South Carolina Birth Injury Lawyer
Having a baby is one of the most joyous times in life. After giving birth, parents may be too excited to understand what’s happening when a doctor breaks the news of a birth injury. Birth injuries come in many types and forms. Sadly, physicians can make careless mistakes during the most crucial moments of childbirth, resulting in traumatic birth injuries such as broken bones or cognitive impairment. If a negligent health care professional caused, contributed to, or failed to warn you about a birth injury, consult HawkLaw for help.
Types of Birth Injuries
A birth injury can occur at any stage of pregnancy, causing a variety of harm to the unborn child. A doctor may view an ultrasound improperly, consequently failing to prevent a difficult or dangerous birth. Difficult births can lead to Erb’s palsy and associated arm problems, as well as brain injuries, cerebral palsy, cognitive disabilities, and even wrongful death. In other cases, a doctor may use forceps improperly during the birthing process, breaking an infant’s bones. Possible birth injuries include:
- Failure to provide adequate prenatal care to the mother
- Twisting or pulling the baby improperly during delivery
- Improper use of birth-assisting tools
- Administering the wrong amount or dosage to the mother during pregnancy/labor
- Failure to monitor the baby’s vital signs for fetal distress
- Failure to schedule a cesarean section when appropriate
- Improper postnatal care
Birth injuries can occur due to a simple mistake or from blatant misconduct. Doctors who are improperly trained or unprepared to handle a birth can injure an infant and/or the mother during birth without realizing the consequences of their actions. Failing to monitor an unborn baby’s vital signs, for example, can result in extended oxygen deprivation. In turn, this can cause brain damage, brain death, and coma.
Parents might discover a birth injury right away or it may become clear over time. Children with bulges in their skulls, those who struggle to breathe, are bluish in color, are vomiting, those who cannot cry, and those who have seizures point to birth injuries that are immediately obvious. In other cases, it may take weeks or months to recognize limb pain, jaundice, tenderness, problems eating, and other symptoms of birth injuries. Cognitive injuries may not be obvious until the child struggles to learn at the same rate as his or her peers.
Parents’ Rights After a Birth Injury
If your child has sustained a birth injury, you may be able to sue the responsible party for negligence. The defendant may be the individual physician, the health care facility, or a drug manufacturer. Once you identify the defendant, you need to prove he or she failed to provide adequate medical care before, during, and/or after delivery. To prove medical negligence, you need evidence that shows your physician’s actions fell below the accepted medical care standards. If a reasonably prudent physician would have done something different in the same situation, it may prove your physician acted negligently.
Proving medical negligence in a birth injury case requires the help of a local South Carolina birth injury lawyer. Birth injuries can linger with a child for life. If you want to pursue a birth injury lawsuit, you need help from qualified attorneys in South Carolina. Use a free consultation* to speak about your traumatic incident with a lead attorney at HawkLaw, and find out if we believe you have grounds to sue an involved party for negligence. We’re based mainly out of Spartanburg, Greenville, and Charleston, but we take cases throughout the state. Call 888-HAWKLAW to set up your free consultation* today.
