Welcoming your child into the world was supposed to be one of the most exciting days of your life. Unfortunately, your labor and delivery did not go as smoothly as planned, and shortly after, signs that your child was harmed during, or even long before, entering the world began showing up. Birth injuries are common, but they are not all due to natural causes. If you believe that medical negligence contributed to your child’s injuries, you may have grounds to file a birth injury lawsuit in the state of Oregon.
They are many types of birth injuries that can occur from poor or improper prenatal care, inaction by medical staff or mistakes made by health care providers. For example, some birth injuries are the result of failing to perform a cesarean section either at all or in a timely manner, misusing delivery assist tools, failing to monitor fetal activity, or failing to diagnose and treat problems that arise during pregnancy — among many other things. Any of these acts of medical negligence can cause a child to suffer:
- Brain damage
- Nerve damage
- Scarring
- Cerebral palsy
- Erb’s palsy
- Death
There are physical, financial and emotional costs associated with birth injuries. The cost of caring for a child with difficult medical needs can be outrageous. The financial and emotional stress from raising a child with significant medical needs can be too much for many parents to bear. The emotional toll the injury may have on the child can also take its toll. Families should not have to shoulder these losses on their own, and thanks to state laws, they may not have to.
Medical professionals in Oregon must provide a certain standard of care, which is the currently accepted treatment by others in their field. If your medical provider failed to provide the standard of care for any issues that arose during your pregnancy or during labor and delivery, and your child suffered an injury or died as a result, you may take action to seek compensation for your losses. Determining if medical negligence occurred can take time and some detective work, but legal counsel will know where to look for the information they need. To learn more about birth injury cases and how an attorney can help you if you are considering such legal action, please take a moment and visit our firm’s website.