Birthing injury is simply defined as an injury sustained to a newborn during the childbirth process, including injury caused by care administered to the baby’s mother prior to delivery. Birth injuries are serious, and can have lasting effects on a baby’s development, altering the baby’s life permanently in some instances.

Examples of birth injuries are:

Bruising may occur during delivery, particularly if forceps are used to help extract the baby
Fractured bones (e.g. the collar bone)can occur during a breech delivery
Brain damage can occur if the baby is deprived of oxygen, possibly if the umbilical cord wraps around the baby’s neck
Brachial Palsy when the nerves that control arm and hand movement are damaged during delivery, particularly if the baby is delivered through the birth canal and the baby’s shoulders do not have the easiest times passing through the canal

Negligence on the part of physician’s can take on a variety of roles. When complications in child birth arise, time is of the essence. If a physician fails to recognize a complication, such as if the baby’s size will prevent he or she from safely passing through the birth canal unscathed, then that physician is negligent and can be held accountable for injuries that the baby sustains as a result of the physician’s failure to act. If a physician does not order a cesarean section when it remains the only safe way of delivering the baby, then the physician can also be held liable. Furthermore, if the physician is too rough during the childbirth, that is, as he or she is helping extract the baby from the birth canal, then injuries sustained by the baby, injuries that may not have been inflicted upon the baby otherwise, are the fault of the physician.

At the Bernard Law Group, our skilled Washington birth injury lawyers have the experience necessary to recognize negligence in the child birthing process. One such example is the $1.6 million settlement secured by our attorneys when, even though the defendants in the case denied that they were at fault for a uterine rupture that resulted in loss of blood and brain damage to a baby during childbirth, resulting in brain damage, the defendants eventually settled the case for the aforementioned amount due to the vigorous litigation that our attorneys put forth.

If you feel as if your baby has been a victim of birth injury in Washington, please do not hesitate to contact the Bernard Law Group for a consultation of your case. We will hold negligent parties responsible for their actions, and will get you the monetary compensation you deserve to help cover the costs of medical bills, necessary life-long care for your baby resulting from your accident, and other costs that have arisen due to negligence that resulted in birth injury.