Oxygen Deprivation Birth Injury Lawyers | Birth Injury Lawyers Group

An oxygen deprivation birth injury lawyer can help qualifying families gather evidence, prove medical malpractice, and hold the doctor and hospital responsible for their child’s injuries. If your child suffered oxygen deprivation during labor and delivery and has long-term or permanent complications as a result, you can take legal action if there is evidence to prove medical malpractice.

You may be able to recover compensation for your child’s diagnosis, care, and support, as well as other related expenses and losses. An oxygen deprivation birth injury attorney, who handles these types of cases in your state, can help you compile your case and provide representation to you throughout this process.

You can speak to a team member from the Birth Injury Lawyers Group today. We can evaluate your child’s potential birth injury case based on the oxygen deprivation they experienced at birth and their lasting effects as a result. Call (800) 222-9529 to learn more about legal options that may be available to you.

Most medical malpractice birth injury attorneys work based on contingency fees, meaning you will not pay any fees upfront to retain their representation. Instead, they will receive money for their services only if, and when, they secure a settlement or financial award for your family in your case.

For a free legal consultation, call 1-800-222-9529

What Happens When a Baby Is Deprived of Oxygen?

When a baby does not get the full oxygen necessary to supply their brain and other vital organs with oxygenated blood, they could suffer lasting injuries and even death. The brain and other organs require oxygen to function, and cells will begin to die within a few minutes without proper blood flow, including oxygen and nutrients.

Doctors and other trained medical personnel should watch for signs of distress or other indicators of a problem during labor and delivery. When a baby suffers oxygen deprivation, it may be necessary to immediately deliver them through additional efforts to move a vaginal delivery forward or via emergency cesarean section. In some cases, the only way to resuscitate the baby and ensure oxygen perfusion returns is by delivering the infant.

When brain cells die, they are not replaced. They instead cause problems in the affected area of the brain, leading to possible complications and impairments. Reperfusion injuries are also a problem. These injuries occur when the area begins receiving oxygenated blood again.

Many babies who suffer oxygen deprivation before, during, or shortly after delivery develop lasting disabilities or organ damage. This may include:

Cerebral palsy
Autism spectrum disorders
Epilepsy
Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD)
Learning delays
Behavioral problems
Low vision
Hearing loss
Heart or lung damage
Impaired circulation
Kidney damage
Liver damage

The doctors and hospital staff will need to act quickly to deliver and resuscitate the infant, evaluate their medical needs, and offer any treatment necessary to prevent further injuries. This could include medication, breathing support, hypothermia therapy, or even extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in the most severe cases.

Some complications may be diagnosable right away. This could include various types of organ damage and seizures if they occur. Others, including vision and hearing impairments, may be recognizable in a few months. However, most developmental disabilities and delays will not be apparent in the first few months of the child’s life. For this reason, they will require ongoing monitoring for signs of motor delays, learning delays, behavioral concerns, and other possible signs of complications related to their birth injury.

Identifying any delays or disabilities as early as possible, and beginning early intervention and treatment is critical. This is the best way to help a child overcome as many related impairments as possible, gain independence, remain on track with their peers, and live a good quality of life.

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How Long Can a Baby Be Deprived of Oxygen Before Brain Damage?

People of all ages require proper oxygenation to function. While the body has mechanisms that can help preserve the brain and some vital organs when they receive low oxygen levels for several minutes or no oxygen for a short period, these mechanisms are not meant to keep the body functioning for long.

Like people of any age, babies can only go a short time without oxygen before they begin to suffer adverse effects. In some cases, these are only short-term effects, and the child will overcome them. In others, though, they are long-term, lifelong effects that can lead to severe impairments and limitations.

All organs are susceptible to damage caused by oxygen deprivation. Still, brain cells are especially sensitive to both lack of oxygenated blood and reperfusion injuries that occur once blood flow returns. Within five minutes of the onset of oxygen deprivation, brain cells begin to die. As this process starts and continues, the lack of oxygen (hypoxia) causes more and more damage to cells in the brain. This can result in severe brain damage, global delays or significant disabilities, and even death.

The level of injury your baby suffered as a result of a deprivation of oxygen depends on several factors, as well as how long they were without proper oxygenation, how quickly they received treatment, and if they were receiving any oxygen during that time.

There are also two phases when babies who experience oxygen deprivation can suffer injuries, which includes:

Immediately when they are deprived of oxygen
When oxygenated blood begins to flow again during reperfusion, toxins from the damaged cells start to flow through the body

Prevention is the only way to ensure a baby who experiences oxygen deprivation does not suffer injuries during either of these phases. Once the lack of oxygen occurs, there is no way to stop any resulting damage or reperfusion injuries, although hypothermic therapy may limit these injuries.

As you can imagine, this is difficult to study in humans, but research on sheep published in the Journal of Neuroscience demonstrated that a 30-minute period of limited oxygenation (hypoxia) was enough to cause severe damage to the proper functioning of the brain’s hippocampus. This area of the brain controls learning and memory in both sheep and humans.

The period when severe damage occurs could be even shorter if the baby experienced anoxia, a condition when there is no continuous flow of oxygenated or nutrient-rich blood. This can happen when there is a problem with the placenta or umbilical cord during gestation, labor, or delivery.

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How Common Is Oxygen Deprivation at Birth?

There are no concrete numbers on how commonly oxygen deprivation occurs during delivery. It is probably more common than we realize but frequently only lasts for a few seconds. It is complicated to prove it is happening and track it when it only lasts for a moment. A very short period of a compressed umbilical cord or another issue likely happens often and with few serious adverse effects.

Without significant changes to the baby’s vital signs, complications, or health impacts later, these cases of brief oxygen deprivation may go unrecorded. Usually, the doctor delivering the baby and other hospital personnel will only become aware of oxygen deprivation or a related birth complication when:

The baby experienced significant changes in their vital signs.
The baby is not breathing and requires resuscitation after delivery.
The baby is born with other serious oxygen deprivation signs, often scoring low on their one-minute and five-minute Apgar assessments.

For this reason, it is much easier to consider how often children suffer injuries because of oxygen deprivation. When a baby suffers brain damage due to oxygen deprivation at birth, it is diagnosed as hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy or HIE. This is a serious birth injury and can cause lifelong difficulties and disabilities for children. HIE is one of the most common and serious injuries that occur because of labor and delivery complications.

According to Newborn and Infant Nursing Reviews, HIE is diagnosed between 1.5 and 2.5 of every 1,000 live births in developed countries. HIE can occur due to hypoxia, anoxia, or an ischemic event such as a stroke. These events can occur prenatally, during labor and delivery, or shortly after delivery.

Oxygen deprivation, or a missed diagnosis of deprivation, may support a medical malpractice birth injury claim. Your family may be able to hold the negligent parties responsible and recover compensation.

If you believe your child suffered injuries as a result of being deprived of oxygen or they received a diagnosis of HIE, cerebral palsy, or other related conditions, you may want to talk to someone who works on medical malpractice cases in your state. An oxygen deprivation birth injury lawyer can help you build a claim against the negligent medical care providers if you are eligible. Contact the Birth Injury Lawyers Group at (800) 222-9529 to get started today.

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Can Oxygen Deprivation at Birth Cause Learning Disabilities?

The brain damage possible because of oxygen deprivation can include learning delays and disabilities for children. Babies who experience hypoxia or anoxia during gestation, labor, or delivery may have developmental delays that could affect their motor skills, sensory processing, cognitive abilities, and more.

Some of the most common concerns related to oxygen deprivation during delivery include cerebral palsy, intellectual disabilities, seizures, and learning delays. Specific concerns may also include:

Difficulty with gross or fine motor skills, delayed writing, and independent living skills
Delayed language development, speech difficulties, and related problems
Delays in learning basic math, reading, and other school-related skills

In some children, these delays are more severe and qualify as disabilities. They may affect the child’s ability to learn and keep up with their peers in school and throughout their lives. While cerebral palsy is one of the most common issues related to oxygen deprivation and children facing motor and movement difficulties, many also face additional challenges.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), about six out of ten eight-year-olds diagnosed with cerebral palsy have other developmental disabilities, as well. This includes:

40 percent also have an intellectual disability
35 percent received an epilepsy diagnosis
15 percent have low vision or other vision impairment

Some children have more than one additional disability. For example, they may have both an intellectual disability and low vision. About 25 percent of children with cerebral palsy have epilepsy and a learning disability or another cognitive concern.

When learning delays are significant or rise to the level of being a permanent disability, it may be possible to diagnose them early. These children may benefit from starting therapy to help develop speech and communication skills, occupational therapy, and early intervention in their local school system. By the time these children reach school age, they may be ready to enter school mainstreamed with their peers with or without special education assistance.

However, many children do not receive a diagnosis of a learning disability until they reach school age. In some cases, they may even struggle to keep up with their peers in school for a time before they receive a diagnosis. With a later diagnosis, getting the child into the appropriate therapies and getting them the help they need as soon as possible is imperative.

The Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA) ensures these children have access to special education programs and receive an Individualized Education Program (IEP). IEPs are available to children with learning disabilities to address their specific needs. Their parents, doctors, therapists, teachers, and school administrators all work together to put a plan in place to help the child meet their individual goals.

What Are the Symptoms of Oxygen Deprivation in a Newborn?

Babies who suffer moderate to severe oxygen deprivation usually have low Apgar scores at one minute and possibly five minutes after birth, as well. These evaluations measure the child’s ability to tolerate labor and delivery (one minute after birth) and adapt to life outside the womb (five minutes after birth). As the initials “A.P.G.A.R.” stand for, this evaluation will rate the baby on:

Appearance, which is often blue, gray, or purple following oxygen deprivation
Pulse, which may be low or irregular
Grimace, which is a reflex that may be absent or weak in a child with oxygen deprivation
Activity, which includes muscle tone and strength
Respiration, such as breathing rate, whether their breathing is labored, and whether they can breathe on their own

Babies who experience serious oxygen deprivation may have low Apgar scores, and many are born not breathing, with labored breathing, or taking only a few breaths per minute. They may also show significant signs of fetal distress during labor, including a low heart rate and other concerns.

A healthy baby generally has an Apgar score between 7 and 10, with 10 being the highest possible score. Babies who experience oxygen deprivation may score 6 or below on these assessments, especially at one minute after birth. Some may require resuscitation or intubation to ensure they receive the oxygen necessary.

If the baby has a significant brain injury due to complications during labor and delivery, they may show signs of HIE immediately following birth, in the first few hours of life, or later on as they grow and miss developmental milestones. Early on, babies with HIE often show symptoms that include:

Little muscle tone or overly stiff muscles
No reflexes or overly reactive reflexes
Seizures
Organ dysfunction, damage, or failure, particularly the kidneys, heart, lungs, and liver
Weak or absent crying
Problems feeding

As they grow up, these babies may exhibit additional symptoms and signs of complications related to being deprived of oxygen. This primarily focuses on symptoms such as difficulty with low vision or hearing damage, missing developmental milestones, and struggling to keep up with same-age peers.

If your baby experienced these symptoms or received a diagnosis related to oxygen deprivation, such as hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy or cerebral palsy, you may be able to pursue a case against the doctor, medical practitioner, or the facility. An oxygen deprivation birth injury lawyer from your state can help. To learn more, call the Birth Injury Lawyers Group at (800) 222-9529 today. We provide complimentary evaluations of birth injury cases.

Can Low Oxygen Cause Mental Illness?

The brain’s damage that occurs due to oxygen deprivation in babies can result in mental illness, emotional concerns, and behavioral dysfunctions. When a baby suffers hypoxia, their risk for mental health concerns increases. This is because of “functional alterations of the brain structures and functions,” according to the medical journal Interdisciplinary Toxicology.

These children may experience additional concerns related to anxiety and fear. Anxiety may be manageable through mental health therapy, learning coping mechanisms, and, in some cases, medication.

Oxygen Deprivation and ADHD

Attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may develop in these children due to their brain injury. Interdisciplinary Toxicology lists this psychiatric disorder as the most commonly diagnosed in children, with between three and five percent of children around the world affected by this condition.

While several people believe ADHD only affects children, many diagnosed during childhood continue to struggle with symptoms and management as adults. Between 30 and 50 percent of those with this diagnosis will have a chronic form of ADHD that continues into adulthood. With or without medication, therapy may help these children, teens, and adults manage their symptoms.

Oxygen Deprivation and Autism Spectrum Disorder

Children who experience oxygen deprivation at birth, especially those who develop cerebral palsy, may also develop an autism spectrum disorder. While there is no definitive proof of the cause of autism, children who have cerebral palsy seem to be at an increased risk.

The effects of an autism spectrum disorder can be relatively minor, moderate, or severe. Some children with autism do well with therapy for speech and communication, occupational therapy, early intervention, and an IEP. Many go on to attend college and live independent, productive lives. Those who are severely affected may require lifelong care and support, including special education in school and around-the-clock supervision at home, in a group home, or another similar setting.

What Are the Long-Term Effects of Oxygen Deprivation?

Lack of oxygen can cause a long list of birth injuries, disabilities, and medical conditions, depending on the parts of the body that suffered damage due to the birth asphyxia. The effects of this type of birth injury can vary widely, as well as how the injury can affect the child’s life.

In some cases, babies may suffer a delay they overcome with support or have a manageable condition that requires them to take medication but otherwise lead a relatively normal life. For example, a baby may begin epilepsy medication and only require monitoring and continued medication to manage symptoms. Alternatively, a child can learn to deal with hearing loss thanks to speech therapy and hearing aids.

When babies suffer more severe conditions and symptoms, they may face related challenges throughout their lives. Imagine your child has cerebral palsy and struggles to use their right arm. They may learn how to work around this impairment with physical and occupational therapies and live independently. A child who has the same impairment and has a severe intellectual disability may be unable to live on their own or handle their self-care activities.

Some potentially lifelong diagnoses that a child who experienced oxygen deprivation at birth could receive include:

Cerebral Palsy

The CDC lists cerebral palsy as the most common muscle, movement, and motor disability in children. The effects of cerebral palsy can vary widely, affecting each child in different ways and severities. Most can walk on their own, but about 40 percent also have a co-occurring intellectual disability. Nearly a third require a wheelchair or walker to get around.

Developmental Disabilities

Oxygen deprivation can cause a wide variety of developmental concerns. These are not usually recognized immediately following birth. Instead, they are diagnosed as the child misses developmental milestones. These delays and disabilities may affect physical movement, intellectual and cognitive development, emotional and mental health, social and behavioral abilities, and more.

Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder

Babies who experienced oxygen deprivation at birth may be at an increased risk for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, as well as other behavioral disorders. The brain damage from asphyxia during delivery can also cause other mental health concerns, including an increased risk for anxiety and autism spectrum disorder.

Sensory Changes

Babies with infant asphyxia injuries may experience low vision and other vision issues. Many require glasses, surgery, or therapy to strengthen their eye muscles to maximize their ability to see. Hearing loss is also common in children who experienced birth injuries related to oxygen deprivation. Hearing aids, cochlear implants, and other devices may help them to hear and communicate.

Organ Damage

The brain is not the only organ injured as a result of oxygen deprivation. Babies may experience permanent injuries to one or more vital organs because of oxygen deprivation, which could include dysfunction or failure of the kidneys, liver, heart, or lungs.

What Are the Causes of Oxygen Deprivation?

There are many reasons why a baby may not receive the necessary level of oxygen during gestation, labor, or delivery. Many of these causes are preventable with proper monitoring or can be quickly addressed when the doctor and care team recognize what is happening and immediately act.

Medical negligence may contribute to a baby’s injuries when:

A doctor or another member of the hospital staff fails to anticipate a likely complication.
The mother and baby are not adequately monitored during labor and delivery.
The doctor does not diagnose a condition that causes oxygen deprivation.
The doctor fails to recognize the signs of oxygen deprivation after birth.
The medical team fails to provide an expected, acceptable standard of care.

Some possible causes of oxygen deprivation and birth asphyxia include:

Low levels of oxygen and nutrients in the mother’s blood because of impaired oxygenation
Certain maternal infections
Long and difficult deliveries
Umbilical cord compression
The umbilical cord delivers prior to the baby
Nuchal cord, wrapped around the baby’s neck
Other umbilical cord problems
Issues with the placenta, such as separating too early
Extremely high or low maternal blood pressure
A blocked airway

If your child suffers from a medical condition or other effects related to birth asphyxia, an oxygen deprivation birth injury lawyer may be able to build a case for compensation for your family. You may be able to hold the doctor, hospital, or another liable party responsible for your child’s birth injuries and your family’s related financial needs.

To learn if you are eligible to take legal action, contact the Birth Injury Lawyers Group by calling (800) 222-9529 today. A member of our legal team will speak with you about your child’s birth injuries and whether medical negligence may have played a role. Our case evaluations are free for families of children who suffered oxygen deprivation at birth.

What Is the Treatment for Oxygen Deprivation?

There is no effective cure for the damage done by oxygen deprivation. Treatment to limit the severity of the damage and prevent some reperfusion injury may include therapeutic hypothermia. This treatment lowers the baby’s body temperature significantly to slow down their body processes for up to 72 hours following birth. This is commonly used only in babies who suffer moderate or severe oxygen deprivation.

They are placed in a cooling chamber, which may include a cooling cap to cool their head, a cooling blanket, a cooling mattress, or a combination of the three. The baby’s vital signs are closely monitored, and they are given medications to keep them comfortable throughout the entire time.

According to clinical data published in the medical journal Early Human Development, therapeutic hypothermia has been proven to improve outcomes in babies with brain injuries related to hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy. This includes:

Improved survival at 1.5 years of age
Improve neurological outcomes
Fewer disabilities and delays

However, according to a study in Expert Review of Obstetrics & Gynecology, more than 40 percent of infants who received therapeutic hypothermia still passed away before the age of 18 months or suffered a lasting impairment. Because of this statistic and the reality that permanent damage is possible and irreversible, the focus remains on preventing oxygen deprivation and ending any occurrence as quickly as possible.

Babies who do experience oxygen deprivation during labor or delivery may require other medical treatment in addition to hypothermia therapy. This treatment is often lifesaving or life-sustaining and may address emergent medical concerns, damage already suffered, or issues related to their delivery complications. The treatment required could include:

Supplemental oxygen, mechanical ventilation, or ECMO
Medications to control their heart rate and keep it in rhythm
Treatments for low blood pressure, including blood products, medication, fluids, and more
General anesthetics to calm the baby and allow their body to heal
Treatment for seizures
Treatment for organ dysfunction or damage

Your child’s doctor should act quickly to determine their needs based on their birth injury. Failure to do so could be medical negligence, even if the cause of their oxygen deprivation were not preventable.

How Do You Diagnose Oxygen Deprivation?

If a baby’s vital signs indicate a concern during delivery, such as their heart rate dropping extremely low, or there is another indication of a serious complication that could lead to oxygen deprivation, the baby will likely receive close monitoring following birth.

In some cases, it may not be clear that there was a serious concern until the baby is actually delivered. When this occurs, their Apgar scores will generally indicate a problem. At one minute after birth, the Apgar assessment allows the doctor and care team to understand how the child handled the delivery. Most healthy babies will score between 7 and 10. Babies who suffered oxygen deprivation at birth for longer than a few seconds may have low scores in one or more of the five categories, including respiration, pulse, and appearance. Oxygen deprivation can affect all five of the categories evaluated for babies.

A low score at one minute after birth will likely prompt treatment, additional support, and testing for the baby. The assessment at five minutes following birth may dramatically improve in some babies while in others, they will continue to struggle. Additional testing may be necessary to help the medical care team better understand what is going on and what the baby’s needs may be. This could include:

Blood tests
Medical imaging, such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to identify damage to the brain
Echocardiogram and/or electrocardiogram (ECG) to identify damage to the heart
Electroencephalogram (EEG) to diagnose seizure activity

Babies who require therapeutic cooling, other treatment, or additional observation will likely go to the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) for care. This allows for the most highly trained nurses providing care and the most advanced treatments to be administered to the baby, as necessary.

How Can You Prevent Oxygen Deprivation?

The best way to protect your child from suffering from brain injury or hypoxic injuries to other vital organs is to prevent oxygen deprivation in the first place. By preventing oxygen deprivation or restoring the flow of oxygenated blood quickly, your child’s doctor and care team can significantly reduce the risk of lasting injuries if a problem does occur.

The first step in preventing oxygen deprivation and all the medical concerns or complications that can cause it is by closely and adequately monitoring the pregnancy. From the mother’s first prenatal visit through labor and delivery, monitoring the mother and baby is critical. There are accepted standards doctors and other practitioners need to follow when monitoring a pregnancy’s progress, the baby’s development, and the mother and baby’s health.

Proper monitoring of the pregnancy can significantly reduce the risk of complications that lead to oxygen deprivation, including maternal infections, uncontrolled maternal blood pressure, and other serious medical concerns. It may also allow the doctor to notice signs of a problem with the placenta or umbilical cord before they occur.

In some cases, the doctor must make difficult decisions before delivery. This usually comes in the form of calling for a cesarean section or another type of surgical delivery instead of a vaginal one. This may be necessary if there is reason to anticipate a difficult delivery or worry about the stress of labor on the mother or baby.

Since most oxygen deprivation occurs just before, during, or immediately after delivery, it is also essential that the doctors, nurses, and other care providers closely monitor the mother and baby for any complications or signs of birth asphyxia during this time. For example, it may be possible to identify a problem because of a mother’s extraordinarily high or low blood pressure or a baby’s dropping heart rate.

With close monitoring, the doctor can immediately deliver the baby if there is a problem. This could prevent the baby from suffering oxygen deprivation, limit oxygen reduction, or mean the baby only experienced asphyxia for a few seconds. It also allows for the quick return of oxygenated blood flow or resuscitation if necessary. This may make it possible to limit how long the baby goes without proper blood flow or oxygen and nutrients to their brain and other vital organs, potentially limiting damage.

It is also imperative that the doctor and care team follow all accepted protocols during delivery. When a doctor or nurse fails to follow proper protocol for monitoring or delivering a baby, serious injuries to the mother and child can result. In some circumstances, complications during delivery that are addressed incorrectly can lead to oxygen deprivation and permanent injuries.

What Evidence Do I Need to File an Oxygen Deprivation Claim?

Oxygen deprivation birth injury cases, like all medical malpractice cases, are based on medical negligence. You will need to prove negligence occurred to pursue damages in this type of case if you hope to hold the doctor or hospital accountable and recover compensation.

Proving negligence in a birth injury case involving oxygen deprivation requires you to have evidence that shows:

The doctor or another party had a specific task they were supposed to carry out, such as monitoring your child’s heart rate carefully during labor and delivery.
They did not fulfill their duty, failing to provide an acceptable “standard of care” to your child.
As a result of their actions or inactions, your baby suffered oxygen deprivation and birth injuries.
Your child’s birth injury cost your family financial losses, as well as hurt your child physically and emotionally.

Proving this is difficult on your own, if not impossible. Most people–including parents, judges, jury members, and even medical malpractice attorneys–know little about the appropriate standard of care required in any given situation. To prove your child’s oxygen deprivation and birth injuries were the results of medical negligence, you will need someone who can testify to the standard of care and other medical knowledge.

To this end, many states require that you work with a medical expert witness who will review your case and verify that negligence occurred. Each state has its own laws, and your birth injury attorney can help you understand what must happen and the role an expert or experts will play in your case.

They will identify a medical expert that can help you understand your case through their network of expert witnesses. In your case, the expert will be able to:

Explain what caused your child’s injuries, what happened, and what should have occurred instead
Verify that medical malpractice occurred
Explain the mechanism of injury and their injuries in detail
Discuss your child’s prognosis, care needs, and future treatment and care
Answer other medical questions that arise related to your child’s injury

Some states will require the expert to review your case and verify that malpractice likely occurred before you can file a malpractice lawsuit against the doctor or hospital. In addition to their testimony, the evidence in your case could include:

The relevant medical records and related documentation
Proof of your child’s disabilities, lasting injuries, or other impairments
Your child’s treatment plan, proof of your expenses to date, and documentation of likely future needs

If they believe your family has a valid case for compensation, an oxygen deprivation birth injury lawyer will dedicate their time and resources to helping you prepare and file your claim. To get started, contact the Birth Injury Lawyers Group today at (800) 222-9529.

How Can a Lawyer Help with an Oxygen Deprivation Claim?

When you contact the Birth Injury Lawyers Group, you can get help today. Working with an attorney who regularly represents families of children who suffered birth injuries near you ensures you have a law firm on your side that understands the law as it applies to a baby who was a victim of medical malpractice. These laws can be complex in some areas.

Alternatively, your lawyer will help you with several tasks related to your case and filing a claim. This will include duties such as:

Explaining your rights based on the specifics of your child’s case
Helping you understand the process and any necessary steps
Developing a case and gathering evidence to support it
Assigning liability against the doctor, hospital, or another party
Obtaining and analyzing your child’s medical records and all documentation of their injuries
Identifying the best medical expert witness for your case
Pursuing a claim or taking the case to civil court

Your lawyer will also work with you to identify your family’s current and future recoverable losses and document them properly. This allows you to seek a fair, negotiated settlement or request an award in court based on the expenses and losses related to your child’s diagnosis, treatment, support and care, and future care needs.

Recoverable damages in an oxygen deprivation birth injury case may include:

Medical costs related to your child’s initial treatment and care
Medical costs from their diagnosis and treatment of complications
Current and future treatment and therapy for their condition
Ongoing care costs for your child, as needed.
Wheelchairs, walkers, canes, and other mobility aids
Additional resources for communication and adaptive actions
Out-of-pocket expenses from your child’s injury or diagnosis
Pain and suffering damages
Mental anguish
Other intangible losses
Punitive damages, in some cases

Your lawyer will represent your child’s best interests and protect your family’s rights from the moment you sign on to retain their services through building a case, filing a claim, and seeking compensation in court. An oxygen deprivation birth injury lawyer who regularly works in your state can ensure you do not miss any deadlines and file the appropriate paperwork to move forward with your legal case.

To learn more today, call the Birth Injury Lawyers Group at (800) 222-9529.

How Is Negligence Proven in an Oxygen Deprivation Claim?

Proving negligence in an oxygen deprivation case relies on showing that the doctor, another care practitioner, the hospital, or another party failed to provide an acceptable standard of care, and this caused your child to suffer a birth injury. As mentioned before, this generally requires you to rely on a medical expert who can testify to the applicable standard of care.

Your birth injury attorney will be able to call on their network of medical experts who they know and trust, identifying one of them or someone the experts recommend for your case. The medical expert’s legal role in proving negligence in your case will depend on your location and jurisdiction. In all cases, the expert will need to review your child’s medical records and determine what happened and what led to their oxygen deprivation, as well as the response and the resulting complications and medical conditions.

Some states require testimony in the case, some require a signed affidavit before filing, and some just ask the lawyer to affirm the expert agreed that negligence occurred.

For example, in New York, your attorney will only need to confirm with the expert that malpractice likely occurred per NY Civil Practice Law & Rules (CVP) § 3012-A. New Jersey, meanwhile, requires a sworn affidavit of merit filed before the case can begin under NJ Rev Stat § 2A:53A-27.

To qualify to serve as a medical expert in a birth injury case, the doctor must have a certain level of training and expertise. In general, they will practice medicine in the same geographic area, have similar training and experience to the doctor who delivered your child, and regularly deliver newborns.

An oxygen deprivation birth injury lawyer will know how to identify a medical expert who can support your case, as well as follow the applicable rules to ensure that the expert’s affidavit, testimony, or other input proves negligence as required in your state.

To get started today, call the Birth Injury Lawyers Group at (800) 222-9529.

A Member of Our Team is Ready to Assist You Today with Your Oxygen Deprivation Claim

If you believe your child’s birth injuries resulted from medical negligence or you are interested in discussing this possibility, we are here to help you. We will speak with you today about your child’s delivery, injuries, diagnosis, and prognosis. We can evaluate your case and help you understand if you are eligible to take legal action based on the facts of what your baby experienced.

If an oxygen deprivation birth injury lawyer represents you in your birth injury case, you can count on them to protect rights and fight for your family’s best interests. This includes building a case and seeking justice for the injuries and lasting effects your child experienced and continues to experience.

With a strong case, it may be possible to secure compensation to cover your family’s financial needs related to your child’s treatment and care. Your attorney may be able to negotiate a settlement or secure a monetary award based on your family’s current and future medical expenses.

Speak to a member of the Birth Injury Lawyers Group for help today. Contact us at (800) 222-9529 to get started.

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