It is imperative to the health of a child that both mother and baby be monitored throughout the nine months of pregnancy as well as during labor and childbirth. Should the life of the mother and/or child be placed at risk during any of these stages, the attending physician is responsible for acting accordingly to eliminate this risk or reduce it to the best of his or her ability.
While childbirth is arguably one of the most important moments in a woman’s life, a beautiful event can become tragic if a child suffers a birth injury due to the fault or negligence of the physician. If a doctor fails to diagnose hypoxia or other forms of fetal distress, the child may suffer from cerebral palsy, nerve or brain damage, or death.
Several factors may make childbirth more difficult for those involved, including a large baby, the baby’s position, the size of the mother’s pelvis, and a premature birth. One of the most common birth injuries, cerebral palsy, can occur due to negligence of the part of the physician and may adversely affect the child for the duration of his or her life. The condition develops if a baby’s brain does not have enough oxygen during labor and birth, and is characterized by inhibited body movement, poor muscle coordination, and other neurological disorders.
Patients may consider working with an Iowa birth injury attorney if they delivered a baby with one of the following serious or life-threatening birth injuries:
- Swelling of the child’s scalp
- Bone fractures
- Brain injuries
- Forceps marks
- Bruising
- Paralysis of the face
- Erb’s Palsy
- Subconjunctival hemorrhage
An Iowa birth injury attorney can review the circumstances surrounding your labor and childbirth and help determine what went wrong. Should your legal counsel find that your attending physician was negligent and that his or her actions caused your child to sustain a birth injury, you may be entitled to pursue a claim against the responsible party. Doing so could increase your chances of getting compensation for your child’s condition, medical expenses associated with the injury, and long term care.
Contact an Iowa Birth Injury Attorney for More Information
If your child was injured during birth and you believe that the physician’s negligence was the cause, you may have legal recourse. Contact Attorney Group for Iowa today to learn more about your legal options and about filing a lawsuit for compensation. We can evaluate your case, free of charge, and put you in touch with an affiliated Iowa birth injury attorney who can help you to recover the damages to which you may be entitled.
