Hypoxia Can Cause Serious Damage And Can Cause Cerebral Palsy
Hypoxia is a lack of oxygen in the tissues in the body. Sometimes it is used to describe a lack of oxygen to the brain as well, meaning the baby is not getting sufficient oxygen to his brain before or during birth. It is a devastating, sometimes fatal condition that can cause severe brain damage.
Lack of oxygen to the brain at birth is sometimes called asphyxia as well. The term to describe the severe, permanent injury to the baby’s brain is hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy; usually called HIE. This is certainly a cause of cerebral palsy, and can often be medical malpractice if the residents, interns, and medical students in the hospital did not recognize and act on the signs and symptoms in time to prevent the injury to the baby. These signs and symptoms can include fetal tachycardia (elevated heart rate), non-reassuring fetal monitoring strips, maternal bleeding, and decreased heart rate in the baby.
If a doctor told you your baby was hypoxic at birth (that he or she was deprived of oxygen during or around the time of birth and it caused an injury to his brain), you should have the medical records evaluated by an experienced D.C. medical malpractice lawyer to determine whether the injury was caused by medical malpractice and should have been prevented.
How Do I Know If My Child Has Been Affected By A Medical Mistake?
The only way to really know if your child’s condition, like cerebral palsy, was caused by medical malpractice is to take that first step and have the medical records reviewed. You may be one step closer to getting your child the resources he or she needs to live a full and healthy life and to provide everything required by the medical condition. We’ve helped many families with a child affected by medical malpractice in every D.C. hospital. And medical malpractice happens in every D.C. hospital; “good” hospitals can still cause serious injuries.
If You Suspect Your Child’s Condition Was Caused By A Medical Mistake, Contact Our Experienced Workers Comp Lawyers Today
Medical malpractice cases take time to review and analyze; so call us today so we can get started working to get you and your family the resources you need. You can contact us today at 202-393-3320 for a free consultation with one of our experienced staff members.
Could My Child’s Cerebral Palsy Have Been Prevented In DC, Maryland, Or Virginia?
This is an excellent question considering how devastating cerebral palsy is to a child, and sometimes it is due to complications during labor and delivery, or as a complication of premature birth. Usually, cerebral palsy occurs around the time of birth. Sometimes cerebral palsy can be caused by complications from jaundice, infection, and other medical issues the newborn baby has.
According to the Cerebral Palsy Group, Cerebral Palsy affects approximately 500,000 children and adults, with around 8,000 babies and between 1,200 and 1,500 preschool-age children diagnosed each year.
Those Diagnosed With Cerebral Palsy Are Affected Differently
Cerebral Palsy is essentially brain damage to a certain part of the brain that can occur as the child develops in the womb, during childbirth due to asphyxia, and in a few other ways. The damage is to the motor cortex of the brain and results in difficulty with gross and fine motor skills development, balance, speech, muscle tone, and other types of development. Cases of Cerebral Palsy range from mild to severe; some children with Cerebral Palsy grow up to be completely self-sufficient while some need 24/7 care now, and will need it for their whole lives – long after their parents are gone.
In our experience, Cerebral Palsy can be preventable, and because of that, can lead to a medical malpractice lawsuit against the hospital that caused the injuries, to make up for some of the financial harms and losses the baby will suffer. Medical malpractice in D.C. happens because the hospital or doctors did not comply with the standard medical care the mom or baby needed, and failed to follow established Patient Safety Rules.
We Have Significant Experience And Expertise That Will Help You And Have Helped Past Clients
In this case that we won, we sued a doctor for failing to follow up on a routine test, which resulted in prematurity and Cerebral Palsy with mental retardation that could have been prevented if he had simply gotten the test results and treated the infection with antibiotics – without the test result, they never ordered antibiotics, and the infection spread, causing the mom to deliver prematurely.
There was no system for making sure important medical test results were followed up on.
We won a significant award for a family who would likely spend millions on their son’s lifetime costs of round-the-clock care because of his cerebral palsy. That case made a significant impact on the family – the right house that was accessible for their son and comfortable for their family, the best care for their son, extra nursing care when he needs it, easy transportation, and a lot more.
Parents want to do everything they can to protect their children. Unfortunately, sometimes children are injured by the people parents trust most – doctors. If you have found out that your son or daughter was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, listen to a D.C. medical malpractice lawyer in this video to learn what you can do.
When a child is diagnosed with cerebral palsy, parents often want to know if it was something they did or could have prevented. Cerebral palsy is not caused by parents. Sometimes, no one knows why it occurred, but other times the injury could have been prevented. If you feel your child suffered at the hands of doctors and you believe you have a medical malpractice case in Maryland, Virginia, or the D.C. area, then you need to talk with a skilled D.C. med mal lawyer today. Lawyers skilled in this area can investigate to determine if your child’s injury was preventable.
Call Donahoe Kearney at 202-393-3320 for a free case evaluation. We will review your child’s medical records and case to determine if your child’s cerebral palsy could have been prevented. Also, please take the time to view our many valuable resources online at www.donahoekearney.com.