General Birth Injury Information

Information about Birth Injuries, including the difference between a Birth Injury and a Birth Defect, the frequency and warning signs for Birth Injuries, an overview of Cerebral Palsy and Erbs Palsy, a guide to determining liability, and when a Birth Injury Lawyer should be contacted.

Birth Injury vs Birth Defect · Birth Injury Rates · Birth Injury Warning Signs · Effects of Birth Complications · Determining Liability · Cerebral Palsy · Erbs Palsy · Involving a Birth Injury Lawyer

Birth Injury vs Birth Defect

Understanding the difference between a birth injury and a birth defect is essential if one is contemplating a birth injury lawsuit.

A Birth Injury is a condition (such as cerebral palsy or erbs palsy) or injury (such as a broken bone) that occurred during the birth of the child. Birth injuries are caused by a medical complication or mistake during the delivery.

Birth Defects are not caused by mistakes during delivery. A Birth Defect is an abnormality (such as down Syndrome or spina bifida) present at birth. Birth Defects are caused by occurrences during or prior to the pregnancy, including genetic mutations, conditions in uterus, actions of the mother (smoking or abusing alcohol) or for unknown reasons.

Birth Injury Rates

Birth Injuries occur far less frequently than birth defects. Birth defects or abnormalities, such as Down Syndrome and spina bifida, occur in roughly 7% of all births. Birth defects range from minor to severe.

Birth Injuries are significantly less common, occuring in approximately .5% of births. Like birth defects, birth injuries range from quite minor, to severe injuries which can result in life long disabilities or death. Cerebral Palsy, a serious birth injury, has an incidence of approximately .15% to .4% in the US. 

Birth Injury Warning Signs

There are a number of indications of Birth Injury. Immediately following the birth of a child, the doctors administer the Apgar test, which is the first test of the health of the infant, and the results may be the first indication of a birth injury.

In the Apgar Test, there are 5 categories, each ranked on a scale from 0-2, so total Apgar scores range from 0 – 10. The categories and scores are based on the doctor's examination of the baby's skin color, heart rate, reflex irritability, muscle tone, and respiration. These are the first signs of birth defects and birth injuries.   

Often, recognizing birth injuries is fairly easy. Obvious signs include bruises, swelling, and/or unnatural bumps on the head or body of the baby. Another sign of a birth injury is paralysis of the face, which can be seen when the baby cries but some of the face remains still.

Signs of Cerebral Palsy include a difficulty or inability to roll, reach, hold, sit, crawl, walk, see, hear, or speak. Infant seizures are another sign that something is wrong with the baby. Other indications of a birth injury include:

Effects of Birth Complications

Cerebral Palsy and Erbs Palsy are devastating effects of a birth injury and are unfortunately common. Other problems which may result from a birth injury include:
 
Caput succedaneum: A swelling of the soft tissues of the baby's scalp. This results in bruising that typically disappears within a week with no additional complications. It is most common in babies delivered by vacuum extraction.
 
Cephalohematoma: An area of bleeding between the scalp and its fibrous covering which shows itself as a raised lump appearing within a few hours of birth. Fortunately, these usually disappear in less than a month. However, jaundice can develop if the bleeding area is large enough.
 
Forceps marks or bruising: These result from both the use of forceps in the birth process and from the pressure of the birth canal or mother’s pelvis. Vacuum extraction can also cause bruising or cuts on the head, though this is referred to as caput succedaneum.
 
Subconjunctival hemorrhage: When the blood vessels around the eyes of a newborn break. While it may appear to be a serious birth injury, it is not, and the red bands around the iris typically fade in less than two weeks.
 
Facial paralysis: May occur due to the pressure of birth or use of forceps, which can result in bruises on the face of the baby or tears facial nerves. Facial paralysis is usually recognized when the baby cries but part of the face does not move or the eye does not close. While a bruised nerve is not serious and can recover within a few weeks, a torn nerve is more serious and can require surgery.
 
Bone fractures: The most common bone fracture occuring as a birth injury is the clavicle (collarbone). This is recognized if the infant rarely moves the arm on the side of the broken bone. Fortunately, infant bones heal quickly, though limiting of the movement or use of a splint may speed recovery.

Determining Liability

A Birth Injury is a traumatic event, for both the child and parents. Determining if someone is at fault for the injury and liable for damages can be difficult, both emotionally and practically. Unfortunately, many birth injuries occur where no one is to blame, and all the best efforts were made on the part of the doctor and medical staff. However, if birth injury results due to medical malpractice or physician negligence, a lawsuit can and should be filed, to recover compensation for injuries, pain and suffering, future medical expenses, etc. Liable parties may include the delivering doctor, his staff, including nurses, anesthesiologists, the hospital, etc.

Birth injuries typically result when a doctor or other medical professional fails to recognize birth complications developed by either the mother or the baby. These birth complications can occur during either pregnancy or delivery. Common conditions that cause birth complications include:

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy, a serious and not uncommon birth injury, is caused by an injury to the brain of the infant before, during, or shortly after birth. The causes of the injury vary, and include infections or other accidents, such as problems during delivery. Cerebral Palsy may occur if the mother has medical problems, such as high blood pressure, diabetes, or some other infection or illness.

Complications during birth which may cause Cerebral Palsy include the baby not getting enough oxygen, or difficult delivery (due to the size of the infant, the size or shape of the mother's birth canal, or an error on the part of the doctor. The end result of these is that the brain of the baby is injured.

Problems after birth that may result in Cerebral Palsy soemtimes occur when a baby is born prematurely and his or her body is not ready to live outside the mother's womb. Even infants born at the right time can have infections, or bleeding in their brain which causes a brain injury that results in Cerebral Palsy, because the brain is still developing even after birth.

Erbs Palsy

Erb's palsy, also called Brachial plexus paralysis, or Brachial plexus palsy, is a birth injury that affects the shoulder of a newborn baby. Erb's palsy can affect 1 or all of the 5 primary nerves in the infant's shoulder that supply the movement and feeling to the arm. Erb's palsy is not uncommon, though it is not nearly as serious as Cerebral Palsy.

The baby can recover fully from Erb's palsy without surgery. Erb's palsy is most commonly caused by dystocia (specifically shoulder dystocia), an abnormal or difficult childbirth or labor. It can be caused by excessive pulling on the shoulders of the baby during a vertex delivery (head first) or by pressure on the raised arms during a breech delivery.

Involving a Birth Injury Lawyer

The question of whether or not to involve a Birth Injury Lawyer if some accident or injury occurs at birth can be extremely difficult, as it is a time of considerable emotional stress. Beyond the emotional trauma, birth injury cases, like other types of medical malpractice lawsuit, are extremely complex and can be very difficult on all parties involved.

Birth Injuries can result in medical problems that last the life of the baby, and can be quite expensive and trying for the parents. For this reason, discussing your case with an experienced birth injury lawyer is a necessary first step in ensuring that your case is handled properly, professionally, and successfully and that you and your baby receive the necessary economic compensation for the injuries sustained by the baby, for pain and suffering, and to cover future medical expenses. Any birth injuries that were avoidable but occured because of the actions (or failure to act) on the part of a medical profesisonal should be brought to a birth injury lawyer to be evaluated for a potential legal claim as soon as possible after they occur. This is because of the varying statutes of limitations for medical malpractice lawsuits, birth injury lawsuits, and because the sooner a birth injury lawyer is involved, the more likely that he or she can get the necessary evidence to properly pursue the case.

All content on Accidents.com is for informational purposes only and is NOT intended as legal or medical advice. Please seek advice from a professional on any related topics.

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