Every day, millions of women around the world give birth without any complications. Unfortunately, birth injuries do happen, and they can cause serious brain injuries. Infant brain injuries can cause life-long medical conditions, including cerebral palsy, seizures, autism, and severe developmental delays. In a matter of a few seconds, a doctor or surgeon’s error can cause a lifetime of preventable medical conditions. In many cases, infants who suffer severe brain injuries require 24-hour nursing care.
Our Infant Brain Injury Lawyers can Help
If your child has suffered a severe brain injury, our lawyers can help. The personal injury attorneys at Heninger Garrison Davis understand how devastating it can be to watch your child suffer a severe brain injury. You are probably concerned about how you will pay your mounting medical expenses. Many parents of children who have suffered brain damage at birth are worried about how their children will survive after they pass away.
If your child suffered a brain injury at birth, you may have a right to compensation. When a medical professional’s negligence or recklessness caused your child’s brain injury, you have a right to compensation. Contact the experienced Alabama brain injury lawyers at Heninger Garrison Davis as soon as possible to schedule your initial consultation to learn how we can help you.
For a free legal consultation, call (205) 326-3336
Birth Injuries Can Cause Severe Brain Damage
At the end of February, A judge in New Jersey recently approved a $6.5 million settlement. In this case, an infant suffered permanent brain injuries during a routine hernia repair surgery. According to the lawsuit, the hospital staff negligently intubated the baby and failed to monitor her oxygen levels during the surgery.
As a result, the lawsuit alleges that her brain did not receive enough oxygen. As a result of the surgeon’s medical malpractice, the infant now has significant problems with motor control, vision and learning delays, seizures, and encephalopathy. The child’s infant brain injury will change the rest of her life permanently.
Symptoms of Brain Injury
After a complicated birth, parents may not know the full consequences of their child’s brain injury. The symptoms may be apparent immediately, such as when an infant needs to be placed on a ventilator due to a brain injury. In other cases, the full extent of the child’s developmental delays may not become apparent for a matter of months. Understanding the symptoms of brain injury can be helpful when considering whether or not to file an Alabama brain injury lawsuit. Some of the most common symptoms of Infant brain injury include the following:
- Memory loss
- Difficulties with vision, balance, and hearing
- Difficulty reasoning or concentrating
- Difficulting finding the right word or speaking
- Lack of bodily coordination
- Weakness in the legs and arms
- Partial paralysis or complete paralysis
- Emotional issues such as mood swings and aggression
- Anxiety
- Depression
Medical Malpractice can Make Infant Brain Injuries Worse
Medical malpractice can cause brain injuries and also exacerbate brain injuries. In the case mentioned above, the negligence of the anesthesiologist allegedly caused the brain injuries by not monitoring the infant’s oxygen properly. Medical malpractice can also make brain injuries worse, such as:
- Failure to diagnose a brain bleed, aneurysm, blood clot, pulmonary embolism, heart attack, or stroke when the misdiagnosed condition causes brain damage
- Surgical errors during a patient’s neurosurgery that cause brain injury
- A lack of oxygen to the brain
- Undiagnosed or untreated brain infections that spread to the brain and cause brain damage
- Medication errors that cause brain injuries
- Failure to intubate a patient properly causing brain damage
- Nursing home abuse that leads to brain damage
- Failure to provide newborns with proper oxygen during the birth process
- Failure to properly monitor a fetus during childbirth
- Failure to respond to symptoms of fetal distress
- Permitting a newborn infant to have high levels of bilirubin and not adequately treating the infant
- Failure to adequately treat a newborn with breathing problems
- Anesthesia or medication errors
Recovering Compensation for Infant Brain Injuries Brain injuries are often extremely financially devastating. When an infant suffers a serious brain injury, the results are often catastrophic and require long-term nursing care. If your child suffered a serious brain injury, it is essential that you fight aggressively to pursue every dollar of compensation possible. You will need to fight to collect all of the money your child will need to survive now and after you are gone. Contact the lawyers at Heninger Garrison Davis today to schedule your initial consultation.