Obstetricians and other medical professionals who assist with childbirth have access to numerous tools that, if used properly, can help protect both the mother and child during prolonged or otherwise difficult labor. Unfortunately, if these tools are used improperly or by someone without sufficient training and experience, the newborn baby can be severely harmed, sometimes to a life-altering or even life-threatening degree.
If your child has suffered any kind of serious physical trauma due to a doctor’s misuse of obstetrical forceps, you may have grounds for legal action, which a Shelton forceps injury lawyer from Berkowitz and Hanna LLC can help you pursue. From establishing who is at fault to ensuring you get paid fairly, your dedicated birth injury attorney will be an irreplaceable ally throughout the legal process.
Generally speaking, obstetricians are only supposed to consider using obstetrical forceps if, after membrane rupture and full dilation of the cervix, the baby has been stuck head-first in the birth canal for several hours of continuous labor. It is also worth mentioning that many modern medical organizations recommend forceps-assisted birth as something of a last resort even under these circumstances, as an emergency Cesarean section is considered to be a safer option.
If a doctor does see fit to use forceps to extract a baby from the birth canal, they must be extremely careful not to apply too much pressure to the baby’s skull or twist the baby. As a Shelton forceps injury attorney can explain in more detail, failing to use forceps carefully can lead to a baby suffering skull deformation or spinal cord trauma, both of which can cause debilitating and potentially fatal developmental problems after birth.
Money alone cannot completely erase the pain and trauma that negligent use of forceps during childbirth can cause. That said, civil compensation can do a lot to reduce the negative impact of specific financial, physical, and personal losses stemming from this sort of injury, including:
However, even if a birth injury has caused irreversible and life-altering harm, the parent(s) of the child affected by that injury only have a limited amount of time to file suit in their child’s name. Contacting a lawyer should be a top priority in the wake of a forceps injury in Shelton.
No child should ever suffer any kind of injury due to the negligence of an adult, and certainly not a doctor with years of medical training and experience under their belt. Nevertheless, birth injuries stemming from medical malpractice are much more common than many people might like to think, as are injuries caused by misuse of specific tools designed to help with childbirth.
You have support available from a Shelton forceps injury lawyer if you want to take legal action over the trauma your child has sustained. Call Berkowitz and Hanna LLC to schedule your free initial consultation.
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