Situation of Birth Injuries In US

What is a birth injury?

When a woman's pregnancy is coming to an end, the time has come for her to deliver. As she enters labor and prepares herself mentally and physically for childbirth, the deliverance of someone everyone's anticipating for nine months of along with preparations on one's well-being including consumance of healthy food and optimization of mental and emotional health. 

A new life begins with an appearance on this world in which just like everything else they will experience it's not without its dangers for them either. A newborn child faces many hazards while traveling through those last few inches into this planet's grounds; most are minor but some may leave lifelong scars: scrapes down one side and skin pulled tightly for some reasons, these hazards may result in an infancy damages legally called birth injuries.

A birth injury is any type of harm to a baby that occurs during or near the time of their arrival. These injuries can be anything from bruising all over, scratches and cuts, broken bones such as skull fractures or arm breaks- even spinal cord damage. Birth injuries root from multiple possible reasons, it may be range from handling to environment. Most forms of birth injuries are caused by contributing surrounding factors or on most occassions it is caused by negligence of medical professionals and individuals involved. 

How is the birth injury situation in the country? 

Medical negligence and physical trauma are the primary reasons for birth injuries. Approximately 7 out of every 1,000 children born in the United States will suffer a birth injury due to these factors according to Centers for Disease Control (CDC). For some families, this type of tragedy can be avoided with proper care from medical professionals or by avoiding certain activities that may result in impact on the mother during her pregnancy such as contact sports or riding bikes up hills at high speeds while pregnant. 

• Low birth weight can make a child more susceptible to injuries. Of the 8% of all babies that are born weighing less than 5 pounds and 8 ounces, about 2% will sustain an injury in their time outside the womb before they reach full term age.
• Cerebral Palsy and Erb's Palsy are two most common birth injuries that causes life-time disabilities to any babies who have experienced it. 
• Over 17 million people in the world have cerebral palsy, and 1.5 out of 5 children suffers from various disability such as inability to walk, cannot speak or having a sleeping disorder.
• On Erb's Palsy, the estimated rate of occurrence of the injury is from 0.9 to 2.6 cases every 1,000 births yearly. 
• Erb’s palsy is responsible for 45% to 50% of all brachial plexus palsy cases.
• There are a variety of treatments for Erb’s palsy, but if the treatment is given within four weeks after birth there's nearly 100% chance your child will make an almost full recovery.

Common Types of Birth Injuries

1. Brain injuries are a serious, life-threatening injury. They can come in many forms such as bleeding near the brain or between your skull and arachnoid membrane.
2. The brachial plexus can prevent a bundle of nerves in limbs that can be acquire in an injury during childbirth. This injury will typically cause abnormal hand and arm movement, but in some cases the impairment may improve as time goes on- even if it was damaged through birthing.
3. Damage to the spinal cord and cranial nerve can lead to paralysis in some parts of the body. A misplaced or pulled baby during birth could result in a condition that would affect their motor skills, reflexes, speech patterns, bladder function and at an extent, even breathing.
4. The 300 bones of a baby are meant to be flexible and soft, so as not to crack during labor. There is also evidence in fetal development that indicates clavicle breakage (bone fractures) may happen when passing through birth canal because it's thinner than an adults.

Actually, if these following conditions are not properly addressed or responded well, the likelihood of birth injuries increase exponentially:

• Longer labor duration;
• Premature babies;
• Breech births (large boned babies); and
• Excessive pulling on the baby during birth.
• Infants weighing more than 8 lbs.
• Undue stress caused to the baby during the birth;
• Pregnancy deliveries which use vacuum to remove the baby from the birth canal;

A study found that most medical professionals involved in birth injury cases deny responsibility for the injuries, and insurance companies are usually quick to decline compensation. This leaves parents with a tough decision: prove negligence or face foreclosure on their home. Most people agree we need more research into what causes neurological impairments after childbirth - but it's hard when healthcare providers refuse to take accountability and our legal system is stacked against us as soon-to-be mothers struggling financially because of this issue.

Birth injury cases are often medical malpractice cases, and victims will need the testimony of experts to identify mistakes or errors. When families have a birth injury lawsuit, insurers may settle out of court in order to avoid having their case go on trial where they would be held accountable for any damages incurred as part of the suit. Birth injuries can be caused by a number of different parties. If you or your child was harmed during the birth process, it may take more than one party to fix what went wrong and compensate for damages and a legal assistance and representation is a must.

Ryan LLP is a company that fights for its clients to get the compensation they deserve. Insurance companies will try and use schemes like lump sum settlements in order to make it seem as if you are receiving less than your rightful settlement, but with Ryan on your side, we can be sure of what our case deserves so insurance companies cannot take advantage of us.