Southfield, Michigan Birth Injury Attorneys

Birth injury cases 

Birth injuries are any type of harm or injury that occurs to a baby on or near the time of birth. They can include oxygen deprivation, birth trauma, infections, and others. The most common types of birth injuries are:

• Cerebral palsy
• Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE)
• Erb’s palsy / brachial plexus injuries
• Periventricular leukomalacia
• Hydrocephalus
• Intellectual and developmental disabilities
• Developmental delays and learning disabilities

Causes of birth injuries

If physicians don’t follow standards of care and properly manage conditions that occur during pregnancy, labor and delivery, birth injuries can occur.  Common causes of birth injuries include the following:

• Placenta previa
• Umbilical cord problems, such as a nuchal cord or umbilical cord prolapse
• Failure to quickly deliver a baby when fetal distress is evident on the fetal heart rate monitor (delayed emergency C-section)
• Oligohydramnios (low amniotic fluid)
• Anesthesia mistakes, which can cause blood pressure problems in the mother, including a hypotensive crisis
• Premature rupture of the membranes (PROM) / premature birth
• Prolonged and arrested labor
• Ruptured uterus (womb)
• Placental abruption
• Postmaturity syndrome
• Fetal stroke
• Preeclampsia / eclampsia
• Intracranial hemorrhages (brain bleeds), which can be caused by a traumatic delivery. Forceps and vacuum extractors can cause brain bleeds. Sometimes intense contractions (hyperstimulation) caused by labor induction drugs (Pitocin and Cytotec) can cause head trauma.  Mismanagement of cephalopelvic disproportion (CPD), abnormal presentations (face or breech presentation), and shoulder dystocia also put a child at risk of having a brain bleed.
• Hyperstimulation caused by Pitocin and Cytotec can also cause oxygen deprivation that gets progressively worse.
• Improper management of the baby’s respiratory status after birth. This includes failure to properly manage apnea (periods of breathing cessation), failure to properly manage a baby on a breathing machine (which can cause overventilation injuries, such as hypocarbia and a hole or holes in the lungs), and failure to give proper amounts of surfactant, which helps with lung maturity and lung compliance in premature lungs.
• Improper management of anemia (low red blood cell count), which can cause the baby to lack the capacity to carry oxygen to the cells and tissues in the body, including brain cells.
• Improperly treated neonatal hypoglycemia (low blood sugar).
• Improperly treated high bilirubin levels (jaundice) that cause a form of brain damage called kernicterus.
• Brain infection such as meningitis, which can be caused by infections in the mother that travel to the baby at birth. These maternal infections include the following: Group B Strep (GBS), herpes simplex virus (HSV), urinary tract infection (UTI), bacterial vaginosis (BV) and chorioamnionitis.

Southfield, Michigan birth injury attorneys 

Thousands of babies are born in the Southfield area each year. Most of the time, the babies are healthy. But when a birth injury occurs, it can be devastating.

The nationally-recognized Michigan birth injury attorneys at ABC Law Centers (Reiter & Walsh, P.C.) have been helping children with birth injuries in Southfield and throughout the nation for almost 3 decades. Jesse Reiter, the firm’s co-founder, has been focusing solely on birth injury cases his entire 28+ year career. Jesse helps children all over the country, and when he takes a case, he spends a lot of time getting to know the child and family he is helping so he can fully understand the child’s needs. Jesse has won many awards for his advocacy of children, and he is currently recognized in U.S. News and World Report’s Best Lawyers, as well as one of the 10 Best Attorneys in Michigan by Super Lawyers magazine.

Jesse and his team of birth injury attorneys are passionate about helping children obtain all the support, therapy and treatment they need so they have a good quality of life and a secure future. The team will carefully review all medical records to determine if negligence occurred. Once our team identifies malpractice, we aggressively fight to obtain compensation for lifelong care and support of the child, which typically includes treatment, medical devices, housing, and education.

Birth injury law is a difficult area of law to pursue due to the complex nature of the medical records. The award-winning Southfield, Michigan birth injury attorneys at ABC Law Centers (Reiter & Walsh, P.C.) have decades of experience with birth injury cases, and have won numerous awards for their advocacy of children.  To find out if you have a case, contact our firm to speak with an experienced attorney.  We handle cases throughout the nation. We have numerous multi-million dollar verdicts and settlements that attest to our success, and no fees are ever paid to our firm until we win your case. Email or call us today.

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Video: Southfield, Michigan Birth Injury Attorneys Discuss Cerebral Palsy

Watch a video of the Southfield, Michigan birth injury attorneys at Reiter & Walsh talk about how birth injuries such as birth asphyxia and HIE can cause cerebral palsy.