Residents of Cleaveland like to party hard when a baby is born. It’s a time for family, friends, and neighbors to come together. The whole place will be brimming with decorations, well wishes, and everyone cooing over the adorable little one.
But this is not always the case. Sometimes, instead of a celebration, the parents might be filled with worry and heartbreak. If you suspect a medical professional’s negligence caused your baby’s injury, you might wonder who you can hold responsible.
Birth injury attorneys in Cleveland can help you figure out who is directly responsible for your baby’s trauma. And when you talk about birth injury attorneys, you cannot ignore Steve Crandall and Marc Pera from Crandall & Pera Law, LLC. With a recent string of impressive results, including one against a large hospital chain and another against a medical device manufacturer, the team at Crandal & Pera ensures the people responsible for your troubles are brought under the strong arm of the law.
This article talks about the potential liable parties in a birth injury case.
Doctors
Doctors, particularly obstetricians and neonatologists, have the sacred role of ensuring the bay’s safe delivery. Unfortunately, they might sometimes be negligent in this duty, thereby causing the baby to suffer complications at birth.
Imagine a doctor failing to identify a potential complication like preeclampsia (high blood pressure) during pregnancy. This could lead to restricted blood flow to the baby, causing oxygen deprivation and brain damage.
Doctors sometimes use instruments like forceps or vacuums to assist delivery. However, misuse of these instruments can cause serious injuries to the baby, such as skull fractures, nerve damage, or facial paralysis.
Every pregnancy is different. If a doctor is unable to conduct crucial tests that can identify potential problems, like fetal distress or a breech presentation, it could lead to delayed intervention. This, of course, is a factor for a birth injury.
Hospitals
Being the employers of medical personnel, hospitals hold responsibility for the actions of their staff and for ensuring proper procedures are followed.
If the hospital doesn’t have enough qualified staff on hand during delivery, it can lead to delayed responses or missed opportunities for intervention. If the monitors are malfunctioning or the equipment is outdated, it could lead to inaccurate readings or delays in critical interventions that can prevent the child from being born with an injury.
Sometimes, these birth injuries happen because of the hospital’s poor policies and protocols. There should be standard procedures for handling emergencies and high-risk pregnancies. Without these in place, the hospital would record a high number of birth injuries as well as other complications.
Nurses
Deliveries are incomplete without the presence of a nurse. They are the backbone of the procedures. But sometimes, they fail to live up to expectations and end up endangering the welfare of the child.
Sometimes, they might fail to monitor the fetal heart rate or maternal vitals closely. Because of this, they could miss signs of distress, which can lead to oxygen deprivation or other injuries.
Nurses might also administer medications to the mother during labor. The wrong medication or dosage could have detrimental effects on the baby.
Also, if a nurse fails to communicate critical information to the doctor in a timely manner, it can delay necessary interventions and worsen the baby’s condition.
Anesthesiologists
The anesthesiologist picks the right medicine and amount to keep mom comfortable and safe. If they mess up, it can lead to problems like mom’s blood pressure dropping too low. This cuts off oxygen to the baby, which can cause serious injuries.
Also, the anesthesiologist needs to chat with the other doctors and nurses about how mom is doing and any concerns they might have. If communication breaks down, important information might be missed, and the baby could get hurt.
Sometimes, a mom might have a health problem before getting pregnant. The anesthesiologist still needs to do their best to keep both mom and baby safe. For example, if mom has heart trouble, the anesthesiologist should choose anesthesia that won’t make her heart work harder. If they don’t, and it makes the baby’s injury worse, they might be held responsible.
Conclusion
Families may welcome newborns with open arms, but when a birth injury occurs, the focus shifts to holding those responsible accountable for their negligence.
Everyone who played a role in your baby’s unfortunate situation needs to be punished. Be sure to hire a competent lawyer who can help you get justice and fair compensation to improve the living conditions for your baby.
By Chris Bates
