CHILD BIRTH LAWSUITS: An Update from Attorney Charles Jerome Ware

Charles Jerome Ware, P.A., Attorneys and Counsellors, is a national law firm which is committed to making a positive difference in the lives of our clients. Child birth injuries represent an area of legal expertise in the firm.

Child birth injuries are not uncommon. Ordinarily the child is being delivered through a narrow vaginal canal, so injuries can happen in the process. Newborn babies with large weight and advanced gestational age tend to be more susceptible to these injuries. Other conditions commonly associated with birth injuries include underlying medical problem such as osteogenesis imprefecta (a condition causing extremely fragile bones), cerebral palsy (CP) and arthogryposis (a rare congenital disorder that is characterized by multiple joint contractures, stiff joints and/or abnormally developed muscles).

Conditions that may be associated with a difficult child birth may include, but are not limited to:

- Large babies who have a birth weight over 8 pounds, 13 ounces;

- Babies born before 37 weeks. The bodies of premature babies are more fragile and thus may be more easily injured;

- Inadequacy of the size and shape of the mother’s pelvis;

- Dystocia (difficult labor or child birth);

- Breech Delivery (abnormal birth delivery, such as when the baby’s buttocks comes first); and

- Prolonged labor which allows more time for things to go wrong.

In most instances, child birth injuries ("pediatric injuries") can be avoided with proper prenatal medical planning and a highly trained staff.

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