MARYLAND BIRTH INJURIES AND CHILD INJURIES

Attorney Charles Jerome Ware is renowned and consistently ranked among the best attorneys and legal counsellors in the United States. [GQ Magazine, The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, The Columbia Flier, USA TODAY, The Howard County Sun, The Anniston Star, The New York Times, et al.]
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Maryland Medical Malpractice - Child Injuries

Very little in life events compares with the excitement experienced in the birth and raising of a child.

Unfortunately, however, there can be problems with many child births.

The process of labor and baby delivery are medically complicated and unpredictable.

Quite simply, birth injuries are not uncommon.

Therefore, we as a society must rely upon our physicians, nurses and other medical professionals to help survive successfully the procedures of child birth.

Thankfully, in most instances child birth is "successful". Regrettably, in a few instances it is not.

(1) Misdiagnosis/Failure to Diagnose Cases in Maryland

Typically, about ten (10%) percent of Maryland birth injury malpractice cases involve failure to properly diagnose or outright misdiagnosis issues.

A majority of those birth injury malpractice cases in Maryland include the following types of cases: (a) Cerebral Palsy (CP), (b) Erb's Palsy, and (c) Kernicterus, inter alia.

(a) Cerebral palsy (CP) is an umbrella term to describe a functional disorder caused by damage to the brain during pregnancy, delivery, or shortly after birth that can be related to this shortage of oxygen during delivery. CP is caused by faulty development of or damage to motor areas in the baby's brain that disrupt the brain's ability to control the body's movements or posture.

(b) Erb's palsy (also called Brachial Plexus palsy) is another birth injury that is caused by trauma to the unborn child. Children who suffer from Erb's palsy often suffer loss of control and/or sensation in their neck, shoulders, arms and hands.

Erb's palsy can be caused by medical malpractice, usually during the delivery of the baby. What often happens is that the child's shoulder gets stuck under the mother's pubic bone following the delivery of the head. Sometimes, the OB/GYN delivering the baby will panic and will apply excessive force on the baby to dislodge the shoulder. When this happens, damage may occur to the nerve bundles located in the shoulder region causing Erb's palsy.

(c) Kernicterus is a birth injury that rarely occurs in the absence of medical malpractice. Kernicterus is the result of two much bilirubin in the child's blood which causes extreme jaundice. Properly treated and diagnosed by the OB/GYN or pediatricians after birth, kernicterus can usually be handled without a birth injury to the child. Untreated, kernicterus can cause permanent brain damage.

(2) Brain Injuries

Probably the most serious birth injuries are those that affect a child's brain. The most feared injuries are those that result from a lack of oxygen during delivery (hypoxia), or bleeding within the skull or brain is usually what causes birth injuries and often results in irreversible brain damage. An infants' lack of oxygen - a deprivation that adults can often readily shrug off - can cause a lifetime of injury and need for medical and other care.

[Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, www.cdc.gov/Injury; orthopedics.about.com/od/prediatricorthopedics/p/birthinjuries; www.millerandzois.com/birthinjuries; www.jnj.com/ Correcting Childbirth Injuries; www.lpch.org/Disease Health Info/ Health Library/ Birth Injury; www.childbirthinjuries.com; www.google.com/Childbirth Injuries]