Our injury attorneys receive a lot of case questions so we are going to
answer more of them here on our personal injury blog to help people who
are researching specific personal injury topics. We invite you to contact
us via a post on the blog (we will keep all comments anonymous) or by
contacting us via our website.
Here is a recent birth injury question and answer.
Q: We live in Portland, Oregon and just recently had our second child. He
suffered a brain injury during the delivery process. Do we have a brain
injury case against the hospital? If so, we need an Oregon personal injury lawyer?
A: We are sorry to hear about your baby’s brain injury. We can’t
imagine what that must be like for you and your family. Birth injuries
are more common then people realize. When they occur, it is important
to know what your options are. Getting good information is the first step.
As experienced Oregon and Washington birth injury lawyers, we strongly
suggest that if you suspect that birth injuries were caused by medical
negligence, consult a
birth injury attorney immediately. Even if all the injuries and damages are not yet known, you
will want to consult with an injury attorney.
Birth injury attorneys first examine the nature of the birth injuries to
determine who is at fault for those injuries. There are many details to
consider in each case, so your question will be answered in general terms.
Here are some points to consider if you are dealing with a brain injury
during the birth process:
“Natural” birth injuries
can occur during the birthing process. There are “natural” circumstances where a newborn is harmed
by oxygen deprivation during the labor and delivery process. These injuries
can include a compressed or twisted umbilical cord during birth, a baby
who is breach or turned in the womb or too large to pass easily through
the birth canal. The most serious birth injuries involve damage to the
brain. Brain damage and Ergs Palsy are the most common brain injuries.
Often brain injuries are caused by oxygen deprivation or bleeding inside
the brain from trauma during pregnancy, labor or delivery. The severity
of these injuries varies greatly – from very mild injuries to injuries
that cause the death to the infant.
Some birth brain injuries are due to medical negligence. Mistakes can and do happen by doctors, hospitals or other medical professionals
during the delivery process. Sometimes a miscalculation of the baby’s
size can cause a traumatic delivery. Even routine procedures such as performing
a necessary C-section delivery or VBAC (vaginal birth after C-Section)
delivery can result in birth injuries or trauma to a newborn.
Experienced legal professionals can help you determine if you have a case. While there are risks associated with most medical procedures, our birth
injury attorneys examine all the details, big and small to determine if
a birth injury was caused by
medical negligence. To do that, we must obtain and review all the medical records. This process
can take several months in order to determine whether the case has merit.
However, when our firm believes we can prove a serious birth injury was
caused by negligence or medical malpractice, we do everything we can to
obtain a successful outcome for the family and child.
If you suspect your child suffered an injury due to improper care during
delivery, you are invited to
contact our office to consult with one of our Portland-Oregon-based birth injury attorneys
about your case. We represent birth injury cases in Oregon and Washington.