Birth InjuriesBirth Injury AttorneyThe birth injury lawyer in our Washington DC law office, is an experienced medical malpractice attorney with past and on-going involvement in birth injuries including birth defects and cerebral Palsy caused by medical malpractice and poor obstetrical care such as in the following examples:
At Schultz & Trombly, our birth injury lawyer has represented clients in medical negligence cases in the courts in DC as well as in the courts of Baltimore Maryland, and Prince George’s, Montgomery, Frederick, Washington and Charles counties in Maryland. And our experience has enabled us to secure significant recoveries on behalf of our medical negligence clients, including parents whose children have suffered brain injuries. Birth injuries due to medical negligence can take many forms and have many causes. When the injury is to the baby, the two major types of injuries are hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy and a brachial plexis injury, which is also known as an Erbs Palsy injury. Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy is a medical term for an injury to the baby's brain that is caused by either a total interruption of oxygen or a lack of adequate oxygen (birth asphyxia) being delivered to the brain. Typically, the medical negligence is the failure of the labor and delivery nurse, the midwife and / or the obstetrician to recognize evidence on the fetal heart monitor tracings that the baby is in trouble and needs to promptly deliver by a c-section. There can be many reasons why a threat to the baby's well being develops during labor. Sometimes, the medical negligence is not only failing to recognize the threat but also creating the threat in the first place. Examples of doctor negligence which can endanger the baby's well being are:
Regardless of why it occurs, paying careful attention to signs of fetal distress during labor is one of the most important functions of the labor and delivery team. The best information regarding the baby's well being during labor is the fetal heart monitor which provides information on the baby's heart rate and the baby's response to the mother's contractions both of which in turn provide evidence as to whether the baby is in trouble. Other reasons for concern can also exist such as the presence of meconium in the amniotic fluid at the time of the rupture of the membranes, decreased levels of amniotic fluid seen on sonogram, and maternal fever. But the most important factor remains the fetal heart monitor strip and whether the baby's heart rate is showing such things as a decrease in beat to beat variability, a tachycardic elevation or bradycardic decrease in the base line, or decelerations, particularly late decelerations associated with the mother's contractions. Our birth injury lawyer is experienced in representing clients in the Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, Maryland areas whose children have suffered brain injury and brachial plexis nerve injury as the result of medical negligence. A brachial plexis or Erbs Palsy injury is an injury to the nerve that serves the baby's arm. The injury happens when a medical emergency known as shoulder dystocia occurs during the delivery and the obstetrician does not follow the proper protocol to resolve the problem. Shoulder dystocia happens when the baby's shoulder lodges against the mother's pelvic bone. The baby's head appears but then the baby's natural descent through the vagina stops because the shoulder cannot get passed the pelvic bone. While unusual, there are well establish steps the obstetrician is suppose to take which 99% of the time will free the shoulder and allow delivery of the baby without injury. The damage to the brachial plexis nerve occurs when the obstetrician fails to use those methods and, instead, puts his hands on the baby's head and tries to accomplish the delivery by pulling down on and twisting the head, which stretches the baby's neck to the point that the brachial plexis nerve is damaged. If severely damaged, the baby is faced with permanent loss or impairment of the use of his or her arm and hand. An experienced birth injury lawyer knows that birth injuries to the mother due to poor obstetrical care at or around the time of labor and delivery also can take many forms. One example is either causing or failing to recognize the presence of a life threatening maternal uterine infection known as chorioamnionitis, which at times can actually be caused by the obstetrician's manipulation of the cervix late in pregnancy. For example, membrane stripping at full term to bring on labor can compromise the integrity of the cervical membrane and allow bacterial invasion of the uterus. Membrane stripping is a questionable procedure to begin with because of its unproven efficacy in bringing on labor. In mothers who are known to be GBS carriers, membrane stripping is a dangerous procedure that exposes the mother to the risk of developing a GBS chorioamnionitis infection that is both life threatening to the mother and to the baby. Another example is placental abnormalities such as placenta previa and placenta acretia. The former describes a placenta which is blocking the baby's descent through the cervix. The latter describes an unusual adherence of the placenta to the uterine wall which, if forcibly removed after delivery of the baby, will result in sudden life-threatening and difficult to control bleeding. Obstetrical negligence occurs in failing to identify these abnormal conditions or, having recognized them, failing to take appropriate steps to avoid their resulting in injury. The medical profession and the medical liability insurance industry are fond of saying that a bad outcome does not necessarily mean there was anything wrong with the medical care that was provided. True, but the emphasis must be on the word "necessarily". And whenever there are catastrophic outcomes to either the baby or the mother at the time of delivery, there is often a reason to question whether good and reasonable medical care was provided. Were all reasonable treatment options explained to the mother during labor? Was the mother able to decide what she believed to be the best course of treatment for her and her baby? It may turn out that the catastrophe was not 'just one of those things that happens". An attorney experienced in medical negligence matters and birth injuries can assist you in making that determination. If you or a loved one has a cerebral Palsy child or a child who has suffered other birth related injuries, and you believe the injuries may have been due to medical negligence, our Schultz & Trombly birth injury lawyer would be happy to discuss the matter with you. An initial consultation between our birth injury lawyer and a prospective client is free, either on the phone, or in person at our Washington DC law office. If a full investigation is warranted, our birth injury lawyer will undertake the investigation and then pursue the medical negligence case if one does exist in the courts of Washington DC or in Maryland. This investigation is on a contingency fee basis so that you do not have to worry about incurring any out of pocket expenses for fees or costs during the course of the matter. We encourage you to call or contact our birth injury lawyer about your possible birth injury claim, in our Washington DC law office. Schultz & Trombly, PLLC Schultz & Trombly law firm is proud to serve the greater Washington DC area, Baltimore, Maryland, and Prince George's, Montgomery, Howard, Frederick and Anne Arundel counties in Maryland. |
