The Cochran Firm Legal Blog

Birth injuries or birth traumas can range from the mild to the severe. There can be minor bruising to brain damage. Not all birth injuries or trauma are due to medical malpractice or negligence, but many are.

Estimates are that there are 10 birth injuries for every 1,000 births in this country annually due to medical malpractice or negligence. When a healthcare professional such as a doctor, nurse, or a healthcare facility, such as a hospital, urgent care center, or birthing center fails to provide a certain standard of care and treatment, it rises to the level of negligence and medical malpractice.

The most common birth injuries that occur are bruising from the use of forceps, facial paralysis, swollen head, brachial palsy, fractured bones and brain trauma. Cerebral palsy is a chronic condition caused by damage to the baby's brain at the time of labor and delivery. These injuries can occur when the medical team fails to respond to fetal distress, there is a delay in performing a cesarean section, there is a misuse of forceps and inadequate management of the labor and delivery in general.

Symptoms of a birth injury are not always evident immediately after the birth, but become so days, weeks, months or even years after. The financial hardship of caring for a birth injured child can be devastating unless assistance is made available to the family.

If you live in Huntsville, Alabama or the surrounding area, and your child suffered an injury at birth, please contact an experienced birth injury lawyer at the Huntsville, Alabama office of The Cochran Firm today to schedule a confidential consultation at no cost to you to protect your legal rights and the future of your child.

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