If your child was diagnosed with brain damage, or you suspect something is wrong, an experienced brain injury attorney can provide valuable information you can use to decide whether a medical malpractice lawsuit is in your child’s best interest.
Physical Head Injury
A baby’s brain is incredibly vulnerable to injury and remains so until the skull is fully developed and able to provide adequate protection. During the delivery process, even a microsecond of excessive pressure on an infant’s head can result in severe brain injury. In some instances, misdiagnosis of a delivery complication may lead to a treatment that actually endangers the child and causes harmful oxygen deprivation.
Lack of Oxygen Injury
Oxygen is the life-sustaining element all babies need to keep their hearts beating, their brains engaged, and their organs functioning. When air is prevented from reaching their little lungs, even slight oxygen deprivation can cause moderate to severe brain damage.
Brain damage as a result of oxygen deprivation can have a negative effect on all functions of the body, both physical and neurological/cognitive.
Identifying Brain Damage
Depending on the area of the brain that was injured and the extent of damage, a diagnosis may be made shortly after birth, or take years to discover. There are many different signs of brain damage in infants, including:
- Limpness/lethargy
- Uncontrollable crying
- Inability to cry/weak cry
- Speech or hearing damage
- Loss of motor coordination or balance
- Eating difficulties or lack of hunger
- Inability to focus the eyes
- Vomiting
- Lack of natural reflexes
- Erratic or uncontrolled movements
- Paralysis
Determining Responsibility
The sad fact is that many cases of infant brain damage are highly preventable if labor and delivery professionals had taken the right steps. While you are pursuing answers in your child’s birth injury case, your birth injury attorney can help you learn about the brain damage risk factors and causes and your compensation eligibility.
To learn more about infant brain damage and birth injuries, please contact the Goldwater Law Firm, PC today.
