For approximately nine months, you navigated the emotional and physical ups and downs of pregnancy, eagerly anticipating the moment to come when you’d finally go into labor and bring your newborn infant into the world. Like many other mothers in Kentucky, your delivery day may have arrived quite unexpectedly. Perhaps, you thought it was going to be a day like any other day, until your water broke while you were walking down stairs and you suddenly knew it was time to go to the hospital.
Every time you undergo any sort of medical treatment, there’s a certain amount of personal risk involved. In fact, knowing this, you probably researched several obstetricians in your area before choosing one you felt you could trust to help you through this challenging and exciting time in your life. If you’re among those whose birthing day led to disastrous circumstances when your baby suffered a birth injury, you may be hoping to find support so you can hold those responsible accountable for their actions.
What is the legal definition of a birth injury?
There are certain unavoidable birth defects that can affect your child’s life and there’s little to nothing you can do other than try your best to help your child reach his or her full potential within the limitations caused by his or her medical condition. However, a birth injury is not genetic; in fact, medical negligence can often cause it. The following information clarifies what defines a birth injury, as well as where to seek support if your child has suffered:
- Any injury that your child suffers during labor or delivery is a birth injury.
- Some birth injuries occur because of substandard prenatal care; therefore, the cause of the injury may have happened during pregnancy, but it is still a birth injury.
- Birth injuries may include extenuating factors not directly related to labor and delivery, such as if a doctor prescribed medication and you took it, and it caused your child to suffer.
- Sometimes, the hospital at large (rather than a particular physician, nurse, practitioner, etc.) can be held liable for a birth injury.
- Often, more than one party is listed as a defendant in a birth injury claim.
The shock, grief and sorrow that strikes parents whose children suffer injury because of doctor error or other medical negligence can never be erased. It is often possible, however, to gather evidence and enlist the help of third parties to seek justice on behalf of an injured child in court.