rate monitor is to assist in monitoring your baby’s heart rate. This is a good way for medical professionals to measure whether a baby is handling a vaginal delivery well. The monitor also suggests if your baby is in need, which in turn doctors must seek other options.
WHAT CAN BE DONE IF BABY NEEDS HELP DURING DELIVERY?
A Baltimore City birth injury lawyer will thoroughly review both the mother and child’s medical records during the delivery process. Doctors can use various measures to assist the baby if evidence shows that the baby needs help during the delivery process. A concept called intrauterine resuscitation is associated with those measures. Ways to provide aid are as follows:
- Changing Mom’s position during delivery
- Providing oxygen for the mother to assist in delivery
- Terminating the usage of oxytocin/pitocin
- Preparing the surgical team for an emergency C-section.
By following the top three intrauterine resuscitation measures, this will provide ease for the baby during the vaginal delivery. If the baby, or mother is not showing any signs of improvement, doctors must be ready to perform an emergency C-section when warranted. The reason to follow this is because the chances of a baby suffering a serious injury (typically a brain injury) increases when fetal distress is prolonged.
WAS YOUR BABY’S ARM OR HAND INJURED DURING BIRTH?
A nurse monitoring a newborn baby.
Additionally, a Baltimore City Maryland birth injury lawyer can be of help with an investigation when a child’s arm or hand has experienced an injury during birth. One medical condition called shoulder dystocia is a common reason why these injuries are prevalent. Essentially shoulder dystocia occurs when the baby is trapped behind the mother’s pelvis during a vaginal delivery.
In the delivery room, shoulder dystocia creates an emergency because if the baby is not freed in time he or she can suffer a serious injury, or even death. Consequently, doctors must not panic when this situation occurs because faulty use of the training taught for a shoulder dystocia condition can lead to injury or death of the baby. Below you find a few maneuvers taught to doctors if a shoulder dystocia emergency presents itself:
- The McRobert’s maneuver
- Rubin I
- Rubin II
- Wood’s screw maneuver
A shoulder dystocia injury creates various types of injuries to a baby’s arm and/or hand. Damage to the brachial plexus nerves can give rise to the following types of injuries:
- Brachial plexus palsy
- Erb’s palsy or Erb–Duchenne palsy
- Klumpke’s palsy or Dejerine-Klumpke palsy
Although parents may not know the severity of the baby’s injury immediately, the baby can still be evaluated to determine if the injury is temporary or permanent. A Baltimore City Maryland birth injury lawyer can aid by investigating the injury and presenting explanations to options for the parents.
BOSTON LAW GROUP LLC YOUR BALTIMORE CITY MARYLAND BIRTH INJURY LAWYERS
Parents, if your child has suffered a birth injury such as an injury to the brain, hand/arm, or some other type of injury, do understand that there are people who you can talk with about your options going forward. We hear from people like you all the time and we would be happy to take some time and listen to your story. We can be reached at 301-850-4832.