Bringing a little one into the family can be an exciting time, but also an overwhelming one. With all of the nursery planning, new scheduling and financial arrangements, doctor visits should be the last worry on the list. However, some Pennsylvania mothers discover that a doctor visit does not go as planned; others even experience trauma during delivery. When a birth injury occurs and a surgeon may be at fault, families may decide to place matters into legal hands.
As Public Opinion reported last April, one Pennsylvania family faced the horror of a birth injury after a doctor allegedly used too much pressure to deliver the baby. As a result, the now-five-year-old will spend the rest of his life with disabilities — both mental and physical. The child’s family received $42 million in a malpractice lawsuit. Public Opinion shared that all had been going well in the delivery until the mother pushed once, which resulted in the doctor using forceps. The doctor continued to use forceps multiple times, causing marks on the baby’s face that had begun to show signs of intracranial bleeding. While no amount of money can repair such damage, Opinion noted that this case was the largest medical malpractice case in the Middle District of Pennsylvania.
The aforementioned case certainly sheds an unsettling light on the many issues that can go wrong during delivery, but Stanford Children’s Health provides an accessible list of possible birth injuries. For example, a difficult labor can become a catalyst for an injury at birth, as well as labors that are prolonged. More common injuries include facial paralysis, brachial palsy, fractures and bruising. Although not all of these injuries may be grounds for a malpractice lawsuit, each is deserving of special attention and care, especially when the injury could lead to health problems in the future.
