Medical malpractice is always tragic; however, birth injuries are some of the most tragic cases because it’s a young life being irreparably affected as a result of someone else’s negligence. According to the American Medical Association, approximately seven in 1,000 births result in injury during labor and delivery.

Turner and Turner believes passionately in helping the families of these young victims pursue compensation for the injuries suffered during labor and delivery. These injuries are long-lasting, severe, and most tragically, avoidable.

If you’re a Michigan resident and your child suffered an injury at birth, you should speak with our birth injury lawyers immediately. Please call Turner and Turner today at (248) 355-1727 for a free consultation.

Who Can Be Held Liable for A Birth Injury?

Depending on the nature of the injury and the staff attending the birth, parties that may be held liable for birth injury include:

• Doctors and physicians
• Midwives
• Anesthesiologists
• Nurses
• Support Staff

In some cases, the company that owns or operates the hospital where the injury occurred may also be held liable. The parties at fault are case-specific and will be established while we are building your claim. We are prepared to hold every person who played a role in your child’s injury to full account.

Examples of Common Birth Injuries

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is an umbrella for a collection of syndromes and symptoms in a baby or child stemming from hypoxic brain injury (lack of oxygen) during birth. A child suffering from cerebral palsy may have cognitive and/or physical abnormalities as a result of a lack of oxygen to the brain during childbirth.

Cerebral palsy is sometimes totally crippling, keeping a child unable to walk, talk or care for themselves. Milder forms of cerebral palsy may present as minor lack of muscular control and coordination. There is much hope for improvement with proper therapy and intervention. Children with cerebral palsy affecting their gait have been known to improve markedly as to essentially recover from the injury altogether.

Early evaluation and intervention are important. Dedicated parents and knowledgeable health care professionals can do a lot to help a child with cerebral palsy cope, even overcome the malady, in many cases. Securing the financial resources necessary to pursue your child’s greatest possible improvement is one objective of a birth injury claim when health care professionals were negligent during labor or delivery.

Erb’s Palsy

Erb’s Palsy is among one of the most common birth injuries our lawyers see. This condition can leave your child with a lifetime of decreased mobility or, in the most tragic of circumstances, paralysis.

Our birth injury lawyers understand the physical pain and emotional trauma of Erb’s Palsy, and the medical expenses that result from the treatment of this condition. We’re committed to fighting for you and your child.

Erb’s Palsy is a paralytic condition that results from an unsustainable stretching or straining of the brachial plexus. Your brachial plexus is a nerve cluster that runs from your lower neck through your shoulder and into your arm.

These nerves regulate much of the movement of the arm, which makes it an exceptionally important part of your body. The brachial plexus can be damaged in a number of ways, but the most common cause of Erb’s Palsy is trauma at birth.

It’s not unusual for an infant to require some deft maneuvering by attending physicians during the birth process to remove the fetus from the birth canal; a lot can happen to make it difficult for a baby to be birthed in the usual head-first fashion. This work isn’t easy, but it’s sometimes necessary.

However, doctors must be careful when delivering a baby in this way, as too much straining or stretching can damage and even sever the brachial plexus. This can reduce your child’s range of motion and even leave the arm paralyzed.

Obviously, this is a long-term, life-long condition, and your child will always bear the consequences. As such, you have a right to speak with our birth injury lawyers and pursue justice and compensation. We’ll be happy to answer all of your questions and advise you on how best to move forward.

Contact Turner and Turner today and understand your rights, and hold those whose malpractice has caused injury to your baby. These cases require lawyers with a great deal of medical and legal knowledge. Our attorneys will work with you to address your claim and handle it with great compassion.

A competent medical practitioner will know about these increased risks for Cerebral Palsy and will act accordingly to limit damages to the developing baby:

• Premature birth
• Low birth weight
• Blood clotting problems
• Fetal development issues
• Rh compatibility between the mother and the baby
• Placental development issues
• Viral Infection of the mother during pregnancy, especially with rubella (German measles)
• Bacterial infection of the mother during pregnancy
• Cephalopelvic disproportion (the baby appears to be too large for the mother’s pelvis, requiring medical intervention for a safe delivery)
• Prolonged loss of oxygen during the pregnancy or birth, or severe jaundice following the birth

Childbirth is complicated and any of the above conditions require health care professionals to use good judgment and make appropriate decisions based on accurate monitoring of the mother and baby as well as clear communication among all of the medical professions.

Early signs of Cerebral Palsy to look for, beginning at three months of age can include:

• Problems with sucking
• Excessive drooling or problems with swallowing
• Weak and floppy upper body
• Stiff upper body
• Weak cries
• Constant shrill crying
• Favoring one side of the body (only turning head one way, or later when crawling, only using one leg or one arm)
• Vision and hearing issues

Cerebral Palsy is not immediately obvious at birth or even in the infancy years. Often, Cerebral Palsy becomes more obvious when children become more mobile and parents and caregivers notice issues with sitting up, crawling and walking. Just because there is a delayed diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy does not mean that you cannot sue for damages if the Cerebral Palsy was caused by the negligence of someone else.

Signs and symptoms of Cerebral Palsy most often appear during infancy or preschool years. In general, cerebral palsy causes impaired movement associated with exaggerated reflexes, floppiness or rigidity of the limbs and trunk, abnormal posture, involuntary movements, unsteadiness of walking, or some combination of these.

The long term effects of cerebral palsy on functional abilities vary greatly. Some people are able to walk while others aren’t able to walk. Some people show normal to near normal intellectual function, but others may have intellectual disabilities. Epilepsy, blindness or deafness also may be present.