BIRTH INJURY &
CEREBRAL PALSY
For over twenty years, Kimberly A. Stovall has been
helping children and their families who are victims of medical
malpractice during the pregnancy and birth of their child. Kimberly
has helped families receive just compensation from negligent
hospitals, managed care organizations, obstetricians, pediatricians,
family physicians, nurses, neonatologists and other physicians. The
fact is medical mistakes happen and their unfortunate outcome leaves
parents with concerns not only about the present but, perhaps more
importantly, about the future of their child.
Kimberly will seek compensation to provide for the necessary medical
care and attendant care that these special children may require for
the rest of their lives. Compensation for the mental anguish, pain
and suffering, including the impairment and disfigurement will also
be Kimberly’s top priority.
Kimberly and her team of experts will review the medical records to
investigate the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy, labor and
delivery and newborn course of your child. Kimberly has developed an
acute awareness of the emotional and financial hardships that
families experience when their child has been permanently injured.
Kimberly is committed to getting you the answers to the many
questions you have and to getting you the monetary compensation you
and your family deserve.
Click
here to contact Kimberly A.
Stovall, the Dallas Personal Injury Attorney Who Cares!
CEREBRAL PALSY
Each year over 10,000 babies born in the United States are
diagnosed with cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy is a condition
characterized by an impairment of the body’s ability to control
movement and posture. It results from faulty development of, or
damage to, the “motor” areas of the brain, which are responsible for
controlling movement. In many cases, cerebral palsy is accompanied
by other manifestations of brain injury, such as seizures,
intellectual impairment, behavioral problems, hearing deficits, or
vision disorders. It is a permanent and irreversible crippling
condition affecting the central nervous system of an infant or a
young child.
BRACHIAL PLEXIS
Shoulder Dystocia
After the baby’s head is delivered, the baby’s shoulders are
perpendicular to the floor. If the baby’s shoulders are too wide or
the mother’s pelvis too narrow, shoulder dystocia can result. The
brachial plexus injury results from the doctor pulling down on the
head to try and disimpact or free the stuck shoulder. While doctors
may use gentle traction on the baby’s head during a normal delivery,
traction or pulling on the head must be avoided when a shoulder
dystocia is encountered. Unfortunately the delivering doctor often
rushes the delivery and tries to pull the baby out of the birth
canal by pulling on the baby’s head causing this injury. Doctors and
nurses should be trained in handling this obstetrical complication
in a calm and cool manner.
There are a number of accepted maneuvers used to free the baby’s
shoulder when it is stuck. These include pushing the mother’s legs
to her chest and having the nurse apply pressure on an angle by the
mother’s pubic bone. The nurses or delivery room personnel should
never apply pressure on a woman’s upper abdomen. This can get the
baby’s shoulder more stuck and stretch the brachial plexus nerves.
This inappropriate maneuver is called “fundal pressure”.
There are some women who should not be allowed to have a vaginal
delivery because of concerns of birth trauma. Prenatal factors,
which should be considered by the doctor, include diabetes in
pregnancy, an expected large baby, a small pelvis, excessive
maternal weight gain, obstetric history, maternal obesity, and the
gestational age. There are a number of factors which can arise
during the labor which should lead an obstetrician to consider
performing a cesarean section because of the risk of a traumatic
delivery. These include a long labor, the need for forceps or a
vacuum extractor, and a prolonged descent of the baby down the birth
canal.
Birth Injury/Trauma
Birth trauma refers to injuries babies can have because of
doctor’s mistakes. Babies can be seriously and permanently injured
when problems are not handled properly by doctors and nurses. There
are different types and causes of birth injury. A discussion of
cerebral palsy and brachial plexus injuries is presented here.
Problems with an unborn baby can result from lack of oxygen or blood
flow to their brain. Most frequently, this occurs during labor and
delivery when a fetus is undergoing stress from the mother’s
contractions. Babies of mothers who are diagnosed with high blood
pressure, diabetes or other diseases are especially at risk for
problems to occur. It is essential for doctors to thoroughly
evaluate, monitor and diagnose problems during the pregnancy. If
not, babies may not receive adequate oxygen over time in the womb.
Click
here to contact Kimberly A.
Stovall, the Dallas Personal Injury Attorney Who Cares!
Low Oxygen Problems
During the birthing process, doctors and nurses have the
responsibility of making sure the baby does not suffer from lack of
oxygen. Hypoxemia (which means decreased oxygen to the blood) and
ischemia (which means decreased flow of blood) can combine to
asphyxiate or suffocate the baby in the womb. If a baby becomes
asphyxiated, this can lead to the brain becoming damaged. The
injurious process is similar to a child who has nearly drowned in
water and suffers brain damage. Doctors have developed electronic
fetal monitors to provide information about how a baby is tolerating
labor.
The monitor information is printed on a continuous strip of paper
next to the laboring mother’s bed. It tells the labor and delivery
team about the unborn baby’s heart rate as well as how the heart is
responding to the mom’s contractions. When interpreted correctly,
the labor and delivery team can determine when a baby is getting
into trouble from lack of oxygen. Doctors call this fetal distress.
The labor and delivery team must promptly diagnose fetal distress by
carefully recognizing changes on the fetal monitor tracing which
show the baby is suffering from lack of oxygen and blood flow.
Once fetal distress is recognized, the delivery of the baby must be
promptly carried out by cesarean section. The cesarean section
removes the baby from the womb, which is no longer healthy for the
baby; the baby is essentially suffocating in the womb.
There are situations during pregnancy and during labor which can
suddenly affect a baby’s oxygen level. Doctors and nurses must
promptly recognize and respond to the signs and symptoms of
obstetrical emergencies which can cause brain injuries to babies.
These include when the placenta tears and separates from the uterine
wall (placental abruption), when the umbilical cord gets pinched if
it slips out of the birth canal (cord prolapse); when the uterus
splits open (uterine rupture), and sudden, prolonged decrease in the
baby’s heart rate (fetal bradycardia).
In each of these emergencies, there is a dramatic decrease in oxygen
and profusion of the blood circulating to the baby’s brain. The
labor and delivery team must rapidly deliver the baby in minutes by
cesarean section before irreversible brain damage sets in. Minutes
and seconds are critical in these types of obstetrical emergencies.
Delay is inexcusable when doctors and nurses discover any of these
complications.
If the baby has suffered from lack of oxygen in the womb, the baby
will be in a very stressed and depressed condition after birth. The
baby may require endotracheal intubation to help him or her breath.
They will probably be limp and floppy; they may experience seizure
activity, and require a stay in the neonatal intensive care unit.
The doctors will usually observe low APGAR scores and the lab tests
will show acidosis, which is a low pH. Often the doctors will use
ultrasound to look at the baby’s brain, this might be followed by CT
scans or MRI studies.
Days or weeks later the baby will be discharged home. The
pediatricians or neonatologists will advise the parents that their
child is at risk for developmental problems. The problems may not be
obvious until the child is one year of age or older. Ultimately, the
pediatrician or pediatric neurologist will make a diagnosis of
cerebral palsy. Doctors might use the terms hypoxic, ischemic,
encephalopathy, quadriparesis or other medical terms. Often the
cerebral palsy could have been prevented had the labor and delivery
team properly observed, monitored and acted promptly when the unborn
baby demonstrated fetal distress.
Click
here to contact Kimberly A.
Stovall, the Dallas Personal Injury Attorney Who Cares!
Traumatic Delivery, Vacuum Extractors and Forceps
There are two types of mechanical instruments used by
obstetricians in the delivery of babies – forceps and vacuum
extractors. Both of them, when used properly, can help safely
deliver babies. Unfortunately, both of these instruments can cause
trauma to a baby’s head and brain if used incorrectly. Doctors must
be careful in applying and pulling the baby’s head with forceps and
vacuum extractors. If they are placed incorrectly, and if the doctor
uses too much pressure, pulls too hard or too often it can injure a
baby’s brain. There are several different areas of the brain that
can be injured by forceps and vacuum extractors.
The trauma to the baby’s head leads to bleeding within the brain. If
the baby’s brain has bleeding inside of it, this can lead to the
child developing cerebral palsy. If one or both of these instruments
are used, the newborn may at first appear to be normal and healthy.
However, shortly after delivery, the newborn may begin to have
trouble breathing, turn blue, demonstrate seizure activity and other
abnormal neurological signs. These sick babies often will be
transferred to the neonatal or newborn intensive care unit where
imaging studies – ultrasound, CT scans, or MRI’s – are used to
determine the area of the brain which is affected and to what
extent.
After discharge from the hospital, the baby may not meet his
milestones and demonstrate physical and mental impairment.
Click
here to contact Kimberly A.
Stovall, the Dallas Personal Injury Attorney Who Cares!
CEREBRAL PALSY &
BIRTH INJURY LINKS
American Academy for Cerebral Palsy
and Developmental Medicine –
http://www.aacpdm.org/index?service=page/Home
• Multidisciplinary scientific society devoted to the study of
cerebral palsy and other childhood onset disabilities. Promotes
professional education for the treatment and management of these
conditions, and to improving the quality of life for people with
these disabilities.
Healthboards –
http://healthboards.com/cerebral-palsy
• Provides a message board for people with cerebral palsy to discuss
their experiences with the disease and to share advice.
Click
here to contact Kimberly A.
Stovall, the Dallas Personal Injury Attorney Who Cares!
Martindale-Hubbell, the nation's premier law directory, has given
Kimberly A. Stovall its highest rating: "A.V." - the very best.
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