Something Went Wrong: 3 Steps To Take If Your Baby Was Injured At Birth

You did everything right during your pregnancy. You went to all of your doctor's appointments and ate all the right foods. The last thing you expected was to have your baby suffer injuries at birth. Unfortunately, birth injuries can happen at any time during labor or delivery.

According to research a birth injury is defined as an impairment of the neonate's body function or structure due to an adverse event that occurred at birth.  Some of the most common birth injuries are nerve injuries, perinatal asphyxia, and meconium aspiration.  If your baby has suffered birth injuries, here are three steps you should take to ensure that it receives the care and compensation it deserves.

Hire an Attorney

If your baby has suffered birth injuries, don't wait until you get home from the hospital to seek legal representation. You might forget important details if you wait too long to speak to an attorney. Not only that, but hiring an attorney early on in the process will allow your legal team the time they need to gather pertinent medical information while it's still fresh.

Document Everything

While your legal team is busy gathering medical evidence and documentation, you'll need to gather your own personal documentation. This is where you gather everything pertaining to your pregnancy and delivery. For instance, document how you cared for yourself during your pregnancy and how you felt during labor and delivery. It's also important that you document any warning signs you might have had, or any help you tried to receive from medical staff during labor and delivery. This will all come in handy when your attorney is putting the case together.

Avoid Discussing Guilt

You might have developed a close relationship with the doctors and nurses involved in your prenatal care and delivery. Unfortunately, if your baby has suffered birth injuries, those health care providers might have been responsible for those injuries. While the case is still pending, you should avoid discussing feelings of guilt, or making statements that might be seen as absolving your health care providers of responsibility. For instance, when speaking to the hospital or medical staff, you should never make comments such as "it wasn't your fault" or "you did everything you could." These statements could undermine your chances of receiving compensation for your baby's injuries.

You never wanted your little one to suffer birth injuries. Unfortunately, mistakes were made during the delivery and your baby is suffering the consequences. Protect your rights and the rights of your baby by speaking to an attorney as soon as possible. 

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