Brain Injuries at Birth

Dallas Birth Injury Attorney Michael Grossman Discusses Brain Injuries During Labor

If you suspect that your child has suffered a traumatic brain injury due to the negligence of a medical professional, Texas law grants you the right to seek compensation for damages incurred. The attorneys of Grossman Law Offices are here to help your family receive the justice they deserve.

Brain Injuries at Birth

Brain injuries at birth range from minor to severe, each carrying its own consequence. The birthing process is inherently traumatic; women are wryly familiar with the expression ‘pushing a watermelon through a lemon.’ During birth, babies are pushed via uterine and lower abdominal contractions through a tight birth canal. Complications can arise quickly and without much warning. Newborns often exhibit facial and cranial bruising from the travel through the birth canal, their heads slightly pointed due to soft, flexible skull and bone structure. Because the skull is not hard and calcified, many types of brain injuries are easily incurred - some with greater consequence, most of which can be avoided. Some of these occurrences are just a sad and statistically likely event and “just happen”. However, many brain injuries are the result of negligence on behalf of the doctors and support staff that help deliver the child. When such an event has occurred the parents of the child have a right to seek compensation on behalf of their child in order to compensate the child for his or her injuries. Minor mistakes in the delivery room can result in millions of dollars in extra healthcare and loss of earning potential throughout the life of the child.

Birth Injury: Skull Compression

Because the skull is soft in order to pass through the birth canal, compression of the bony structure into the brain matter often occurs. Pressure on the brain can disrupt the child’s development, resulting in retardation, changes in muscle structure and ability, changes in neural and sensory development, changes in speech and vision, and disruption of the circulatory system. Compression of the skull can lead to many different forms of birth-related brain injuries, including:

• Caput Succedaneum
  Caput succedaneum is a fancy term for what is essentially a bump on the head. These often take the form of large knots on the scalp of the newborn, but rarely have much other affect than to provide the newborn a pounding headache. Typically these bruises are observed, but often treat themselves within a day or two of birth.
  
  
• Cephalohematoma
  Cephalohematomas are small blood clots between the skill and the scalp of a newborn baby. These clots are usually brought on by a prolonged labor or by use of a vacuum to pull the newborn’s head through the birth canal. Often, cephalohematomas are not too worrisome, but in severe cases, may lead to jaundice, anemia, or hypotension, or may be indicative of a skull fracture and resulting infection.
  
  
• Subgaleal Hemorrhage/Hematoma
  A subgaleal hemorrhage or hematoma is the bleeding between the scalp and skull. Typically, subgaleal hemorrhages develop twenty-four to seventy-two hours after birth, but if severe, they may be evident much sooner. Because this space can hold up to 50% of a newborn’s blood supply, medical personnel must carefully observe the growth of the hematoma across the scalp; failure to monitor this condition can lead to shock or death of the newborn. Additionally, this condition can also lead to hyperbilirubinemia, a condition associated with significant brain injury, retardation, and potential death of the newborn. Though existence of the hemorrhage itself is not a legally actionable birth injury, any resulting detrimental conditions are.
  
  
• Epidural Hemorrhage/Hematoma
  An epidural hemorrhage or hematoma is a very serious form of traumatic brain injury. These hematomas occur between the skull and brain matter, putting growing pressure on a portion of the brain, potentially permanently damaging the functions that area of the brain controls. These hematomas are often due to blunt impact on a portion of the brain, but can be also fueled by intracranial bleeding. Often, newborns will have a lucid interval up to a twenty-four hours after birth as pressure builds against the skull, then quickly become unconscious. This type of severe brain injury points to medical negligence in many cases as the level of trauma required for an epidural hematoma is higher than a typical birth injury.

Birth Injury: Hydrocephalus

Hydrocephalus, once known as “watery brain” is the accumulation of spinal fluid between the skull and the brain. Signs of hydrocephalus include an abnormally large head or rapidly growing head, a rounded soft spot on the scalp, eyes that look downward, and seizures. The treatment for hydrocephalus is simply to surgically remove excess fluid and insert a small shunt in the skull to help regulate cranial pressure.

Though hydrocephalus itself is not a birth brain injury, the key to preventing resulting injury from cranial pressure, buildup of fluid, or infection is early detection and quick treatment. A doctor, pediatrician, or obstetrician who fails to notice these symptoms (or fails to take timely action on these symptoms) risks serious consequences for the child, including development delays, organ system problems and failure, and paralysis. These injuries are birth injuries and if your child’s doctor was negligent in diagnosing, treating or monitoring this condition, it is often medical negligence. Contact the Grossman Law Offices for your personalized, confidential review of your child’s situation - get the answers and options you, your child, and your family deserve. Call 1-855-326-0000 (toll free) for more information today.

Birth Injury: Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)

Hypoxia, or decreased oxygen in the blood to serve all cells and organs, along with ischemia, decreased blood flow through the baby’s circulatory system, can result in severe consequences - most of which are preventable. Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) means that during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or birth, the baby did not receive enough blood or oxygen to the brain, resulting in significant injury. During labor and delivery, the proper use and monitoring of fetal monitors is essential to determining the general health and state of the baby prior to and during delivery. These monitors keep track of the baby’s heart rate and temperature - if the baby’s heart rate or temperature takes a sudden sustained jump, the baby is in distress and emergency action must be taken.

In many cases of HIE, fetal monitors are not utilized, not monitored appropriately or completely disregarded, a clear form of medical negligence. The resulting injuries to the child can be catastrophic - without enough blood or oxygen to the brain over an extended period, the risks of retardation, epilepsy, learning disabilities, cerebral palsy, seizures, and other lifetime brain and neurological conditions grow exponentially. These permanent injuries occur to approximately 20% of newborns diagnosed with HIE and an additional 20% face death before birth because of continued lack of oxygen. HIE is often diagnosed twelve to twenty-four hours after birth, usually at the onset of uncontrollable seizures. Babies are often born blue to hypoxia or ischemia, an obvious sign for mothers, fathers, and medical personnel that something has gone wrong during the birthing process.

If your child was born hypoxic or ischemic, or was diagnosed with HIE, call Grossman Law Offices to speak to our attorneys today. 1-855-326-0000 (toll free).