Sepsis is a serious bacterial infection that can occur in newborns. This infection of the blood spreads throughout the body and often results from medical malpractice.
If your newborn contracted an infection due to a medical provider’s negligence, you need an experienced birth injury attorney on your side. A Connecticut neonatal sepsis lawyer at Berkowitz Hanna, one of the top three medical malpractice firms in the state, will spare no effort to help.
The bacteria that cause neonatal sepsis are toxic, and they lead to dangerous inflammation throughout the body. The risks associated with sepsis are especially dangerous because life-threatening complications that affect the child’s brain, lungs, vision, or hearing can occur.
While sepsis can affect virtually anyone, newborns are susceptible to serious infections. This is generally due to their immune systems not being mature enough to effectively fight off the infection. Babies with weakened immune systems, including premature babies, are the most vulnerable.
When sepsis occurs in the first week of life, doctors call this early-onset neonatal sepsis. These cases are more likely to be fatal and are closely associated with more serious complications. If a child has developed such complications in Connecticut, an infant sepsis attorney can help the parents establish whether someone could have prevented it.
There are several safety protocols that help reduce the risk of neonatal sepsis. These primarily focus on avoiding transmission of the bacteria from mother to child during childbirth.
Pregnant mothers should receive a simple swab test during weeks 35 to 37 of their pregnancies. Another swab test should be performed right before delivery if the mother carries the sepsis bacteria. For those mothers who carry the bacteria, antibiotics can prevent transmission of sepsis during delivery.
Mothers who run a fever during delivery are at greater risk of carrying the bacteria that can pass sepsis to their newborn children. The early rupture of the amniotic sac is another risk factor. A mother who gave birth to a child with neonatal sepsis in the past is at increased risk of doing so again. A prolonged labor also increases the chances that the baby will develop sepsis.
When a mother’s medical provider fails to take the necessary precautions to help avoid the transfer of sepsis during the birth process, this can be the basis of a medical malpractice claim. A Connecticut-based lawyer experienced with newborn sepsis cases can help assess whether medical professionals took the appropriate precautions.
Sometimes, neonatal sepsis is the direct result of medical error. This can mean failing to adequately monitor a child’s birth, failing to respond properly to any risky situations that arise, or failing to afford the same level of care that the medical professional’s peers would have under similar circumstances.
The kinds of negligence that are commonly associated with neonatal sepsis include:
If you suspect that any of these issues may have contributed to your newborn contracting a sepsis infection in a Connecticut facility, you should reach out to a trusted lawyer for guidance.
Medical malpractice claims generally hinge on proving that the medical professional in question failed to do what their peers would have done under similar circumstances. Alternatively, it can mean doing something that their peers would not have done. Proving such a discrepancy requires careful analysis and medical knowledge. This makes working closely with a skilled neonatal sepsis attorney in Connecticut the right course of action.
A practiced Connecticut neonatal sepsis lawyer at Berkowitz Hanna will commit to harnessing the full force of our firm’s legal skill and insight on behalf of your child’s rights and in support of their recovery. We understand that nothing is more important to you than your child’s health, and your case is critical to protecting your family. Please reach out today by contacting us online or calling our office.
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