New York And Long Island Brain Damage Attorneys
Infant Brain Damage
Critical errors by physicians, obstetrical nurses and hospital staff often result in serious or fatal injuries to babies and mothers. When these errors occur, families are left devastated often wondering what went wrong and desperately seeking answers. Unfortunately, getting a straight answer from a doctor is never an easy task.
A birth injury can have lifetime implications for a child, especially when it comes to injury of the brain. Affecting millions of infants each year, children with preventable birth-related injuries may suffer permanent or long term neurological problems and a host of physical disabilities. If a doctor’s negligence caused your child’s birth injury, you owe it to yourself and your child to call Constantinidis & Associates, P.C., now to schedule a free consultation and learn your legal rights.
At Constantinidis & Associates, our attorneys and staff understand what you are going through and promise to provide you with the legal expertise, respect and compassion throughout your child’s malpractice lawsuit. We understand that the cases we handle change lives forever and our team of attorneys and network of experts are ready, willing and able to aggressively investigate the underlying facts of your case and fight for you to get you the just compensation you deserve. At the same time, we take comfort holding those responsible accountable for their negligent actions and preventing future instances of malpractice.
If your child has suffered a birth injury because of a deviation from good and accepted medical standards resulting in medical malpractice by your doctor, surgeon, obstetrician, nurse or midwife, you may be entitled to receive money damages.
We will fight to get your child the lifelong medical care, nursing care, special needs accommodations, housing disability, transportation, special education, medicines, medical equipment, caregivers and aides they may require during their lifetime.
Causes of Brain Damage
The most common type of medical negligence in birth injury claims is a failure to properly respond to signs of fetal distress. As a result, babies are often deprived of oxygen, which can cause brain damage. Oxygen deprivation also called asphyxia affects four out of every 1,000 full term births. Umbilical cord problems, constricted airways, problems with the mother’s blood pressure, anemia or getting stuck in the birth canal are just some of the causes of oxygen deprivation. Even a few minutes without oxygen puts a newborn at risk for lifelong brain damage. Babies who do not receive immediate care for this condition after delivery are at a high risk for conditions such as cerebral palsy, developmental delay and learning disabilities.
Another condition left untreated that can cause brain damage is infant jaundice. This condition which involves a yellow staining of a baby’s eyes is commonly seen in premature babies. If left untreated, dangerous amounts of pigment bilirubin can build up in a baby’s blood, causing a condition called kernicterus. This form of brain damage often involves high pitched screaming, lethargy, abnormal arching of the back and high fever. Babies may also suffer acute bilirubin encephalopathy, a more serious condition that may also impair the child’s ability to suck or feed.
Infections in the mother like herpes, syphilis and rubella that are not identified or treated by doctors can also result in neonatal brain damage. Failure to properly treat preeclampsia is another source of risk for brain damage. Infections also increase the likelihood that a child will be born prematurely, which in turn increases the risk for cerebral palsy and brain damage.