BIRTH INJURY LAWYERS IN ST. LOUIS, MO

Without a doubt, one of the greatest joys of life is the birth of a child. Fortunately, most babies in the United States even in high-risk and complicated pregnancies share the joy of giving birth to a healthy child. St. Louis hospitals and doctors are some of the best in the world. However, doctors and nurses make mistakes, especially when they are under-staffed and overworked. There is a lot of compassion fatigue, and all too often your most important day is just another day for the hospital. Unfortunately, there are times that Hospitals think about money rather than your baby’s safety.

Birth injuries can occur from preeclampsia, shoulder dystocia, fetal heart monitoring, premature and underweight babies, and other complicated pregnancies. Birth can cause severe injuries such as CP or cerebral palsy when the baby is deprived of oxygen. These medical errors can cause a tremendous amount of suffering and the financial and emotional costs are overwhelming.

It is estimated that 30 out of every 1,000 babies in the U.S. suffer some kind of birth trauma. This is often a result of misuse of medical equipment or the improper handling of a newborn by medical staff. An injury suffered at birth is a life-long injury.

The experienced St. Louis medical malpractice lawyers at Wolfgram Law have the knowledge and resources to handle your birth injury or medical malpractice case. Because of laws in Missouri and Illinois, it is wise to contact an experienced law firm that handles birth injury cases. Not doing so may negatively affect your ability to file a claim and receive compensation for your baby’s injury.

Birth Injuries Caused By Medical Malpractice

Below is a list of common birth injuries most often caused by medical malpractice.

Birth Asphyxia: A medical condition that happens due to deprivation of oxygen to an infant during the birth process to cause harm, often to the brain.

Hypoxia: A condition in which the body is deprived of proper oxygen supply at the tissue level.

Brachial Plexus Injury: An injury to the network of intertwined nerves that control movement and sensation in the arm and hand.

Brain Damage: Swelling or Hemorrhaging of the Brain.

Breech Birth: A complete breech occurs when the infant is in a cannon-ball position in which the baby’s buttocks are pointed down toward the birth canal and the legs are folded at the knees.

Cephalohematoma: An injury that occurs underneath the skin of the infant’s skull bone. It can cause unnecessary pooling of the blood from damaged blood vessels between the skull and inner layers of the skin.

Cerebral Palsy: CP is the most common motor disability in childhood. It affects a child’s movement, motor skills, and muscle tone. It is caused by brain damage that can develop while in utero, during labor and delivery.

Cystic Fibrosis: CF is a genetic disorder that affects mostly the lungs, but also the pancreas, liver, kidneys, and intestine. Long-term issues include difficulty breathing and coughing up mucus as a result of frequent lung infections.

Dejerine-Klumpke Palsy: Klumpke’s paralysis is a form of paralysis involving the muscles of the forearm and hand, resulting from a brachial plexus injury in which the eighth cervical (C8) and first thoracic (T1) nerves are injured either before or after they have joined to form the lower trunk.

Erb’s Palsy: Erb–Duchenne palsy is a paralysis of the arm caused by injury to the upper group of the arm’s main nerves, specifically the severing of the upper trunk C5–C6 nerves. These form part of the brachial plexus, comprising the ventral rami of spinal nerves C5–C8 and thoracic nerve T1.

Fetal Distress / Death: The spontaneous intrauterine death of a fetus at any time during pregnancy. Fetal deaths later in pregnancy (at 20 weeks of gestation or more, or 28 weeks or more, for example) are also sometimes referred to as stillbirths.

Forceps Injuries: An infant’s skull is fragile and excessive force or misuse of forceps can cause brain damage and other serious injuries.

Fractures: Fractures during childbirth are one of the most common injuries.

Gestational Diabetes: If blood sugar levels in the mother are too high, this can lead to birth injuries and Cerebral Palsy.

Miscarriage: Miscarriage during the first trimester is not uncommon. Miscarriages in the later stages of pregnancy can be caused by trauma.

Nerve Damage: Various types of nerve damage can happen during a pregnancy and childbirth.

Placental Abruption: Occurs when the placenta separates from the inner wall of the uterus during childbirth. This can cause the baby to be deprived of oxygen and nutrients.

Preeclampsia: Occurs when there is high blood pressure in the birth mother. Oftentimes it is associated with high protein levels in the urine.

Premature Labor: Occurs when regular contractions result in the opening of your cervix after week 20 and before week 37 of pregnancy.

Prolonged Labor: Also known as failure to progress, occurs when labor lasts for approximately 20 hours or more if you are a first-time mother, and 14 hours or more if you have previously given birth.

Shoulder Dystocia: Occurs when a child’s shoulder gets lodged in the mother’s pelvic.

Spina Bifida: This birth defect occurs when there is no closing around the membranes and backbones of the spinal cord region

Umbilical Cord Prolapse: Occurs when the baby is trapped by the umbilical cord.