Childbirth has a lot of risks to both the mother and the baby. One of these is birth asphyxia. If there are problems with the umbilical cord or placenta, a baby may not get enough oxygen. This can cause permanent brain damage or death.
Doctors must watch for signs of birth asphyxia and act swiftly to prevent it. If they miss the signs, they may be liable for malpractice. Birth Injury Lawyers Group can connect you with a birth injury lawyer in Washington, D.C., who can advise you about your situation and help you get compensation.
What Is Birth Asphyxia?
Birth asphyxia happens when a baby doesn’t get enough oxygen during or soon after birth. Babies have to switch from getting oxygen through the umbilical cord to their lungs during birth. Any interruption that keeps them from breathing can have devastating consequences.
If a baby goes without oxygen for too long, the buildup of acid in the blood and the lack of oxygen will cause organ failure and brain death. Babies with mild and even moderate cases of birth asphyxia may recover fully, but severe cases can cause death or permanent disability.
Birth asphyxia is linked to several physical, cognitive, and behavioral changes that are expensive to treat and could last a lifetime, including mental illnesses like schizophrenia, neurodivergent conditions like ADHD and autistic spectrum disorder, and physical illnesses like cerebral palsy.
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What Causes Birth Asphyxia?
There are a variety of causes that can lead to birth asphyxia and several risk factors that raise the chances of it happening. Some causes include:
- Anything that compresses or constricts the umbilical cord, such as a prolapsed umbilical cord.
- Placental problems
- Infections during labor
- Blood pressure regulation
- Not enough oxygen in the mother
- Anemia in the baby
- Long or difficult labors
- Choking on amniotic fluid or meconium during birth
- Birth before 37 weeks (undeveloped lungs)
Risk factors for birth asphyxia include a young birth age, multiple births, abnormal fetal position, a history of birth asphyxia, and preeclampsia. Your doctor should have taken these and other factors into consideration during your prenatal care to give your child the best chance of a healthy birth.
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How Do Doctors Detect Birth Asphyxia?
A key part of birth asphyxia cases is when the doctors knew that there was a problem. There are signs that doctors look for to detect breathing difficulties in a newborn. One of these is the Apgar test.
A low Apgar score that lasts for longer than five minutes after birth is a powerful sign of birth asphyxia. Doctors and nurses will look at the child’s appearance, pulse, grimace, activity, and respiration at least twice soon after birth. At least, they should.
If this test isn’t done correctly, or isn’t done at all, or they fail to take immediate action if the scores are too low, you may have a strong case for medical malpractice. Our birth injury attorneys will go over the evidence to find out what went wrong and if your doctors could have prevented it.
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What Must Be Proven to Win My Case?
Medical malpractice is a difficult area of law that rests on fact-based evidence. Getting that evidence and turning it into a valid case is the job of your birth asphyxia attorney. They have to prove four things in order for you to win your case.
First, was there a medical relationship between you and the defendant? This creates a duty of care. The second thing is proving that the duty of care was broken. Doctors and nurses have standards of care they have to follow in medical situations. Discovering this breach is the most challenging part of proving your case.
If we find a breach, the third thing we need to prove is that the breach caused your child’s injuries. Testimony from medical experts can show this. Finally, we have to prove all the damages you and your child have suffered because of what happened.
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How Much Could I Win for My Child?
Like proving your case, showing how much you could get for your child’s injury depends on the evidence. Every case is unique, but it’s not uncommon for birth injury cases to pay at least six figures. Some injury types, like severe cerebral palsy, may even reach seven figures.
Some damages we’ll seek to make you whole again include:
- All the costs, past, present and future, for your child’s medical care related to the injury
- Any lost wages related to caring for your child’s welfare
- Pain and suffering on the part of you and your child, along with other non-economic damages
These are just the most common damages. If your child passed away because of birth asphyxia, you can also claim wrongful death damages to help pay for your child’s final expenses. Speak with us as soon as possible if you’re in this unfortunate situation because your time may be limited to file a wrongful death claim.
Paying For Our Services
You do not have to pay anything for the services of our District of Columbia birth asphyxia attorneys unless you win compensation. If you do not win, you pay us nothing. This makes it fair for anyone to hire a birth injury attorney, no matter their financial situation.
What happens if you win? Your lawyer will take a percentage of the final compensation, so all pay will come from your final award, not from what’s in your accounts. Your lawyer should explain what their fees are during your consultation.
Ask your attorney during your consultation how their services will raise your settlement amount and to justify their contingency percentage. It’s important to feel comfortable that your lawyer is charging a fair rate for their services.
Hire a Birth Asphyxia Attorney in Washington, D.C.
If your child was diagnosed with birth asphyxia or a condition that it has caused, you need to speak with a birth asphyxia attorney to see if you may be owed compensation. The Birth Injury Lawyers Group is ready to help you get compensation for your child’s injury.
To get your case started with a free case evaluation and consultation, contact our team by calling the number on your screen or using the online form to email us. One of our representatives will schedule an appointment with one of our lawyers. Get the answers to your questions about your child’s injury when you contact the Birth Injury Lawyers Group.
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