The birth of a child is one of the most joyous times in a parent’s life. That joy often turns to heartbreak when parents learn their child has suffered a traumatic birth injury as the result of a careless practitioner or substandard medical care. Birth injuries don’t just impact a family in the short term. Hemorrhage injuries can lead to medical complications that can affect a child for the rest of their life.
At Hunt Law Firm, our Northern New Mexico medical malpractice attorneys understand the complex legal, financial, and emotional issues surrounding Santa Fe birth injury cases. We have the knowledge and tools to help families pursue justice and meaningful compensation while ensuring they have the resources to cope with this challenging time.
If your child suffered a hemorrhage or other birth injury, contact our office and set up an initial legal consultation. We can discuss your situation and outline your legal options for pursuing fair compensation.
Understanding Hemorrhage Injuries at Birth
A hemorrhage is blood loss or bleeding from a damaged blood vessel. The most common form of hemorrhage is a contusion or bruise. A bruise occurs when damaged blood vessels leak into surrounding tissues, causing pain and discoloration.
Trauma, negligence, or substandard medical care during pregnancy, labor, or delivery can cause damage to blood vessels and hemorrhage birth injuries. While contusions can be minor, hemorrhage injuries can be severe and even life-threatening for mother and child.
Some of the most common hemorrhage injuries that can affect a mother or infant can include:
- Postpartum hemorrhage – Postpartum hemorrhage or excessive vaginal bleeding can occur after childbirth, both during a vaginal delivery or a cesarean section. Bleeding can be caused by trauma like lacerations or uterine rupture, retained placenta, and uterine atony. If not identified and treated immediately, postpartum hemorrhage can lead to shock, organ failure, and death.
- Subconjunctival hemorrhage – Bleeding that affects the whites of the eyes is subconjunctival hemorrhage.
- Hemothorax- Blood that collects in the space between the lungs and rib cage can cause chest pain and difficulty breathing.
Intracranial hemorrhages are bleeding in or around the brain. Negligence and birth injuries can cause the rupture of blood vessels, resulting in traumatic bleeding in the brain of an infant. Several types of intracranial hemorrhages can occur during labor and delivery. The area affected by the bleeding categorizes these hemorrhages and includes:
- Subarachnoid hemorrhage – Bleeding between the two innermost membranes covering the brain is called a subarachnoid hemorrhage. This injury is the most common type of hemorrhage that affects full-term infants and newborns.
- Subdural hemorrhage – A subdural hemorrhage is when blood collects between the outer and inner layers of the brain covering. Advances in childbirth techniques have made subdural hemorrhages less common in newborns. However, substandard care and poor medical methods can lead to subdural bleeding.
- Intraventricular hemorrhage – This type of hemorrhage occurs when blood pools in the fluid-filled spaces or ventricles in the brain.
- Intraparenchymal hemorrhage – An intraparenchymal hemorrhage is bleeding in the brain tissue.
Generally, intraventricular and intraparenchymal hemorrhages are more common in preterm infants and can result from an underdeveloped brain or a birth injury.
Signs of Hemorrhage in Newborns
The signs of hemorrhage in newborns can be challenging to spot and depend on the severity and location of the bleeding. Some symptoms of hemorrhage in babies can include:
- Trouble breathing
- Apnea
- Slow heart rate
- Low blood pressure
- Cyanosis (pale or blue skin color)
- Lethargy
- Seizures
- Abnormal eye movements
- Weakness or inability to respond to stimuli
- Bruising
- Swelling
- Constant or high-pitched crying
- Inability to be comforted
- Feeding difficulties
In some cases, without immediate medical intervention, a hemorrhage can lead to organ damage, organ failure, significant blood loss, shock, and cerebral palsy. These complications can lead to long-term medical complications, learning difficulties, physical impairments, and developmental delays.
Birth Injuries and Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice is a highly nuanced area of personal injury law. This type of malpractice occurs when a medical professional or facility delivers a substandard level of patient care or care that falls below the medically accepted standard, and a patient is injured as a result. Often, medical malpractice cases hinge on the answer to one question: would a similarly trained medical professional deliver the same care in the same set of circumstances? When the answer is no, medical malpractice may have occurred.
Situations that can lead to medical malpractice and birth injuries can include:
- Inadequate fetal monitoring for distress or abnormalities
- Misdiagnosis
- Delay in performing an emergency C-section
- Improper use of delivery instruments (forceps, vacuum extraction)
- Failure to monitor the mother’s condition
- Failure to provide proper neonatal care following birth
- Delayed diagnosis of birth injuries or bleeding leading to worsening conditions
- Handling an infant too roughly
- Dropping an infant
Identifying and addressing bleeding in mothers and infants as soon as possible is crucial. When left untreated, hemorrhages can be fatal.
Why You Need a New Mexico Birth Injury Attorney
Hemorrhages and birth injuries can be incredibly traumatic, leaving a child and their family with life-long struggles physically, mentally, and financially. Some children may require long-term care, rehabilitation services, and therapy, which can lead to financial instability and unique challenges for families trying to give their children the care and support they deserve.
Insurance companies and other entities may attempt to shift liability or offer families a lowball settlement, allowing them to conclude the case as quickly and cheaply as possible. If that happens to you, where does that leave your family? Struggling to pay mounting medical bills and without a support system for your child’s ongoing care and needs.
At Hunt Law Firm, we will advocate for you and your child, building a compelling case backed by evidence that puts you in the best position to recover maximum compensation for your child. We can also protect your child’s legal rights and hold careless medical providers accountable for their actions.
Contact a Santa Fe Birth Injury Lawyer Now
The legal team at Hunt Law Firm offers personalized legal advice and compassionate client service as we help you navigate the challenges of a life-changing birth injury hemorrhage.
Contact our office now to arrange a confidential legal consultation.