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OKLAHOMA BIRTH INJURY ATTORNEYS

The pain of a birth injury is real.

No words can describe the feeling that comes from having a healthy pregnancy and a healthy baby in the womb, only to have your baby be injured during delivery due to medical negligence or malpractice.

Suddenly, your life changes as you realize that the child that you love with all your heart may require lifelong care because of cerebral palsy or another birth injury.

Infants are helpless and fragile, and the utmost care must be taken to deliver the baby safely. However, delivery isn’t exactly gentle, and many things can go wrong that will cause the baby to show signs of distress. Medical providers are trained to monitor these signs of distress and adjust the strategy accordingly. For instance, what was planned to be a vaginal birth can quickly prove to be a case where the doctor needs to perform a C-section instead.

Unfortunately, medical providers don’t always make the right decision in cases like these. It’s one thing if they were acting according the knowledge that they had to do everything available in the baby’s and the mother’s best interest. However, this isn’t always the case.

Sometimes, a birth injury occurs because the medical provider was being negligent in their duties, ignoring key signs that they should have acted, choosing convenience rather than the right thing, and failing to act in the best interest of the child and the mother. When that happens–when the birth injury is caused by negligence–that’s when you may have a legal case.

No amount of money can undo the damage that was done to your child or the pain and suffering caused to your heart as a parent. However, a settlement can help you to provide the care and treatment that your child needs to have in order to recover or lead the highest-possible quality of life.

Contact our birth injury lawyers in Tulsa if your child suffered an injury at birth.

Birth Injury Statistics

In a report issued by the Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP), it was noted that in 2006, there were over 157,000 injuries to newborns and their mothers that were potentially avoidable. An interesting fact is that out of these injuries, it did not matter what financial background the mother came from; the rate was consistent among both the wealthiest and poorest communities.

Considered a form of medical malpractice—which is defined is defined as any health care professional providing a level of care lower than the standard for the given position and situation—a birth injury can have serious consequences for both the mother and the newborn child, often creating life-changing after-effects for all involved.

If your child has suffered a birth injury due to the actions or negligence of a medical professional, you may be able to file a birth injury lawsuit and recover compensation for damages and any additional medical care costs that may be required in the future.

At The Edwards Law Firm, our birth injury lawyers have many years of experience and charge no upfront costs to handle your birth injury lawsuit. For more information and your free case review, call us today

Causes of Birth Injuries

A birth injury is typically caused by any kind of medical malpractice during the birthing process. This includes incidents before, during and after the delivery of the infant.

Often referred to as delivery room negligence, the most common causes of birth injury include:

• Overly aggressive force during delivery.
• Waiting too long to perform a C-section, even though the baby is clearly in distress.
• Failing to seek necessary help of an obstetrician if the birth is being performed by a midwife.
• Poor intubation of baby, resulting in hypoxia.
• Insufficient prenatal testing which leads to delivery complications.

It's important to note that birth injuries can also occur naturally. These types of injuries generally occur during vaginal or abdominal operative deliveries and are caused by a lack of oxygen or mechanical trauma.

• Lack of Oxygen Injuries - These types of injuries happen when there is a stoppage in the oxygen supply to the infant. This can be caused by a squeezed or tangled umbilical cord or by asphyxiation on the fetus's own fecal matter.
• Mechanical Trauma Injuries - Mechanical trauma injuries usually occur because the baby assumes an unnatural position during childbirth or because the baby is too large to pass through the birth canal.

These obstetrical traumas generally tend to decrease as women age. However, depending on the procedure, the age of the mother can make a big difference in the likelihood of birth trauma.

For vaginal delivery without instrument (NOT using medical instruments to assist during the birth process), women between the ages of 15 to 17 years were most likely to suffer a birth trauma (approximately 48 deliveries per 1,000).

By comparison, for deliveries WITH instrument (using medical instruments to assist during childbirth), women between the ages of 25 to 34 years old were the most susceptible to suffering a birth-related trauma (approximately 193 deliveries per 1,000).