Stepping into the journey of parenthood is no less than a roller-coaster ride. As new parents, a little bundle of joy added to your family is such an exhilarating experience. You contemplate the mixed feelings of excitement, love, and anxiousness while taking up the prestigious role. But, what if things do not go as planned, and the baby is born with a medical condition? As much as it is traumatizing, it requires you to take some immediate action. The necessary task is to analyze the situation to know if the medical condition was due to a defect or an injury. Yes, there is a big difference between the two! If the same has happened to you, it is time to get some answers to determine your next steps. To clarify your concepts, here are some points to distinguish between them.
Overview of Brith Injuries:
While usually used interchangeably, congenital disabilities and birth injuries are poles apart. Birth injury, a result of medical negligence, occurs just before the delivery process, during it, or immediately afterward. It is a preventable situation but arises due to the malpractice of medical attendants. While some damages are treatable, others may force your child to lead a crippled life.
One of the most common and excruciating consequences of a birth injury is cerebral palsy, which occurs due to insufficient oxygen supply to the baby. As a result, the child becomes devoid of full-fledged body movement due to brain damage. Your child even might never see the light of leading a normal life again. If you are positive that it was all due to a medical mistake, you have every right to legal action. You can file a cerebral palsy medical malpractice lawsuit and get compensation in return. Other birth injuries include Erb’s palsy, skull fracture, spinal cord injury, facial paralysis, and other damages to the nervous system.
Causes of Birth Injuries:
A birth injury can have multiple causes, most of which involve medical malpractices. It might be due to an incorrect delivery procedure or an unwanted surgery. Failing to perform one when required in an emergency can also lead to unusual outcomes. The misuse of some tools, e.g., a vacuum, can lead to minor injuries that may pale away with time.
However, some mishaps can be more detrimental, such as failing to monitor the fetus’s heartbeat. Oxygen deficiency can, especially, have disastrous effects. Failing to provide enough oxygen to the baby or cutting off oxygen supply due to a wrong labor technique can cause brain damage. Incorrect estimation of the delivery date can lead to premature birth. Since the baby would not have grown to its appropriate size, the survival chances would be minimal. These and other mishandlings can flip your happiness into the gloom, so do not forget to discuss all the details with your doctor at great length.
Overview of Birth Defects:
Unlike birth injuries, the defects arise in the mother’s womb before birth. They are most likely to occur in the first trimester when the organs are under development. During this period, any wrong turn of events can lead the situation to stray toward abnormality. Though the next six months are also not free of risk, the chances are still considerably reduced.
The defect is usually due to a problem in the inherited DNA, and there is no mistake from the doctor. The duty here lies to diagnose the disease at the earliest possible and see it to its treatment. Some of the defects are visible, as in the case of Turner syndrome, while others are internal. The anomaly also may not necessarily manifest at the time of birth, as is in the case of a birth injury. It may be later in life that you come to know about the medical condition your child had by birth. Some common birth defects include Down syndrome, sickle cell anemia, thalassemia, heart diseases, disorders of limbs, etc.
Causes of Birth Defects:
Apart from the genetic defects, unhealthy habits while expecting can trigger a problem. Smoking, drinking alcohol, or being a diabetic can haul unseen hurdles in your journey. Viral infections can also lead to many complications. Genetic abnormalities have a greater chance of occurring if you are an aged mother.
Legal Support After a Birth Injury Vs. Birth Defect:
Seeing your child suffer due to the negligence of others, by no means, can be overlooked. You can get financial compensation by filing a legal claim since you are the one paying an unimaginable cost. There are some legal options you can go for to hold the responsible authorities accountable and get compensation for the treatment of this unwelcomed malady. However, your case should meet some requirements to make you eligible for financial compensation.
In case of birth injury, ensure that it was completely avoidable in the first place and has spurred up due to an act of medical malpractice. In some cases, unavoidable complications might arise during the delivery procedure. Birth injury would not be due to medical malpractice in this situation, and you would not be eligible to make a claim. Moreover, if there has been a breach of standard care of protocol but has not led to an injury, you would, again, be ineligible to make a claim.
When it comes to defects in birth, you can not hold anyone accountable and file a claim as they are a natural calamity, especially if genetic. However, there are a few exceptions. If your doctor had prescribed you the medications incompatible with the condition or failed to pinpoint a routine part of the diagnostics, you can file a claim. If this slack on the doctor’s part has affected your child’s well-being, the defect would be an injury, and you will have a legal right over it.
Conclusion:
The arrival of your child into this world is a moment to cherish for a lifetime. It occupies the most special corner in your heart. Seeing this moment marred by holding your medically unfit child requires emotional resilience. It would be a tragic sight to bear the consequence of someone else’s mistakes. So do not lie back and claim your right where it is due. Although the damage is irreversible, the financial compensation will help you bear the treatment expenditures of your child. Knowledge about birth injuries and defects would enable you to comprehend the matters and wisely plan the next course of action.
