A serious birth injury can leave a child with a disability or medical condition that will last for life and require extensive medical care for years to come. If your child suffers from a birth injury, how do you ensure that you receive all the assistance and financial compensation that you need?

Erb’s Palsy/Brachial Plexus Injury

Erb's Palsy is a condition caused by injury to the Brachial Plexus (group of nerves extending through the neck, armpit region and arm) often resulting in partial or total paralysis of the face, arm or hand.

The most common cause for Erb's Palsy is dystocia, an abnormal or very difficult childbirth. If the infant's head and shoulders are twisted, undue stress can be placed on the Brachial Plexus, stretching or damaging these nerves and therefore causing paralysis. In some cases, these nerves may repair themselves, but in many cases they require extensive physical therapy or even surgery.

Medical negligence can result from...

• A failure to recognise a baby that is too large to pass through the birth canal

• A failure to turn a baby and position them properly for vaginal delivery

• An improperly estimated due date, leading to a baby that is very large

• A failure to perform caesarean section when necessary

• Negligence in manoeuvring an impacted shoulder during childbirth

 

Pre-eclampsia

Caused by a defect in the placenta, Pre- eclampsia is the most common serious complication of pregnancy. Pre-eclampsia is symptomless in the early stages and is detectable only by regular antenatal checks on the mother's blood pressure and urine.

Risk factors include...

• First-time mothers

• Over-40s

• Those with a BMI over 35

• Women with a family history of pre-eclampsia

• Where it is ten years or more since a last baby

• Those suffering from high blood pressure, diabetes or kidney disease

• Those carrying more than one baby

• Those who have had it before

If your healthcare professional negligently fails to diagnose or treat your pre-eclampsia and this causes an injury to you or your baby you may be able to make a birth injury claim for compensation.

Delivery Mistakes

A medical practitioner is under a duty to provide a reasonable standard of treatment and care. During the treatment of a pregnant woman, during childbirth and after childbirth, this is absolutely crucial to an infant's health. In some cases, delivery mistakes may lead to Cerebral Palsy.

If your child is showing symptoms of Cerebral Palsy or has been diagnosed with one of these serious neurological disorders, it is possible that a mistake during labour or delivery led to brain damage. Cerebral Palsy is a permanent disorder for which there is no cure. Treatment to improve symptoms is possible if you seek medical attention immediately.

To bring a claim it must first be shown that mistakes were made, which in law, amount to medical negligence. Typically mistakes during the birth process will involve Midwives or Doctors failing to take proper account of evidence of a baby's distress whilst still in its mother's womb or in the birth canal.

Medical Negligence can result from...

• Failing to monitor the mother or child properly

• Failing to take account of warning signs such as a falling or unhealthy heartbeat, the presence of meconium and disproportionate pain

• Failing to deliver when it was called for either naturally, assisted (by forceps or ventouse for example) or by caesarean section

• Inappropriate use of forceps, causing a haemorrhage due to excessive force

• If it is likely that mistakes were made, it then has to be shown that those mistakes probably caused the birth injury. To establish this we look for the following:

First, signs of a baby's distress during the delivery and at birth:

These can include indications such as:

• Abnormal or dipping heart beat on the CTG monitor

• Low APGAR scores at birth

• Poor blood analysis results

• Poor colour at birth

• Poor heartbeat

• A delay in natural breathing

• Admission to SCBU

• Convulsions in the first day or days after birth

• Discharge from hospital will almost certainly be delayed

Secondly, for a birth injury claim it has to be shown that the child has a pattern of injury that is associated with a lack of oxygen or oxygenated blood supply whilst still in the womb or birth canal.

Thirdly, we will look for evidence of other organ damage such as damage to the kidneys or heart. These organs are also vulnerable to injury resulting from a deprivation of oxygen.

Developmental Dysplasia of the Hip (DDH)

Developmental dysplasia of the hip (DDH) occurs in a variety of conditions in which the ball and socket of the hip do not develop properly resulting in surgery in later life.

Medical negligence can occur when...

• Appropriate tests following birth or during early development are not undertaken or are carried out incorrectly

• Appropriate treatment is not provided

• Findings are not reported

• Potential problems are not diagnosed

If the condition is missed by your healthcare professionals and it is not diagnosed before your baby starts to walk, the prognosis can be poor. More complicated surgery may be required and there are risks of later complications in early adolescence and later mid 

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