What to Do if Your Newborn Suffers Hypoxic Brain Injury in an Arizona Hospital

When you welcome a baby into the world, you trust that the hospital staff will do everything possible to ensure a safe delivery. But sometimes, mistakes during labor and delivery cause devastating injuries. One of the most serious is hypoxic brain injury, which is a type of brain damage caused by a lack of oxygen before, during, or shortly after birth. If you suspect your newborn has suffered a hypoxic brain injury in an Arizona hospital, you may be facing shock, grief, and overwhelming uncertainty. At Plattner Verderame, we can help you and your family.

What is a hypoxic brain injury?

A hypoxic brain injury—including hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE)—occurs when a baby’s brain receives too little oxygen and blood flow before, during, or shortly after birth. Even a few minutes of oxygen deprivation can cause permanent damage to the brain’s cells. The severity can range from mild developmental delays to conditions like cerebral palsy, seizures, or profound cognitive impairment. Common causes in a hospital setting include:

• Prolonged labor or delayed C-section when the baby shows signs of distress.
• Umbilical cord complications, such as cord prolapse or cord compression.
• Placental problems, like placental abruption.
• Failure to monitor fetal heart rate and respond to abnormal readings.
• Mismanagement of Pitocin and other drugs.

Failure to appropriately respond to abnormal fetal status can breach the applicable standard of care and, if it causes injury, may constitute malpractice.

What should I do after a hypoxic brain injury diagnosis in my baby?

Take the following steps if your child is diagnosed with a hypoxic brain injury in an Arizona hospital.

Step 1: Request all medical records

Arizona law allows you to request copies of your medical records and your baby’s medical records. Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA), hospitals must provide these within 30 days of your request. You’ll want to gather:

• Labor and delivery notes
• Fetal monitoring strips
• Apgar scores
• Any incident reports or internal reviews (if available)
• Records of resuscitation efforts
• Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) notes

Make the request in writing and keep a copy for your records. If the hospital hesitates or delays, your attorney can step in to enforce your rights.

Step 2: Look for signs of medical negligence

Not every hypoxic brain injury is caused by malpractice, but many are preventable. In reviewing your baby’s records and your own recollections, some red flags might include:

• Staff ignored or downplayed abnormal fetal heart rate readings.
• There were unexplained delays in calling for a C-section.
• There was a shortage of staff, or no specialist was available.
• The umbilical cord issue wasn’t addressed promptly.
• Resuscitation equipment was missing or malfunctioning.

If you remember pleading for help during labor and being told to “wait,” or noticing confusion among the medical team, those details could be important evidence.

Step 3: Preserve every piece of evidence

In birth injury cases, documentation is critical. Along with medical records, you’ll want to preserve:

• Your own written timeline of labor and delivery events.
• Names and job titles of every medical professional involved.
• Photographs of your baby’s condition in the hours and days after birth.
• Notes on any statements made by hospital staff.

If you’re still in the hospital, ask a trusted family member to help keep track of these details. The sooner this evidence is gathered, the harder it is for critical facts to be lost or altered.

Step 4: Get a second medical opinion

If your newborn has been diagnosed with hypoxic brain injury, or you suspect one, you should seek an independent evaluation from another qualified pediatric neurologist or neonatologist.

• Sometimes, initial hospital assessments miss the full extent of the injury.
• A specialist can help determine if oxygen deprivation occurred during labor and delivery.
• Starting therapies like physical or occupational therapy as soon as possible can help improve outcomes.

Bringing another medical perspective can also be critical if you later pursue a medical malpractice claim, since you’ll have documentation from a source outside the original treating hospital.

Step 5: Contact an experienced Arizona birth injury lawyer

Hypoxic brain injury cases are complex. They require both medical and legal knowledge to prove that negligence occurred and that it directly caused harm. In fact, you’ll need a preliminary expert affidavit from a medical professional to file your claim. Our Phoenix birth injury lawyers can:

• Hire independent medical experts to review your case.
• Obtain additional hospital documents through legal channels.
• Determine whether hospital policies were followed.
• File a malpractice claim within Arizona’s strict legal deadlines.

In many cases, our lawyers can uncover evidence that wouldn’t be available to you otherwise, such as internal communications or expert testimony that points to a preventable error.

Arizona’s statute of limitations for pediatric malpractice cases

For private providers, a child’s claim is usually timely until age 20 (two years after turning 18). If the defendant is a public entity/employee, a Notice of Claim must be served within 180 days after the child turns 18 and suit filed within one year. Parents’ own claims may have earlier deadlines. Regardless of the situation, you should not wait. The longer you delay, the harder it can be to find witnesses, preserve records, and build a strong case. Starting early also ensures your child’s current and future medical needs are documented and included in the claim.

How do your lawyers prove negligence in a Phoenix birth injury case?

To win a birth injury malpractice case, your legal team must prove:

• Duty of care. The medical providers owed your baby a professional standard of care.
• Breach of duty. They failed to meet that standard through an act or omission.
• Causation. This failure directly caused your baby’s hypoxic brain injury.
• Damages. The injury resulted in measurable harm, including medical costs, future care needs, and pain and suffering.

For example, if fetal monitoring showed severe distress for 30 minutes before a C-section was ordered, an expert might testify that the delay fell below accepted medical standards and that earlier intervention would likely have prevented the injury.

What is the value of my child’s birth injury case?

A successful claim can help secure financial support for:

• Past and future medical bills
• Specialized therapies (physical, occupational, speech)
• Adaptive equipment
• Educational support services
• Home modifications
• Pain, suffering, and loss of quality of life

In cases involving severe, lifelong disabilities, these damages can total millions of dollars, making it even more important to have a lawyer who knows how to calculate long-term costs, like those at Plattner Verderame.

If your newborn suffered a hypoxic brain injury in an Arizona hospital, you don’t have to navigate the aftermath alone. By acting quickly to get a second opinion, secure records, document events, and speak with an experienced birth injury lawyer, you give your child the best chance at both medical recovery and legal justice.

At Plattner Verderame, we fight for Arizona families whose lives have been changed by preventable medical errors. Our attorneys have the skill, resources, and compassion to guide you through this difficult time and work toward the compensation your family needs. Call our Phoenix birth injury attorneys today or complete our contact form to arrange a free consultation. We take birth injury cases on a contingency fee basis. We maintain an additional office in Tempe for your convenience, and we serve clients throughout Maricopa County.