Phoenix Birth Injury Lawyers Handling Skull Fractures and Head Injury Claims
Representing Arizona families affected by neglect and medical malpractice during labor and delivery
Childbirth can be one of the most rewarding experiences in a parent’s life. It is something parents look forward to and get excited about from the minute they find out they are expecting. Months of preparation and anticipation often build to the moment when it’s finally time to breathe, push, and meet your little one for the first time. You trust that your doctor and all other medical personnel will use an acceptable standard of care to guide your delivery and safely bring your newborn baby into the world. Yet, preventable head and skull injuries regularly happen each year due to the neglect or malpractice of medical professionals.
If your child has been affected by skull fracture or head injury caused by the negligence or malpractice of trusted medical professionals during childbirth, the experienced Phoenix birth injury lawyers at Plattner Verderame, P.C. want to fight for you. We will gladly review the situation, go over your medical records, and help build a strong case against the medical personnel or hospital where you were giving birth.
What causes skull fracture and head injuries during birth?
Excessive force used by doctors during delivery and improper use of instruments such as forceps and extractors can lead to a skull fracture in a newborn. Neglect or lack of training during prolonged labor or delivery of large-sized heads can lead to hematoma and head injuries that can cause permanent damage to the brain. These types of birth injuries are almost always preventable and often the result of doctors rushing, lacking good judgement, or being fatigued. Unfortunately, many doctors that handle labor and delivery are working long shifts and might not be thinking clearly when they make the decision to use forceps or other extraction devices. A mistake that is made in a matter of seconds can drastically alter a child’s way of life by causing damage to the skull and brain.
Types of skull fractures
- Linear skull fractures: thin line fracture in the cranial bone causing varied symptoms depending on the severity of the fracture
- Depressed skull fracture: a readily visible fracture occurring when the skull is sunken down toward the brain causing serious complications and visible symptoms
- Diastatic skull fracture: fractures along a suture that may grow as the child’s brain grows causing extensive problems
When a skull fracture occurs and does not cause death, it can lead to serious medical conditions for the child. Even if your child is alive, he or she may not reach developmental milestones or live the kind of life that other children will get to live. Your child may never be able to read, write, talk, use a bicycle, or do any of the “normal” things that children should get to do. And, you will then have the responsibility of caring for a child with disabilities that were initially caused by the skull fracture during labor and delivery. If your child was fully healthy before the skull fracture occurred, you have every right to feel upset over the situation and want justice.
Signs of skull fracture or head injury in newborns
After a fracture has occurred, the wound bleeds inside the child’s head and membrane between the skin and brain begin to swell causing a small bulge to appear on the head. Other symptoms include:
- Anemia
- Infection
- Jaundice
- Seizures
- Respiratory distress
- Apnea
Babies who are born with skull fractures will often need to spend weeks or even months in the hospital. As a result, you will lose out on time that most parents get to spend with bonding with their little ones. The mistakes made by medical personnel in the hospital could strip you of those exciting moments that parents tend to look forward to the most after having a new baby. No parent should ever have to go through such a traumatic experience, but these kinds of situations do happen in hospital environments and are often caused by trained professionals that have made a poor judgement call.
Can an infant skull fracture be treated?
Sometimes, a skull fracture or head injury can start to heal on its own. Other times, a serious skull fracture or injury is so serious that it can cause debilitating results including bleeding in the brain, seizures, strokes, brain damage, intellectual disability, or even death of the child. Treatment of these injuries varies from one baby to the next, but it could include procedures up to lobotomy or removal of part of the skull that could leave a child paralyzed or brain dead. Instead of bringing the baby home and spending quality time with your newborn, your little one would likely spend a lot of his or her time in the operating room while undergoing various procedures to try to improve the baby’s condition. If a baby is paralyzed from the skull fracture, his or her way of life changes and will be much different than it would have been if the skull fracture never occurred.
Helping victims of medical negligence in Arizona
Infant skull fractures and head injuries are almost always preventable and the result of malpractice by trusted healthcare professionals that have simply made the wrong decision. The lawyers at Plattner Verderame, P.C. want to fight for your family if your child has been irreparably harmed by medical professionals in Arizona. We will walk you through the steps to making a claim, and help you to find the tools and resources you need to secure the best future for you and for your child. To speak with an experienced Phoenix birth injury lawyer, please call 602-783-8793 or complete our contact form.