Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a traumatic birth injury caused by oxygen deprivation to an infant’s brain during pregnancy, labor, and delivery. It can cause a variety of complications, including cerebral palsy, physical and mental disabilities, impaired vision, hearing, and more. Families of children with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) often face significant expenses in providing proper care through recommended treatments, therapies, medications, and support services.

Although financial assistance is sometimes available through government programs, public services and support; it often fails to meet the full financial need that families of children with HIE face. As medical negligence is a known cause of perinatal encephalopathy, some parents choose to seek the help of experienced birth injury lawyers to pursue both justice and much-needed financial compensation to provide their children with the care they deserve. Here, we’ll discuss what options you have if you suspect your child’s HIE brain damage was the result of medical negligence, including meeting with lawyers who have experience with medical malpractice and birth injuries.

HIE and Medical Negligence

Although not all cases of HIE are caused by medical negligence, the truth is HIE is often highly associated with medical malpractice. Negligent care throughout pregnancy or during labor and delivery can result in a lack of blood flow to a baby’s brain, causing brain damage such as HIE. Some of the negligence that can occur and potentially warrant birth injury lawsuits include:

• Failure to properly treat high-risk pregnancies
• Fetal heart rate monitoring errors
• Failure to notice and attend to fetal distress
• Mismanagement of birth issues such as fetal presentation, uterus concerns, placenta issues such as abruption, etc.
• Lack of proper treatment, such as hypothermia therapy, following birth injury that resulted in lack of oxygen

When is Legal Help Beneficial?

For parents who suspect their child’s HIE might have been caused by negligence, birth injury lawyers can help families uncover the truth behind the injury and determine whether they have a case. Firms that have ample experience with medical malpractice and birth injuries understand the complex systems in place and are essential to building the strongest case possible in seeking compensation for HIE-related expenses.

How Can an Experienced Attorney Help?

Parents may be concerned that pursuing a hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy birth injury lawsuit will be too costly or time-consuming at a time when the most important thing for parents is to be there for their children. An experienced birth injury attorney will handle the bulk of what is required to file a and pursue a lawsuit. From gathering medical records to securing expert witnesses, the legal team will take care of everything needed to present the strongest possible case for their clients — with no fees to the client unless they reach a successful verdict or settlement.

The processes of birth injury lawsuits vary depending on the details of each case. However, the process is often worth it, as a resulting potential settlement can help pay for things such as past medical bills, ongoing medical and therapeutic treatment, and long-term support and care for children with HIE. Settlements can even be placed into special needs trusts which can help pay for lifelong care.

An experienced birth injury attorney is essential in adequately assessing the amount of financial assistance you and your child will require to provide optimal care. In addition to quantifying tangible expenses, a lawyer can also help seek justice for your family by seeking damages such as pain and suffering and loss of quality of life. Although financial compensation cannot make up for medical negligence or birth injury, it can bring a sense of justice to families in that the responsible parties are held liable for their negligence.

Did Medical Malpractice Cause Your Child’s Hypoxic Ischemic Brain Injury?

Finding the right attorney for your case doesn’t have to be difficult. The Cerebral Palsy Family Lawyers at Janet, Janet & Suggs, LLC have consulted with over 30,000 families nationwide. Our legal and medical experience helps us to uncover the truth and recover the compensation families deserve.

Our team is dedicated to helping families of children diagnosed with HIE as a result of medical malpractice or negligence. We know from experience what steps can be taken to seek justice and potentially help cover the costs of things such as HIE therapy and HIE medicine.

If your child suffered from medical malpractice that led to HIE, contact the Cerebral Palsy Family Lawyers at Janet, Janet & Suggs today for a free, no-obligation consultation.

Reviewed by:
Claire Surles, RN
Registered Nurse

Claire comes to JJS after a 10-year career as a labor and delivery nurse. She dedicated her hospital efforts to advocating for families, providing the safest birthing environment possible as Newborn Admission Nurse at UMMC St. Joseph Medical Center in Towson, Maryland. Her passion for helping those who experienced losses at any stage of gestation led to her appointment as Coordinator of the hospital’s ROOTS perinatal loss program. READ FULL BIO

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