What Are the Most Common Infant Delivery Mistakes? New Orleans Birth Injury Attorney Investigates

Few experiences are more traumatic than dealing with childbirth injuries. Unfortunately, many birth injuries result from the negligence of health-care providers. In these cases, parents can pursue compensation from the liable party. This is where a birth injury attorney may be able to help.

For every 1,000 newborns, approximately eight suffer a birth injury, according to the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services. These often lead to lifelong disabilities and expensive medical bills.

If you or your child suffered an injury during the delivery process, then a New Orleans medical malpractice lawyer from the The Bowling Christiansen Law Firm may be able to help. You may be entitled to compensation for health-care expenses, time off work and other damages. Call (504) 586-5200 to discuss your situation with a Louisiana medical malpractice attorney.

Read on to learn about prenatal negligence and delivery mistakes:

Delivery Mistakes

Both the mother and child can suffer an injury if a physician makes a mistake during the birthing process. Often, birthing errors happen because the doctor is negligent in his or her duties or fails to provide the expected standard of medical care. Common mistakes include:

Failing to respond quickly to signs of fetal distress;

Incorrectly using birthing tools and equipment, such as birthing forceps;

And not anticipating obvious dangers because of umbilical cord positioning or a child’s size.

Failing to initiate a cesarean section in time may also justify a medical malpractice claim. This can cause unnecessary suffering for the newborn and his or her mother – particularly if there are life-threatening complications during the birth. Any of these mistakes can cause serious problems for both the mother and child, such as umbilical strangulation, internal bleeding and oxygen deprivation.

Prenatal Negligence

Victims of a medical provider’s negligence may pursue civil claims provided that the negligence caused an injury to the mother, child or both. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures, this applies to receiving inadequate prenatal care, which has the potential to cause severe and long-lasting complications. If negligent care harms your unborn child at any time during your pregnancy, then you may have grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit.

If you have a serious medical condition that makes pregnancy unsafe for either you or your unborn child, then it may be your doctor’s responsibility to diagnose and treat it. The same applies to identifying obvious birth defects during pregnancy. This includes ectopic pregnancies and diseases that spread easily from mother to fetus, such as HIV, some sexually transmitted conditions, hemolytic disease and other illnesses.

Medical malpractice cases are notoriously complex. They often require expert testimony, independent medical evaluations and extensive evidence.

If you were injured due to a health-care worker’s negligence in Louisiana, then contact a New Orleans medical malpractice lawyer from the The Bowling Christiansen Law Firm. Our legal practice is an AV-rated law Firm under Martindale-Hubbell’s peer review rating system. Call at (504) 586-5200 to schedule a consultation.