Most parents would like to think that medical science has advanced to the point where every delivery ends with a mother holding a healthy infant. Unfortunately, that is not the case. It makes sense to focus on birth injuries. What actions can parents take, if either the infant or the mother fails to survive the birthing process?
The parents must collect the available evidence.
• Medical records
• Witness testimonies
• Photographs
Possible mistakes
Insufficient monitoring of a mother that has undergone a C-section. She could develop scarring, an infection or pain. Worse yet, she could experience some internal bleeding. If she has extensive bleeding, she could bleed to death.
Improper administration of anesthesia
Insufficient monitoring of the mother while she is in labor. If her blood pressure increases greatly, she could experience preeclampsia.
How could parents know that their infant has suffered a birth injury? Suppose no one told them what had happened.
New parents should know that as soon as a child has been born, he or she gets tested, in order to estimate the infant’s Apgar score. That score reflects the infant’s ability to exhibit a healthy reaction to its exposure to the world. A good score is close to 10. The parents should listen for the announcement of a number. If it falls below 6, then that would indicate that the infant had been injured in some way, either before or during the birthing process.
What evidence besides the medical records could the parents present, in order to seek, compensation for a birth injury?
The parents could keep track of their expenses. What treatments did the baby need? What medications had to be purchased? Did that parents have to buy any special equipment? Did they have to make any unexpected modifications to their home?
Maybe the parents had already invested in a nursery. Then, due to the birth injury, the infant did not survive. In that case, the parents would have suffered a loss. Their case would be similar to that of a family that had suffered the grief caused by a wrongful death. If the infant lived, it could still need care for many years. The parents would have to pay for that care, if they needed to leave the home and go to the workplace. Those expenses would serve as evidence of a birth injury.
In addition, the parents should consult with Personal Injury Lawyer in Mississauga. That ought to be someone that can find and hire the appropriate medical expert, someone that has become familiar with the circumstances that trigger the type of injury suffered by this newborn baby.
