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Five most common Philadelphia Birth Injuries

 

What is the birth injury?

 

Birth injury is defined as an impairment of the neonate’s body function or structure due to an adverse event that occurred at birth. Injury may occur during labor, delivery, or after delivery, especially in neonates who require resuscitation in the delivery room.

 

Who are the birth injury attorneys?

 

Birth injury lawyers are a subset of personal injury attorneys who help pursue legal justice for newborns affected by preventable injuries. Many Philadelphia birth injuries can be severe and leave children physically and/or mentally disabled for their entire lives. Lifelong treatment may be needed to manage symptoms in these cases. Parents may be unable to keep employment because of nursing the child. Sadly, a birth injury can even lead to a Philadelphia wrongful death.

 

The birth injury settlement could help the parents or legal guardian get the compensation for:

 

Surgeries and treatment

Nursing the child at home

Medical equipment

Medicines and other medical expenses

Lost of incomes if one of parents or both of them have to quit the jobs to take full time care of the child, lost wages

Special treatments, physical therapies, tutors for independent learning program

Hiring nurses or qualified babysitters

Treating psychical pain and suffer, postpartum depression, trauma

 

Five most common and most dangerous birth injuries

 

Cerebral palsy, which refers to trauma to the baby’s brain that causes impaired brain and nervous system function. Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of disorders that affect a person’s ability to move and maintain balance and posture. Philadelphia Cerebral Palsy is the most common motor disability in childhood. Cerebral means having to do with the brain. Palsy means weakness or problems with using one’s muscles. CP is caused by a specific type of damage to the brain that is usually suffered during a traumatic or difficult childbirth. When the flow of blood and oxygen to the baby’s brain is interrupted during the birth giving, cells in the brain quickly begin to die. This is what eventually leads to cerebral palsy.

 

Some of the first signs of Philadelphia cerebral palsy in infants include:

 

stiffened muscles and/or joints

excessive drooling

high-pitched crying

feeding and swallowing issues

overextended neck and/or back

delay of developmental milestones such like first word, first steps, crawling, sitting still, holding the head in proper position

 

Hypoxia, which refers to the reduction of oxygen in a fetus’ brain, thereby causing physical and developmental disorders. Hypoxia, birth asphyxia, and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) are all terms for a lack of oxygen to a baby before, during, or following birth. Lack of oxygen can cause serious birth injuries. Fortunately, Philadelphia birth injuries can often be prevented if medical professionals follow the standard of care by watching for the first signs of hypoxia. Because hypoxia can lead to serious and permanent birth injuries, medical professionals should always be watchful for the signs of lack of adequate oxygen to the baby. This includes watching for the signs before, during, and after the child is born.

 

What is the first sign of hypoxia in newborns?

 

One of the earliest indications that a baby is having difficulty breathing is an erratic or irregular heart rate. Doctors should be closely monitoring the fetal heart rate both during and after labor to ensure that the newborn is getting ample oxygen.

 

Other common signs of hypoxia (or lack of oxygen) in the baby include:

 

A lack of fetal movement (infant lethargy or fatigue)

Bluish or pale skin tone

Poor / weak muscle tone

Poor reflexes

Weak / no cry

Difficulty breathing

Neonatal seizures

Acidosis (too much acid in the blood)

Meconium (stool) in the amniotic fluid

 

Medical professionals can observe the baby’s heart rate in the womb using a fetal heart monitor.

 

Brachial plexus injury, which refers to damage occurring in the baby’s neck or chest area, sometimes caused by a doctor’s scalpel during labor. It is an injury to the brachial plexus nerves that occurs in about one to three out of every 1,000 births. The nerves of the brachial plexus may be stretched, compressed, or torn in a difficult delivery. It could have been prevented for example by performing the c-section instead of continuing the vaginal labor. Injury may be caused by:

 

The infant’s head and neck gets pulled toward the side as the shoulders pass through the birth canal.

The infant’s shoulders stretch during a head-first delivery.

 

Which newborns are most at risk for brachial plexus injury?

 

Breech births

Born larger-than-average size babies

Born during the long and difficult labors

Born in woman’s first vaginal delivery especially when she is very slim and has very thin hips

 

Hematoma – bleeding inside and around the brain. Hematoma means blood that pools outside blood vessels. Cephalo refers to the head. This type of birth injury occurs when pressure on a baby’s head ruptures blood vessels in the scalp. The blood pools beneath the scalp, forming a soft bulge that eventually hardens.

What causes a hematoma during birth?

Most puerperal hematomas arise from bleeding lacerations related to operative deliveries or episiotomy. However, a hematoma may also result from injury to a blood vessel in the absence of laceration/incision of the surrounding tissue (for example: pseudoaneurysm, traumatic arteriovenous fistula).

How long does a hematoma last after birth?

You can expect the bump to go away in several weeks to a few months. Some of those injuries may take up to three months to heal completely. In rare cases, your doctor may have to decide to drain the pooled blood. This is not always or even often necessary, and it increases the infant’s risk of infection and an abscess.

 

The cephalohematoma is the other name for this condition. The pooled blood in the newborn’s skull can put pressure on the brain’s tissue, which can cause significant disabilities or even death if it is not treated in a timely manner or if it is not better by itself. The brain hematoma can be caused by forceps and vacuum deliveries increasing the newborn’s blood pressure and putting significant pressure on the baby’s brain and fragile skull.

 

Bone injuries and fractures. Bones may be broken (fractured) before or during the delivery even when the delivery is normal. The risk of bone and spine fractures increases during the:

 

Assistive delivery: Forceps and vacuum delivery are often used to speed up difficult births. They can also cause significant pressure on the baby’s bones and spine which are very wispy.

Infant size: Large babies (8 pounds, 13 ounces or more) can have difficulty exiting the birth canal, causing compression and pressure on the child’s skeleton, leading to broken arms or legs.

 

A fracture of the collarbone (clavicle) is relatively common, occurring in 1 to 2% of newborns. Sometimes these fractures are not recognized until several days after birth when a lump of tissue forms around the fracture. Clavicle fractures do not seem to bother newborns and need no treatment. Healing is complete over a few weeks.

 

Fractures of the upper arm bone (humerus) or upper leg bone (femur) sometimes occur. Doctors usually apply a loose splint to limit movement. These fractures may cause pain with movement in the first few days. These fractures usually heal well unless the head of the bone (where growth occurs) is involved.

 

Fractures of multiple bones can occur in newborns with certain genetic conditions in which the bones are very fragile.

 

In the worst case scenario such usual injuries like bone fractures can be misdiagnosed and not treated properly. Some of them are more dangerous, for example cracked skull bones, fractures located near to the spinal cord.

The bone injuries can lead to another, more serious injuries such as:

 

Malunion – it happens when the broken bones don’t line up correctly while they heal. It can lead to walking and moving disabilities.

 

Nonunion – the bones may not grow back together fully or at all

 

Bone infection (osteomyelitis) – an open fracture (the bone breaks through someone’s skin) increases risk of bacterial infections. A severe or untreated bacterial infection can trigger an exaggerated immune response called sepsis. This condition can lead to tissue damage, organ failure, and death.

 

Whatever happened to you or your family member or spouse during the child delivery process an experienced Philadelphia birth injury lawyer will help you with the Philadelphia medical malpractice trial or lawsuit settlement. The Trapani Law Firm employees are here to help get you and your family the justice and compensation you deserve after a Philly birth injury medical malpractice incident. Don’t worry about any unpredictable expenses after the Philadelphia birth injury.  Our Philadelphia medical malpractice attorneys are here to fight for you and your family. We can schedule a free consultation whenever you need it. We work 24 hours a day 7 days a week statewide in Philadelphia. We can meet you both in your home or in one of hospitals in Pennsylvania, Pittsburg, Allentown, King of Prussia, Norristown, Pottstown, Hazelton,  Scranton and Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania.

 

 

 

Last Updated on September 21, 2022