A jury recently awarded a 25 year old woman with cerebral palsy a verdict of $43 million dollars against the hospital where she was born.  The jury found that the negligence of the hospital caused her cerebral palsy.  She is confined to a wheelchair and has very limited communication abilities.  She is unable to live independently.

The amount is the total amount of the award into the future and not the present value of the judgment.  The award included compensation for home health care expenses, pain and suffering, medical expenses, and lost earnings.  The suit alleged that the woman suffered her brain injuries as a result of lack of oxygen and other negligent care at the time of her birth.

Our Michigan birth injury lawyers specialize in birth injury cases involving forceps injuries.  Forceps birth injuries can result into serious complications for the newborn. At times, these injuries are caused by a professional caregiver’s negligence, causing birth injuries that can even endanger the life of the newborns.

Forceps Injuries

Child birth complications such as breech position, prolonged labor or large baby delivery may require the use of forceps to deliver the baby safely. The use of forceps is only permissible if the baby appears to be in extreme distress, when the mother finds it hard to push, or when the position of the fetus in the birth canal is not correct. The shape and structure of forceps allow them to be clamped on the sides of the infant’s head. But this also puts the baby at risk for damage if the procedure goes wrong.

Causes of Forceps Injuries

If properly performed, forceps delivery can save the fetus’ life, or prevent it from deprivation of oxygen. If the fetus remains without oxygen for a long time, severe brain damage may occur. As such, the only option may be to use the forceps. However, due to vulnerability of the skull, the physicians must exercise a lot of care when performing forceps delivery.

Forceps injuries not only occur for infants, but may even be harmful for the mothers who stand increased risks for urinary tract infections, lacerations and rectum injuries.

Effects of Forceps Injuries

Cerebral palsy and facial nerve damage are two of the most severe risks of these deliveries.  Facial nerve damage may cause permanent facial asymmetry that is especially evident when the baby laughs or cries. Cerebral palsy is a condition that develops when the cerebrum of the brain is damaged. Unfortunately, there is no known cure for cerebral palsy, and it is considered a very expensive developmental disability over the course of a lifetime.

Contact a Michigan Forceps Injury Malpractice Lawyer

If an infant suffers injuries due to the negligent use of forceps, it can give rise to a medical malpractice lawsuit.  Babies who suffer forceps injuries often develop conditions that can affect the social, academic and vocational upbringing of the infant. These often require services that amount to a significant expense over a child’s lifetime and are sought as damages in a medical malpractice lawsuit.

It is essential to contact our office as soon as possible so that we can obtain your child’s complete medical chart to determine whether there was negligence involved in the treatment.  There are strict time delays for filing medical malpractice lawsuits in Michigan so it is essential to contact an experienced lawyer as soon as possible to see if your child has valid case.

Fetal asphyxia is a medical condition that occurs when a newborn does not receive adequate oxygen supply before, during or just after birth. The condition has serious effect on the mental and physical development of your newborn. There are cases when Fetal asphyxia occurred due to the caregiver’s negligence, causing a birth injury. If you believe you or a loved one had suffered fetal asphyxia due to medical negligence, you should contact one of our Michigan birth injury lawyers.

Causes of Fetal Asphyxia

Some causes of reduced oxygen supply before or during birth are:

• Inadequate oxygen in blood of the mother
• Low blood pressure of mother
• early separation of placenta from uterus
• umbilical cord compression

Factors that reduce oxygen in blood after birth are:

• low blood pressure
• heart/lung disease
• respiratory problems
• severe anemia

Lower levels of oxygen cause the newborn to have a reduced flow of blood, decreased heart rate and a lower blood pressure. This can restrict the flow of blood to organs and tissues, causing an improper function of the body cells. This may also cause cell damage. Organs such as brain, heart, blood vessels, gastrointestinal tract, lungs and kidneys can be among those affected by this condition.

Signs & Symptoms of Fetal Asphyxia

Some common symptoms of Fetal asphyxia include:

1.       Symptoms before delivery

• Abnormal heart rate
• Increased acidity level in Fetal’ blood

2.       Symptoms at birth

• Low heart rate
• Pale skin color
• Weak cry
• Weak muscle tone
• Weak breathing

Treatment for Fetal Asphyxia

Fetal asphyxia is a complex condition, quite difficult to prevent. It can be minimized with prompt treatment.

Treatment depends on:

• Infant’s age, health and medical history
• Severity of the infant’s condition
• Infant’s tolerance for medications and procedures

Treatment can include:

• C-section or emergency delivery
• Giving large amount of oxygen to the mother before delivery
• Assisted ventilation to help the infant breathe
• ECMO – extracorporeal membrane oxygenation

Contact a Michigan Fetal Asphyxia Malpractice Lawyer

If an infant suffers injuries due to fetal asphyxia that was not timely diagnosed and treated, it can give rise to a medical malpractice lawsuit.  Children with fetal asphyxia often develop conditions that can affect the social, academic and vocational upbringing of the infant. These often require services that amount to a significant expense over a child’s lifetime and are sought as damages in a medical malpractice lawsuit.

It is essential to contact our office as soon as possible so that we can obtain your child’s complete medical chart to determine whether there was negligence involved in the treatment.  There are strict time delays for filing medical malpractice lawsuits in Michigan so it is essential to contact an experienced lawyer as soon as possible to see if your child has valid case.

Our Michigan birth injury lawyers handle cases involving jaundice.  According to an estimate, about 60% of newborns in the US are jaundiced; they look yellow.   However, most babies are not seriously jaundiced, and react normally. However, when jaundice attacks the infant severely, the effects can be very catastrophic.  The failure of a doctor or hospital to timely diagnose jaundice and start treatment can give rise to a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Causes of Jaundice

Jaundice is the yellow coloring of skin and other tissues. It is often seen in the sclera, the whites of the eyes, which become yellow.  The signs of severe bilirubin toxicity are as follows:

• Lethargy
• High-pitched cry
• Abnormalities of tone
• Fever
• Arching back

Jaundice is caused by high level of bilirubin in blood and tissues. Factors such as prematurity, bruising, blood group incompatibilities between mother and infant such as Rh and ABO blood types etc can all increase the production of bilirubin and lead to severe jaundice.

Treatment for Jaundice

Babies with high level of bilirubin can be treated properly. Phototherapy is a highly effective method used for treatment. It is the blue color in light that transforms the toxic form of bilirubin into a non-toxic, water soluble form that is eliminated. In situations when bilirubin reaches dangerous levels, extreme treatment method, known as exchange transfusion, may be used to remove the toxic bilirubin from blood.

Brain Damage due to Jaundice

Jaundice is a very severe condition but when properly diagnosed and treated often results in no injury to the baby.  When jaundice is left untreated, it can seriously affect the upbringing of your infant. Such damage requests are included in medical malpractice lawsuit for jaundice.

Contact a Michigan Jaundice Infection Malpractice Lawyer

If an infant suffers injuries due to jaundice that was not timely diagnosed and treated, it can give rise to a medical malpractice lawsuit.  Children with severe jaundice often develop conditions that can affect the social, academic and vocational upbringing of the infant. These often require services that amount to a significant expense over a child’s lifetime and are sought as damages in a medical malpractice lawsuit.

It is essential to contact our office as soon as possible so that we can obtain your child’s complete medical chart to determine whether there was negligence involved in the treatment.  There are strict time delays for filing medical malpractice lawsuits in Michigan so it is essential to contact an experienced lawyer as soon as possible to see if your child has valid case.

Our Michigan birth injury lawyers handle cases involving kernicterus.  Kernicterus is a severe form of brain damage caused by excessive jaundice in infants. There have been incidents when the infants were not diagnosed and treated properly for jaundice because of caregiver’s negligence. In such circumstances, there may be a child birth injury medical malpractice lawsuit.

Kernicterus Facts

Kernicterus comes from the Greek word ‘kern’ meaning kernel and ‘icterus’ meaning yellow. Kernicterus refers to yellow staining of nuclei of the brain, called the basal ganglia. The condition involves specific part of basal ganglia, called the globus pallidus. Lesions of brainstem nuclei in auditory, oculomotor, cerebellum and vestibular systems are also included in it.

Signs and Symptoms of Kernicterus

Classic kernicterus involves the following:

• Specific movement disorders
• Hear loss or deafness
• impairment in moving the eyes
• abnormal staining
• staining of baby teeth

Testing for Kernicterus

There are plenty of routine and specialty testing services available to diagnose kernicterus such as MRI and PET scans, EMG, EEG, video EEG, metabolic and genetic testing, sleep studies, auditory and neuropsychological testing.

Treatment for Kernicterus

A number of pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatments are adopted in order to relief patients of kernicterus. Pharmacological treatments include medication, and non pharmacological treatments may include speech therapy, occupational/physical therapy, rehab, botulinum toxic injections and deep brain stimulators.

Fortunately, kernicterus is a rare occurrence. However, the few infants who do suffer from it are very seriously impacted for the rest of their lives.

Contact a Michigan Kernicterus Malpractice Lawyer

If an infant suffers injuries due to kernicterus because jaundice was not timely diagnosed and treated, it can give rise to a medical malpractice lawsuit.  Children with severe sepsis often develop conditions that can affect the social, academic and vocational upbringing of the infant. These often require services that amount to a significant expense over a child’s lifetime and are sought as damages in a medical malpractice lawsuit.

It is essential to contact our office as soon as possible so that we can obtain your child’s complete medical chart to determine whether there was negligence involved in the treatment.  There are strict time delays for filing medical malpractice lawsuits in Michigan so it is essential to contact an experienced lawyer as soon as possible to see if your child has valid case.