You may be able to file a birth injury claim if your child suffered hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) during labor or birth. Trantolo & Trantolo, LLC’s hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy lawyers in Connecticut can help you seek justice and compensation. Since 1938, we have recovered millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts on behalf of injury victims. Don’t fight solo. Let our team of dedicated attorneys get you the compensation you deserve.
What is Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy?
Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a brain injury that arises when the brain is deprived of blood or oxygen. Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy occurs when the infant’s brain does not receive sufficient oxygen, usually during or shortly after birth. The lack of oxygen can cause a birth injury that can lead to long-term disability or even death.
According to the Cleveland Clinic, one to six infants out of every 1,000 births suffer from HIE. It may occur during, before, or after birth, but attentive medical care can predict the issue and prevent or mitigate complications. HIE may also be called birth asphyxia, neonatal encephalopathy, and perinatal hypoxia.
How Does Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy Occur?
Infants may suffer from HIE if the mother has a difficult pregnancy, labor, or birth. Immediate medical attention is crucial, as fast medical intervention can help prevent permanent brain damage. Although HIE is not usually preventable, certain conditions make it more likely to occur, including:
- Placental bleeding
- Umbilical cord prolapse
- Uterine ruptures and issues with the placenta
- Infections in the mother or child
- Preeclampsia, high blood pressure, or low blood pressure
- Premature birth
- Problems with the lungs or heart
- Physical trauma to the child’s brain or skull
- Poor delivery positioning
Mothers and fetuses that exhibit these risk factors can undergo diagnostic procedures and treatment to help avoid or reduce the effects of HIE. If your child suffered from HIE because a doctor or nurse did not take appropriate action during pregnancy, labor, or birth, you could secure compensation through a medical malpractice claim. Our team provides free consultations to help you understand your legal rights and options.
What Are the Long-Term Effects of Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy?
When an infant’s brain fails to receive sufficient oxygen or blood for an extended period, they can sustain long-term and sometimes life-threatening brain damage. Mild to moderate symptoms of HIE may resolve without further complications. However, long-term brain damage may not be apparent until your child begins struggling to reach developmental milestones.
The severity of disabilities from HIE depends on how long the brain was without appropriate blood flow or oxygen, how much of the brain was affected, and how the victim’s brain repairs itself. Signs of long-term brain damage from HIE include:
- Delayed development
- Slowed physical growth
- Cognitive and intellectual issues
- Inability to focus
- Vision or hearing loss
- Cerebral palsy
- Epilepsy
Many of these complications can be managed with attentive care. Some children may require care and assistance into adulthood. The time and expenses associated with even mild HIE can create a significant financial and emotional burden for you and your family.
Dealing with your child’s injuries can be overwhelming, but you do not have to face these challenges on your own. Trantolo & Trantolo, LLC has helped injury victims secure millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts, and we would like to see how we can help you today.
Can I File a Medical Malpractice Claim for my Infant’s HIE Birth Injury?
Obstetric doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals are responsible for maintaining the health of the mother and child during pregnancy, labor, and childbirth. If one or more of these parties failed to care for you and your child in a manner consistent with the standards of care for their field, the negligent parties could be liable for your and your child’s losses.
If your child suffered HIE because of medical negligence, you could file a malpractice claim against the responsible party. Most healthcare providers and medical facilities carry medical malpractice insurance to cover such claims. Trantolo & Trantolo, LLC knows how to discover the cause of your child’s birth injuries and file a claim with the appropriate party.
Since HIE often occurs due to circumstances beyond the doctor’s control, we work to understand how the injury occurred. When we pursue compensation for a birth injury, we gather evidence to show that the child suffered HIE because of negligence on the part of the medical provider. Examples of negligence that could lead to HIE include, but are not limited to:
- Failures to monitor at-risk patients for signs of HIE
- Failures to conduct appropriate testing to diagnose HIE
- Inadequate intervention before, during, and after birth
- Inappropriate use of birthing tools and equipment
- Medication errors
Once we determine who is responsible, we can hold them accountable by filing a medical malpractice insurance claim or personal injury lawsuit.
What Damages Can I Recover if Negligence Caused My Child’s HIE?
The types of damages your family can recover for an HIE birth injury depend on the severity of your child’s injuries. We fight for the maximum possible settlement, including:
Current and Long-Term Healthcare Costs
The cost of childbirth is often high, even when you have insurance. When a medical provider makes a mistake, the resulting medical treatment and care can add to already high healthcare costs. We believe the provider that caused your child’s birth injury should have to pay for the cost of any treatments related to that injury.
If your child suffers from physical or cognitive issues because of hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy injury, we also consult with medical and life-care experts to determine the potential costs for long-term medical treatment and assistive care.
Diminished Current and Future Income
If your child suffers HIE injuries at birth, you and the child may require additional care that keeps you from returning to work. To ensure appropriate care and support, you and other members of your household may miss hours at work and lose income you need to pay your bills. We know the financial toll a birth injury can take on a household, and we will work to help you recover lost hourly wages, salary income, benefits, and other income.
We also seek to recover compensation for the income you or your family would have made if your child had not been injured due to medical malpractice.
Mental and Emotional Distress
The psychological impact of a serious birth injury cannot be overstated. We are here to help you get fair compensation for the mental and emotional distress caused by your child’s HIE birth injury.
Our goal is to help you recover sufficient compensation to cover all your economic and non-economic losses, including potential long-term care for a child disabled by HIE.
How Can a Birth Injury Lawyer Help?
Following a difficult birth and a brain injury to your infant, it is normal to feel overwhelmed and frustrated. You may feel that the last thing you want to deal with is a medical malpractice claim. Let the compassionate personal injury team at Trantolo & Trantolo, LLC handle all the legal work for you.
While you focus on recovering and supporting your family, our team will tirelessly investigate your case, build a claim, and fight for your right to fair compensation. Our firm has extensive experience helping birth injury victims secure settlements for injuries caused by negligent medical practitioners. We will leverage all our expertise to get the compensation you need.
Call Our Malpractice Team Today for a Free Consultation
For more than 85 years, we have been fighting for injury victims in Connecticut. We have the knowledge and resources to get the compensation you deserve, and we are prepared to take your case to court if it means securing a better outcome.
Contact our office today for your free case review. We will listen to your story and provide advice so you can make an educated decision about your next steps. If you decide to work with us, we will handle your HIE birth injury case on a contingency fee basis. You pay nothing upfront for our services – we recover attorney fees only when we win a final settlement or verdict in your favor. Don’t Fight Solo – get Trantolo & Trantolo.