Common Birth Defects and Birth Injuries

Two of the most common birth defects or injuries are called Cerebral Palsy and Erbs Palsy. These two conditions, while similar in name, are distinct from one another. Both are often the result of birth trauma or injury, but cerebral palsy also commonly occurs before or after birth. Both conditions can be severely debilitating. Medical maplractice birth injury cases are applicable in many of these circumstances, and your birth injury lawyer will help you understand how these types of injuries might apply to your case.

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral Palsy is an umbrella term for a variety of medical conditions that  effect the brain and nervous system that govern muscle control. Umbrella term refers to a word used to describe many medical circumstances that end in the same result or condition. Cerebral Palsy can be difficult to define, because it may be caused by many different circumstances. It generally is caused by an injury to the baby’s brain, either in the womb, during delivery, or shortly after birth. If the flow of oxygen is disrupted during pregnancy, this can also cause Cerebral Palsy. Your birth injury attorney or birth defect lawyer will be able to help you determine the specifics pertaining to your child.

Common causes of Cerebral palsy include use of harmful prescription or other drugs during pregnancy, head trauma during delivery that causes prolonged bleeding in the infant’s brain, premature birth caused by a variety of reasons, and a physician’s failure to act to provide needed oxygen during delivery, as in the case of a delayed caesarean section when the procedure is obviously called for. These examples of gross medical negligence will be investigated by your birth injury attorney.

Cerebral Palsy may not show immediate symptoms. The symptoms of Cerebral Palsy become most obvious in the early development stages, when a child may start to exhibit telltale signs such as a slowly developed ability to roll over, crawl or smile, begin to speak, or exhibit an unusual posture, lack of co-ordination, poor muscle tone and quality, and have hearing or vision problems. Contact your physician and a birth injury lawyer immediately if you notice any of these early warning signs.

Erb's Palsy

Erb’s Palsy is most common in babies of above average birth weight. The most common cause of Erb’s Palsy, also known as Brachial Palsy, is the use of excessive pressure applied to the neck, head or shoulder during delivery because of a difficulty in delivering the shoulder area. This difficulty is common to babies who are above average weight or size, and is known as Shoulder Dystocia. When delivering babies of unusual size, a vacuum or other medical tools might be utilized to attempt to free the baby from the birth canal. Misuse of these tools or excessive force can damage the fragile brachial plexus, which is a group of nerves that connect the spinal chord to the nerves of the arms and hands. If these nerves are torn or damaged during delivery, it can cause anything from temporary bruising or swelling of the area to paralysis or limited mobility of that limb for life. These debilitating, painful and expensive mistakes may constitute negligence. A consultation with an experienced birth injury lawyer will clarify how these examples might apply to your case.

If the nerves are simply injured and not torn the area in question should fully recover and a full range of motion be possible within a few months, as long as diagnosis is swift and medical attention provided immediately. If the Brachial nerves are slightly traumatized, but the injury goes unnoticed, permanent harm may be caused by otherwise normal handling of the infant. Immobilization therapy or even surgery may sometimes correct the condition, but these options do not always succeed. If your child has been injured in this way, a birth injury lawyer may be able to help you.

Initial symptoms of Brachial palsy might be an inability to move the arm, hand or fingers. The arm might be held unnaturally immobile close to the infants body. Symptoms of Brachial Palsy are often visible significantly sooner then cerebral Palsy symptoms. Even if your child‘s injury has been corrected or partially corrected through surgery or therapy, you might still be able to win a settlement to offset the costs of surgery and medical bills related to the injury, as well as an award for the pain and suffering of both you and your child. Ask your medical malpractice birth injury lawyer for more details during your complimentary consultation.

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