Medical doctors and OB GYNs who deliver babies do not always perform the birthing process correctly following the standard of care. The nurses in the birth room have just as much responsibility to look for signs of fetal distress as the doctors do. When a nurse recognizes signs of fetal distress the nurse is required under the standard of care to immediately notify the attending physician to report the findings.

When the doctor, nurse or hospital staff person waits to late to notify the doctor, bad things happen, and critical delays may cause the injury or death.

We have had significant wins over the years for negligence claims against hospitals, doctors, critical care nurses and nursing homes who cause damage or death to a fetus or baby. Our results have been quite successful. You can call us for a free consultation. We have several offices across Wichita and in Garden City for western Kansas clients.

How does medical negligence cause Cerebral Palsy?

Medical negligence can cause cerebral palsy in cases where errors occur during pregnancy or delivery. This might include not detecting and treating maternal infections, improper monitoring of fetal heart rate, negligent handling of umbilical issues, delayed C-sections, incorrect use of birth-assisting tools, or improper surgical procedures during a crisis.

Cerebral palsy is a medical condition affecting movement and balance due to brain damage, often present from birth. It is one of the most common motor disabilities in children. Cerebral palsy is a birth injury condition that affects a child's ability to move and balance.

In these types of malpractice cases, you need a Kansas birth injury lawyer who understands the complexities of birth injuries and how they can cause cerebral palsy and other birth defects. The cases are usually caused by poor medical care from badly trained medical professionals. Birth injuries can also cause a brachial plexus injury.

The medical bills from a birth injury are usually catastrophically high levels due to the medical treatment involved and the family needs a large settlement and financial compensation to help pay for the child's medical care. Children suffering from birth injuries need a lawyer trained in birth injuries resulting in cerebral palsy or brachial plexus injury. Birth injury attorneys must study medical textbooks and medical treatises to understand the medicine on how to prevent birth injuries from medical malpractice. Bull Attorneys has medical malpractice lawyers in Wichita and Kansas who handle birth injury cases in Wichita, and across the Midwest.

According to the CDC, cerebral palsy (CP) is the most common motor disability found in children in childhood. Presently, 1 in 345 children have been identified with some form of CP in the US. The number of children with CP is much higher for children that are born before preterm or are born underweight.

The words "cerebral" and "palsy" mean that it is about the brain and the weakness of certain muscles in the body. Sometimes, cerebral palsy happens because doctors or hospital staff make mistakes when a baby is born. When that happens, the child and the parents can usually sue the doctor and hospital in a birth injury claim. This is because the doctors, nurses, anesthesiologists, and other medical professionals have a duty of care not to be negligent.

If your child has cerebral palsy or a brachial plexus birth injury it is best to get an experienced Kansas birth injury lawyer that understands malpractice law. Personal injury lawyers who understand the duty of care of obstetric physicians are usually better personal injury lawyers because they understand how malpractice happens.

Common birth injuries are caused by common mistakes doctors and their medical assistants make which are from negligence for not properly checking the mother and unborn child like:

• Failing to diagnose infections. Not noticing and treating infections in the mom. When a pregnant mom gets infections like streptococcus, listeria, salmonella, gonorrhea, syphilis, and other diseases passed through sex. The infections can cause bad problems like the death of the baby, early birth, a deformed baby, and many other serious effects. The mom and baby must be watched carefully during the whole pregnancy.
• Failing to monitor. Not watching the baby's heart rate right during labor when the fetus is having a challenging time. There are two ways to check the baby's heart rate before it is born. This is from the outside or inside. This is done to make sure the baby's heart is beating properly. The doctor or nurse should be worried if the heart rate is going up or down fast causing fetal distress. The medical devices will show the nurse and doctor why the fetus is in fetal distress like oxygen deprivation.
• Failing to diagnose a tangled umbilical cord. Not noticing and fixing problems with the umbilical cord, which can stop oxygen from getting to the baby. The doctor can use an ultrasound to check how long the umbilical cord is. If it is too short, the doctor and their helpers should watch the mom closely for the whole pregnancy. When the umbilical cord is wrapped around the neck of the fetus it is a critical emergency condition.
• Undue delay in delivery. Not noticing that the baby is in danger and doing a C-section right away during the birthing process. Once the baby is in danger, good hospitals usually say that a C-section should be performed within 30 minutes. But many doctors and nurses do not act this fast. This is especially true when patients are on Medicaid or uninsured.
• Use of proper delivery tools. Not using medically proper tools to help with the birth correctly. The doctor should have things like scissors, a needle holder, forceps, and a vaginal speculum ready in case of an emergency. If these tools are used the wrong way, your baby can be badly hurt and can get cerebral palsy. Birth injury victims are due to nurses and doctors who are not paying attention.
• Failing to perform rapid surgery. Not doing necessary surgeries right when the baby is in danger. When mom is in labor, and the fetal heart monitor shows rapid accelerations of fetal heart rate or rapid decelerations of fetal heart rate this is an emergency warning sign of the need to deliver the baby now with a C-section.
• Improper prenatal care. Many of these mistakes can be prevented with proper prenatal care. Uncaring doctors and nurses usually cause victims of birth injuries, many of which see too many patients and leave diagnosis up to nursing staff.

Cerebral palsy can be hard to notice right after a baby is born. It might not be clear until the child is between twelve and eighteen months old, so good pediatric doctors should diagnose it. This is why a parent must always be observant and vigilant to inform doctors if their child has any developmental delays that are not appropriate for their age.