Childbirth can be a painful but incredibly rewarding experience. However, when something goes wrong, your happy day could turn into months or years of stress and expensive treatment. Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy attorneys in Arkansas can help you get compensation and hold the negligent caregiver accountable.
Read more about hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) and what a lawyer can do for you. When you’re ready to talk to someone about your situation, you can get a free consultation with a birth injury attorney from our law group.
For a free legal consultation, call 1-800-222-9529
What Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy Looks Like
Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy is a condition in the brain caused by a lack of oxygen and blood flow. That means it can sometimes be hard to tell whether your child has been affected unless you’re a medical professional. There are telltale signs, though, which can include:
- A difficult birth: If childbirth was particularly difficult for either the mother, the doctor, or the child, it could have caused oxygen to be cut off from the brain.
- Developmental problems: If a child has trouble eating or misses important milestones, it could be a sign that they suffered a brain injury during or after childbirth.
- A low APGAR score: Directly after birth, many doctors perform an APGAR test. This is a fast test that determines how well a baby did during birth and how well the child will do outside of the womb.
If you have any suspicion that your child was injured before, during, or after birth, you should see a medical professional as soon as possible. Not only is it important that your child gets the treatment they need, but it’s also vital to your claim that you get an official diagnosis.
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Birth Injuries vs. Birth Defects
Some people use the terms “birth injury” and “birth defect” interchangeably, but that’s not right. There are some very important differences between the two, and understanding which one affects your child could be vital to any malpractice claim you try to file.
Birth defects are congenital conditions that are passed on to children from their parents. In some rare cases, a doctor could help parents avoid a birth defect, but in most cases, these can only be prevented by keeping healthy habits while pregnant.
Birth injuries, on the other hand, are caused by some event that happens directly before or during birth. Medical professionals can often avoid these, either by calling for preventative measures or by handling the childbirth process correctly.
Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy is a birth injury, not a birth defect. That means there is a chance that a caregiver negligently allowed it. If that’s the case, an Arkansas hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy lawyer can help you hold them accountable and get compensation for your child’s treatment.
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Can You Recover From Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy?
It is possible to recover from hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. However, even if a child is not seriously affected by the condition, they could still suffer from the effects of the brain injury for years. Many children do not fully recover and must live with conditions like cerebral palsy and other developmental disabilities.
There is one treatment that directly addresses HIE: brain cooling therapy. If a doctor is able to accurately diagnose hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy and reduce the child’s body temperature for an extended period, they could prevent many of the long-term effects of the condition.
Past brain cooling therapy, the only other treatments for HIE address the symptoms. Physical therapy, speech therapy, and other ongoing rehabilitation can help your child to function better, but may not be able to take away the full effects of what happened.
In any case, the treatment for your child’s HIE can be expensive, especially if you have to continually take off work to care for them or drive them to appointments. A hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy attorney in Arkansas can help you recover compensation to cover those expenses and more.
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Getting Compensation for Malpractice in Arkansas
When you file a birth injury claim in Arkansas, you’re saying that the at-fault party caused specific economic and non-economic damages to your child and your family. The compensation that you get will be based on those damages, which include:
- Medical bills related to your child’s birth injury
- Ongoing treatment
- Lost work
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Wrongful death
Your HIE attorney will need to use your medical bills and other documents to show exactly how much you lost due to the at-fault party’s malpractice. This will ideally cover both what you’ve already paid, as well as what you’re likely to pay in the future.
How much compensation you’re eligible for in your hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy claim is hard to say without knowing the details of your case. At your free initial consultation, your HIE lawyer will talk to you about your case and tell you how much you might be able to get.
Talk to a Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy Lawyer in Arkansas
After a birth injury, you can be left wondering where to turn and what to do. An Arkansas hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy attorney from Birth Injury Lawers Group can talk you through your case and point you towards experienced medical providers who can help your child.
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