I first began working on medical malpractice cases involving birth injuries back in the late 1990s.
Over the years, cases involving hypoxic birth injury, physical birth trauma, and meconium aspiration have become a large part of my practice.
As a result, I am well aware of the devastating effects that traumatic births and botched deliveries can have on children.
I also understand the importance of early intervention and the lifelong therapeutic, educational, and vocational needs of children who have suffered various types of birth injuries, including meconium aspiration syndrome.
I have seen the emotional strain that this type of medical negligence causes the parents of these children, and even the effects it can have on the siblings of the child who is injured.
One thing that is a common and recurring theme of all parents is that they somehow start to blame themselves for what happened.
While this reaction is very human, the self-blame is almost always misplaced.
When trying to figure out if malpractice exists, there are a few things you should be aware of.
Often times it will be obvious if a baby has suffered trauma at the time of birth.
Obvious trauma is present when a baby just doesnât appear right.
For example, the color might be either very pale or dark purple, the newborn may be limp or floppy, the baby may not cry for several minutes or at all, or the baby might need to be intubated and taken to the NICU in order to receive oxygen.
Sometimes however, the damage to a newborn from birth trauma isnât so obvious.
It is well known that when a baby loses oxygen during birth, the injuries may not become apparent until later in life.
The reason for this is simple, newborn babies donât do a whole lot.
Essentially, a newborn infant primarily only eats, sleeps, and messes their diapers.
So unless a child has a problem feeding and needs a feeding tube, parents â and even doctors â may not be aware that the baby has been permanently injured.
Many times, the first sign that there was medical malpractice during childbirth starts to become apparent when the child misses a milestone like sitting or crawling.
Other times the injuries arenât known until the child starts to exhibit developmental delays in walking or talking.
Occasionally, it isnât until several years later during the early school years that the full extent of the birth trauma becomes apparent.
One thing to be on the lookout for is whether there is meconium when the water breaks, or at any time before the baby is born.
Meconium is the babyâs stool, or feces, and can cause significant problems if it is inhaled into the babyâs lungs.
As a New York Birth Trauma Lawyer, I am well aware of how medical malpractice can cause a baby to inhale or swallow meconium – which is technically called meconium aspiration.
This can deprive the baby of oxygen resulting in lasting injuries including:
The passage of meconium during birth can be caused by either physical trauma or a lack of oxygen to the baby before being born.
If the meconium is then inhaled into the babyâs lungs, it can make it impossible for the newborn to get oxygen into the lungs after birth.
Babies are often intubated when this happens in an effort to help deliver the much needed oxygen to the lungs and other organs including the brain.
Below, we’ve included a list of some of the common signs or clues that birth trauma may have occurred during labor and delivery.
We’ve also included a list of some common injuries that occur as a result of medical malpractice during birth.
If you feel there was medical malpractice that resulted in an injury to your baby at birth, you should consult with an attorney as soon as possible.
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A New Chapter in Columbia University and New York-Presbyterian Hospital’s 30-Year Cover-Up of Robert Hadden’s Sexual Exploitation and Abuse of OB/GYN Patients Throughout our investigation
Iâve devoted a significant portion of my career to prosecuting civil cases on behalf of survivors who have been sexually assaulted by their doctors. One
Kernicterus is a devastating, but preventable, form of brain injury that occurs in newborns when medical care providers fail to diagnose and treat jaundice (icterus)
Years of Abuse:Â 1987 – 2016
Brief:Â For nearly three decades, Robert Hadden sexually exploited and abused girls and women at Columbia University, under the guise of OB-GYN care.
Read More:Â Â Robert Hadden and Columbia University Sexual Abuse Cases
Years of Abuse:Â 1990 – 2016
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Years of Abuse:Â 1961 – 1996
Brief:Â 22 predator teachers and administrators, over the course of 35 years.
Years of Abuse:Â 1960 – 1982
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