What You Need to Know After a Birth Injury

Raising a child is never an easy job, but those who have a baby with a serious birth injury have their lives changed forever. Although some of these injuries are no one’s fault, there are many that can be directly attributed to medical negligence. If you’re going through this nightmare, you should speak with a birth injury lawyer immediately. Additionally, there are several other important issues you should understand.

Birth Injury Statistics – Not an Uncommon Occurrence

As a birth injury law firm, we see no shortage of families affected by these conditions. Unfortunately, it turns out they’re not uncommon in general. While birth injury statistics are difficult to assess – mostly due to the sheer number of different conditions that qualify – the prevalence rate is disheartening. In fact, there are 8,000 diagnoses of cerebral palsy in newborns and infants every single year.

Of course, this is just a drop in the bucket. Cerebral palsy is only one type of birth injury, and in many cases, it’s not immediately identified. In fact, upwards of 1,500 preschool children are identified to have symptoms annually. In Ohio, up to 152,000 children are believed to have some form of disability. While not all of these are caused by birth injuries, it is seen as a common factor.

The most comprehensive study of birth injuries found a prevalence of between 0.06 and 0.08 percent of live births. While it may not seem like much, this means there could be more than 1,100 birth injuries every year in Ohio.

Common Causes of Birth Injuries

If your child or the child of a loved one suffered a birth injury, you may be wondering what happened. To be clear, there are several natural reasons these injuries may occur. The following are just a few of those causes.

• Prolonged labor
• Abnormal birthing position
• Premature birth
• Infections
• Genetic mutations
• Maternal health issues

Through modern medicine, though, the risks from these conditions can be reduced or eliminated. And while some medical mistakes are obvious – such as a doctor not monitoring a newborn’s oxygen – failure to recognize and plan for any of these natural problems can also constitute negligence.

Even if you’re not sure medical negligence played a part, you should still contact a birth injury lawyer today to ensure the truth comes out.

It’s Not Just Medical Bills

When most people contact a birth injury lawyer, they do so because they rightfully fear the medical bills they’ll be facing. Unfortunately, studies have shown that hospital bills aren’t all that victims and their families have to worry about. One of the most comprehensive reports ever published found families that have suffered an Ohio birth injury have less self-reported income than others.

Additionally, higher levels of emotional stress were discovered. One of the more discouraging statistics, though, relates to the fact that these parents also have less job security. The simple fact is that medical negligence leading to birth injury doesn’t just affect medical bills. It literally causes havoc in every corner of your life.

Contact a Birth Injury Lawyer Today

If you suspect your child has suffered a birth injury, you need to reach out to medical professionals immediately. The most important thing to do at this point is minimize any further injury your child may suffer. This will also help create a paper trail that your birth injury lawyer can use to find out what really happened.

After you’ve sought medical help, you need to find a legal team to take your case. In Ohio, you only have one year after discovery of the injury to file a birth injury lawsuit. After four years, filing a case isn’t allowed even if the injury wasn’t immediately discovered. This means you need legal advice as soon as you know something’s gone wrong.

There are countless trials in life that we each have to face on our own, but having a child with a birth injury isn’t one of them. You could be facing decades of excessive medical costs due solely to the negligence of a medical professional. If you think a child you love may have been hurt due to this negligence, contact us today for a birth injury lawyer you can trust.