Types of Birth Injuries

Birth Injuries in Charlotte are a very common occurance, and if you are one of the unfortunate families impacted by premature birth or a birth injury due to negligence, these are the guidelines to follow to establish whether you have a medical malpractice case:

• Failing to properly monitor the health of the pregnant mother or baby prior to birth
• Failing to induce labor or recommend a c-section that may have avoided injury
• Failure to use delivery tools properly such as extractors, forceps or other equipment
• Excessive force used by doctor or nurse during birth

There are two common injuries that come from these careless actions of the medical team:

Erb’s Palsy: Baby’s shoulder is pinned behind mother’s pelvic bone during delivery. If this happens, there are certain actions that the doctor can take to avoid injury. If too much force is applied or the action is performed improperly, it can cause damage to the brachial plexus nerves, which can result in Erb’s Palsy. The baby in that case loses some of all use of their arm.

Cerebral Palsy: Caused primarily by lack of oxygen, resulting in brain damage. This can be due to improper monitoring of the heartbeat during the birthing process. Other factors can come into play, but cerebral palsy is a devastating birth injury caused by damage to the motor function parts of the brain not getting the required oxygen. The result is difficulty walking or talking in addition to the possibility of seizures.

Other birth injuries may include:

• Spinal cord or vertebrae damage resulting in paralysis
• Brain damage
• Internal bleeding
• Injuries caused by forceps
• C-section injuries
• Prescription/medication errors
• Improper treatment of infections in baby or mother
• Injuries caused by being improperly induced