Birth Injury Information from a Medical Malpractice Lawyer in Virginia | Shapiro, Washburn & Sharp

The birth of a child is often the most joyous time of a young couple; a dream come true. However, that dream can turn into a nightmare when something goes wrong in the delivery room. Unfortunately, this happens all too often and the parents need to speak to a law firm that experience handling these types of tragic cases.   
Typical types of birth injuries

  • Hypoxic brain injury – when the baby doesn’t have enough oxygen. Prolonged oxygen deprivation can result in brain damage and neurological disorders, such as cerebral palsy, hypoxic ischemia injury, and epilepsy.
  • Brachial Plexus injury (Erb’s Palsy) – when the nerves connected to the arm and hand get stretched as the baby passes through the birth canal.  Many times these injuries result from a condition called shoulder dystocia, which occurs when the infant’s shoulder get blocked by the pelvic bone of the mother. 
  • Cerebral Palsy – Neurological disorder affecting movement and coordination.

 Failure to recognize the need to perform a cesarean section (i.e. c-section).  In some cases, prenatal, as well as circumstances that arise at the time of delivery, require that the doctor recommend and perform a cesarean section in order to safely deliver the baby. Failure to that can result in the injuries that we listed above.
 We will protect the right of the parent and the child when things go wrong at delivery. For example, we successfully secured a $2.3 million jury verdict for a mother and her child due to negligent care during birth that led to the child suffering shoulder dystocia. To learn about this birth injury verdict, click here.