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The arrival of a new baby is an exciting and much-anticipated event for parents and families. Though most infants are delivered without incident, sometimes mistakes are made by obstetricians, nurses and other healthcare professionals. When that happens, a perfectly healthy infant may suffer a devastating birth injury that alters the course of his or her life.
The St. Louis-based lawyers of Zevan & Davidson have a well-earned reputation for taking on and winning complicated birth injury medical malpractice cases in Missouri and Illinois. If you or someone you love has been the victim of medical negligence in Missouri or Illinois, contact the Missouri and Illinois birth injury attorneys at Zevan & Davidson today to schedule a free consultation by calling 314-588-7200 or filling out our online contact form.
A birth injury occurs during the delivery process or immediately after the birth. Although not all birth injuries are the result of carelessness on the part of an obstetrician, nurse or other healthcare provider, some are caused by medical mistakes.
Some of the most common birth injury medical mistakes are:
- Failing to anticipate birth complications. A large baby a mother with known health risks or one who has experienced birthing complications in the past are all indications that the delivery may be complicated.
- Failure to respond to an irregular fetal heartbeat, which may signal that the baby is in distress
- Failure to realize that the umbilical cord is wrapped around the baby's neck or to respond in a timely manner
- Failure to stop excessive bleeding
- Misuse or excessive use of forceps or vacuum extraction
- Excessive pulling on the infant's head or shoulders during the birthing process, resulting in damage to the nerves between the neck and shoulder
- Inappropriate use of Pitocin (oxytocin), a hormone used to induce labor
- Mistakes during circumcision
- Improper care after the birth of the child
Certain conditions may result from a birth injury. If your child has been given a diagnosis of one of the following conditions, he or she may have been the victim of medical negligence:
- Cerebral palsy
- Erb's palsy
- Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy
- Shoulder dystocia
- Spastic quadriplegia
- Facial paralysis
- Persistent pulmonary hypertension
Although monetary compensation can never erase a birth injury, it can alleviate many of the day-to-day problems confronted by birth injury victims and their families. The amount of compensation awarded in a birth injury case caused by medical negligence or medical malpractice varies but is generally predicated on the severity of damage, the degree of negligence on the part of healthcare professionals and the cost of future care for the child.
However, the time allowed by law in which you may file a medical malpractice birth injury lawsuit is limited. If you wait to contact an attorney, you may end up being barred by the statute of limitations from proceeding.
Get immediate help. If you have a child with a birth injury, contact the Missouri and Illinois birth injury lawyers at Zevan & Davidson today to schedule a free consultation by calling 314-588-7200 or filling out our online contact form.
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1 North Taylor Avenue
St. Louis, Missouri 63108 |
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