Houston Birth Injury Attorney

Birth Injury Lawyer Michael Grossman on Medical Malpractice Birth Injuries in Houston, TX

• Normal Birth Injuries
• Abnormal Birth Injuries
• Cerebral Palsy
• Erb’s Palsy, Shoulder Dystocia & Brachial Plexus
• Challenges in Texas Birth Injury Cases

If your child has suffered lasting effects as a result of a birth injury due to possible medical malpractice by a medical professional like a doctor, surgeon, or obstetrician in Houston, Texas, you may have merit in bringing a medical malpractice lawsuit against the liable party or parties.

Through such a Texas medical malpractice lawsuit, you could stand to be awarded compensation that could go toward your incurred financial losses, also known as damages, such as medical bills, your child’s pain and suffering, or other losses that have happened as a result of your child’s birth injury. However, seeking such compensation in Texas can be a challenging process for those without prior experience in medical malpractice cases. With 20 years of litigation experience in personal injury cases in Texas and beyond, Houston birth injury attorney Michael Grossman and his team at Grossman Law Offices are ready to assist you in holding a negligent medical professional responsible for their actions that may have resulted in your child’s birth injury. The following informational article is provided to show the difference between normal birth injuries and abnormal birth injuries, as well as to provide you with further information regarding your possible legal options in seeking compensation for your child’s birth injury.

While birth injury medical malpractice lawsuit can be brought due to injury to the mother or child, this article focuses on birth injuries that can occur to a child during the pregnancy, labor, delivery, or post-birth time period. Birth injuries can be difficult to diagnose for a variety of reasons, including the fact that certain moderate injuries can occur in normal births, which are not cause for concern. The birth process is an inherently traumatic event for the child, so some moderate injuries are to be expected. However, medical malpractice can result in brain injuries to the child. Diagnosing such birth injuries is important since severe birth injuries can result in life-long, detrimental effects to the health of the child.

Medical malpractice birth injury cases often appear in two different ways:

• A medical professional does not provide adequate treatment or proper diagnosis for a mother or child, resulting in injury to either person, or both.
• A medical professional acts negligently in regards to their job, resulting in injury to the mother or child. Such negligence can be caused by a number of reasons, such as drowsiness or inexperience. Negligence in medical malpractice cases is judged by the standard of care as agreed upon by other medical professionals in the same specialized line of work. A majority of birth injuries occur due to negligent behavior, and can result in cerebral palsy, Erb's palsy, brachial plexus injuries, shoulder dystocia, brain injuries, disfigurement, or other types of injuries that can affect the neurological, muscular, or skeletal systems.

Birth injuries are often discovered at the time of birth, but some medical professionals may not disclose the injury to new parents in the hopes that the injury may clear up within a reasonable amount of time, or until outward signs of a birth injury have manifested themselves in some way. Such a delay in treatment or diagnosis may be cause for a medical malpractice lawsuit in Texas. If you believe that your son or daughter may have suffered a birth injury due to the medical malpractice of a negligent medical professional, Houston birth injury attorney Michael Grossman and his team at Grossman Law Offices can assist you in seeking answers to your pressing questions so that you may be able to seek useful compensation that can help with your child’s medical bills or other financial losses.

Signs of Normal Birth Injuries

By knowing what to be aware of in regards to birth injuries that can occur during a normal pregnancy, labor, delivery, or after birth, you may have a better understanding of what the signs are of birth injuries that can result in severe harm to your child which may be cause to pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit. The feature that allows babies to be born through a normal delivery process, i.e. their soft cranial bones, is the same feature that can also cause them great harm if a medical professional acts carelessly during labor or delivery. As such, knowing the different between otherwise normal birth injuries and abnormal birth injuries can help you know what to look out for in regards to your child’s birth.

Normal birth injury signs can include any of the following:

• Small white cysts, also known as milia, can appear as tiny pimples on the forehead, cheeks, or nose of a newborn. These milia are sweat glands that have become clogged and often clears up of its own accord within a few weeks. Milia are not cause for concern.
• Pink marks, sometimes known as “stork bites,” can appear on the back of the neck, the eyelids, or the forehead. These pink marks are dilated capillaries and will fade over time. Pink marks are not cause for concern.
• Bruises or minor swelling can appear on the neck, nose, forehead, and scalp. This often occurs after a vaginal delivery. In a breech delivery, bruising can appear on the newborn’s legs, buttocks, or hips. These bruises should clear up of their own accord within a few days. If bruises persist longer than a week or are located in positions other than those previously described, this may be cause for concern.
• Broken collarbones, also known as a clavicle, can occur, although rarely. A broken collarbone does not often suggest medical malpractice, but other broken bones, such as a broken arm, broken leg, or broken shoulder bone, may be warning signs for possible long-term birth injuries.

Signs of Abnormal Birth Injuries

The following signs of a birth injury can occur during an abnormal pregnancy or delivery, and may be cause for pursuing compensation through a medical malpractice lawsuit:

• The medical professional involved, such as a doctor or obstetrician, failed to properly track, treat, or warn a pregnant mother of developing or existing medical conditions like diabetes, hypertension, preeclampsia, or other possible long-term conditions that could have an adverse affect on either the mother or the child.
• Likewise, a medical professional may not have warned, tracked, or treated a pregnant mother of the complications that could arise due to the mother’s pregnancy, such as possible drug side effects and their effect on the mother or the child.
• A delay occurred during labor in which fetal monitoring systems were not hooked up to an expectant mother within a reasonable amount of time.
• Fetal distress was disregarded, such as a low heartbeat or a high heartbeat.
• The child was abnormally positioned during the time of birth, causing a vaginal delivery to be hazardous to either the mother or child, or both. Such a scenario is often preventable by proper ultrasounds or the use of a Cesarean section procedure.
• The child was abnormally large, or the birth canal was abnormally small, causing a vaginal delivery to be difficult or dangerous. If a medical professional opts to perform such a delivery, instead of a c-section, without informing the mother of the risks involved in such a delivery, could be cause for a medical malpractice lawsuit if the child or mother experiences an injury as a result of the medical professional’s actions.
• The medical professional performed a high-forceps procedure in which forceps are used to extract the child from the birth canal. If done improperly or by an inexperienced medical professional, such a delivery process can cause severe injury to the child or the mother.
• After birth, the child shows very little to no interest in feeding, and may not be able to perform certain functions, like grappling and suckling, that come naturally to other newborns.
• After birth, the newborn may seem lazy or lethargic, or may show asymmetrical movement in parts of their body.
• After birth, the newborn may be suffering from seizures.
• After birth, the baby is asphyxic and appears pale or lifeless, meaning that the child is receiving no oxygen to their blood. The baby may be hypoxic and appear blue in color, meaning that the child is receiving little oxygen to their blood. Both asphyxia and hypoxia can hint at a detrimental drug interaction, such as an issue with an epidural, or may suggest an improper delivery was attempted. Such signs can result in problems like organ issues, retardation, or delayed development.
• After birth, a child receives a low APGAR score, which measures the general health of a child in certain increments after birth on a scale of one to ten. Scores under 5 at one minute after birth show that the child requires medical attention. Scores are then taken at 3 minutes, then 5, then 10, 15, and 30 minutes. Scores under 4 at these intervals can suggest that long-term damage to a child’s neurological system may have occurred, indicating that the child may be at a heightened risk for cerebral palsy.

Did You Know?

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If you believe that any of the previously mentioned signs occurred during your pregnancy, labor, delivery, or post-birth due to the negligence of a medical professional, a full review of your medical records may be necessary in order to determine if such medical malpractice occurred. Often, the only way to have such questions answered is to contact a knowledgeable and experienced birth injury attorney in Houston Texas like Michael Grossman in order to have a full, extensive, and thorough investigation conducted into your possible medical malpractice case. Ascertaining whether or not medical malpractice actually occurred can be challenging, especially given the often highly technical nature of birth injury cases. However, with two decades of experience in helping victims seek compensation for the wrongs committed against them, Michael Grossman and his team at Grossman Law Offices can help you discover if such malpractice contributed to your loved one’s birth injury.

If your child may have experienced such a possible birth injury in the recent past, consider asking questions of the medical personnel involved in the process in order to see if they can provide any further information. If your instinct tells you that something simply does not seem right, seek your medical records from all parties involved in the birth process. These records can then be looked over by an independent medical expert in order to see if any medical malpractice occurred. We can assist you in finding such a medical expert so that you might be able to have those lingering questions answered, as well as to possibly set a foundation for a medical malpractice lawsuit in Texas.

Results of Birth Injuries: Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is a term that encompasses a variety of medical conditions that affect muscle coordination, body movement, and posture. Cerebral palsy, also known as CP, affects a specific part of the brain and can be caused by a brain injury sustained by a child during pregnancy, at birth or delivery, or even after birth. Symptoms of cerebral palsy often manifest themselves within the first two years of a child’s life. CP is not curable, but it can be treated through continual therapy. There are four types of cerebral palsy:

• Spastic cerebral palsy is noted by spasm-like, stiff movement.
• Ataxic cerebral palsy is noted by a lack of balance and a lack of depth perception.
• Dyskinetic cerebral palsy is noted by an inability to control movement of the body.
• Mixed cerebral palsy is noted by involuntary or stiff movement.

Children diagnosed with cerebral palsy often require a lifetime of medical attention, therapy, or adaptive technologies. Such care can become quite expensive quite quickly. If your child’s CP may have been caused due to a birth injury caused by a negligent medical professional, the compensation sought through a medical malpractice lawsuit in Texas could go toward those medical bills, both past and future. Contact Houston birth injury lawyer Michael Grossman to see if your case has merit so that you might be able to seek such compensation for the future well-being of yourself and your child’s health.

Results of Birth Injuries: Erb’s Palsy, Shoulder Dystocia, Brachial Plexus Injuries

The brachial plexus is the medical term given to the bundle of nerves located in the upper back. Injuries to the brachial plexus can occur when a baby’s shoulder becomes lodged in the birth canal, known as shoulder dystocia. If proper procedures are not enacted to free the shoulder, undue stress can be put upon the baby’s brachial plexus nerve bundle, resulting in serious to severe injury to the child. An inexperienced or distracted doctor may push or pull on the baby with too much force, resulting in a birth injury, possibly even causing the baby’s shoulder to become dislocated. C-sections can also result in brachial plexus injuries if forceps or other tools are used with undue force, especially if a tangled umbilical cord is involved in the delivery.

If the injury to the brachial plexus nerve bundle is severe enough, a condition known as Erb’s Palsy can develop. Also known as brachial palsy, Erb’s Palsy occurs because the nerves are not able to stretch across the back into the muscles of the shoulder or arm. This results in a likely life-long injury in which there is a marked difference between the strength of one arm over the other. In other words, a person with Erb’s Palsy will have a weak arm or shoulder, possibly for the rest of their life. Symptoms of Erb’s Palsy or other types of brachial plexus injuries can be seen in newborns through a lack of spontaneous movement or the affected shoulder or arm, a decreased ability to grip anything, or an arm held close to the body at a 90 degree angle. Such injuries are often fully preventable, meaning that brachial plexus injuries and Erb’s Palsy are often birth injuries caused by the medical malpractice of a negligent medical professional. Sufferers of Erb’s Palsy often require a lifetime of medical assistance or adaptive technologies. As such, the compensation sought through a medical malpractice lawsuit can prove beneficial toward helping to cover those costs.

Legal Options for Birth Injury Cases

If you believe your child has suffered lasting harm due to a birth injury caused by medical malpractice, you likely have many more questions than answers. It’s also conceivable that you may not have an idea of who to turn to for answers to these questions. Houston TX birth injury attorney Michael Grossman and his investigative team at Grossman Law Offices can help you seek those answers. In addition to getting those answers, we’ll work to defend your rights so that you might be able to stand to seek full and fair compensation that can go toward assisting you with past and future medical bills, in addition to other damages you or your child may have incurred, including pain and suffering.

There are some instances in which an aggrieved family may not desire to litigate against a doctor, but may still desire to be compensated for their child’s birth injury, or to seek answers in regards to what may have caused or contributed to their child’s suffering. In these instances, we can work toward a mediated settlement so that a litigious fight may not be necessary.

Challenges in Texas Birth Injury Medical Malpractice Cases

Since birth injury cases are a subset of medical malpractice lawsuits, proving the negligence of a medical professional can be challenging for those without the necessary experience in doing so. In order to prove negligence, another medical professional in the same field of practice must assess whether or not the alleged negligent medical professional lived up to the standard of care employed by doctors in their field. Such doctors can often hem and haw in regards to whether or not one particular procedure performed by a certain doctor is what may have contributed to a birth injury. Proving negligence can also be challenging in that there are often miles of paperwork to work through in order to verify if anything resembling negligence may have occurred in some of the more subtle cases of medical malpractice.

Furthermore, if a medical establishment believes a medical malpractice lawsuit may be enacted against one of their employees, they will steel themselves for a legal fight by sending their own lawyers, insurance adjusters, and medical professionals to comb through the evidence of the possible case in order to build a strong case on their own behalf. Insurance companies that hold mutli-million dollar insurance policies for medical professionals and medical establishments often do not want to lose such a likely sizable sum of compensation, and will work arduously toward ensuring that such a payout to an aggrieved party doesn’t happen. Without legal help on your side that is just as experienced in these types of medical malpractice cases, you may face a nearly insurmountable task in seeking compensation against such a stout defensive team.

Lastly, recent tort reform in Texas has made it increasingly difficult for legitimate medical malpractice claims to be brought against negligent medical professionals in Houston and other Texas cities. Furthermore, tort reform has limited the amount of compensation that an aggrieved party can stand to receive as a result of a medical malpractice lawsuit in Texas. For example, if a medical professional is found to have been negligent in causing a birth injury in Houston, the liable party will only have to pay out compensation for special damages, i.e. medical bills, lost wages, lost earning capacity, and future medical bills. General damages, i.e. pain and suffering, disfigurement, and emotional turmoil, are capped at a generally low amount. In this instance, having an experienced Houston birth injury attorney like Michael Grossman on your side that can prove up special damages may be vital toward the outcome of your medical malpractice case.

Contact Houston Birth Injury Attorney Michael Grossman

If you believe that you or your child have endured suffering, injury, or harm due to the medical malpractice of a negligent medical professional resulting in a birth injury, consider contacting the Houston birth injury law firm of Grossman Law Offices at 1-855-392-0000 (toll free) for a free and confidential legal consultation. We’ll help answer any remaining questions you may have regarding your possible legal options to seek compensation for you or your child’s birth injury. With two decades of experience in defending our clients’ rights against even the biggest of insurance companies and the most aggressive of defense attorneys, we’re ready to come alongside you so that you can stand to be fairly and fully compensated for your child’s birth injury.