If your child is having significant trouble learning to walk, crawl or talk, this may be characterized as a developmental delay. In some cases, developmental delays may simply occur because a child is slower than others, but they may also be signs of a serious medical condition. Birth injuries, particularly brain injuries, may cause developmental delays. These may also be caused due to a genetic disorder or a maternal problem such as alcohol abuse, diabetes or an infection during pregnancy or childbirth.

Medical malpractice may lead to developmental delays. It is important for an experienced California birth injuries attorney to thoroughly inspect all medical records from before, during and after childbirth in order to determine whether medical malpractice is to blame for your child’s developmental issues. If it is discovered that the doctor, obstetrician or nurse was responsible for providing a substandard level of care, you may be able to recover financial compensation through a medical malpractice lawsuit for medical expenses, future medical care, pain and suffering, and more.

California Birth Injury Attorney Dr. Bruce Fagel
Dr. Bruce Fagel has 10 years of experience in emergency medicine and maintains his medical license in California. This, combined with his decades of legal experience and his success as a medical malpractice lawyer, has enabled Dr. Fagel to achieve positive results in the birth injury cases he pursues. Dr. Fagel has a great deal of experience in helping infants who have sustained serious birth injuries, including cerebral palsy, mental retardation, microcephaly and premature delivery.

Witnessing developmental delays in your child can be frightening and you may wonder what you can do to ensure that your child receives the medical care he or she needs. If you suspect that malpractice led to your child’s problems, you may wonder whether you can take legal action against the responsible party. Fortunately, an experienced medical malpractice lawyer can provide you with the answers and the representation you need.

Erb’s palsy is a condition caused from brachial plexus injury, often resulting in partial or total paralysis of the face, arm or hand. The brachial plexus is a group of nerves extending through the neck, armpit region and arm. The most common cause for Erb’s palsy is dystocia, an abnormal or very difficult childbirth. If the infant’s head and shoulders are twisted, undue stress can be placed on the brachial plexus, stretching or damaging these nerves and therefore causing paralysis. In some cases, these nerves may repair themselves, but in many cases they require extensive physical therapy or even surgery.

California birth injury attorney Dr. Bruce G. Fagel is experienced in representing clients whose children have been diagnosed with Erbs’ palsy due to brachial plexus injury during childbirth. Medical malpractice may be to blame in some of these cases, and it is important that you are able to take legal action to hold the responsible party liable for their negligent conduct through a medical malpractice lawsuit. With a California medical license, 10 years of hands-on experience in emergency medicine, and nearly 30 years experience as a medical malpractice attorney, Dr. Fagel has a unique understanding of medical malpractice law. If you are looking to work with a medical malpractice lawyer who has the experience, resources and dedication to handle your claim through to the end, you have come to the right place.

At The Law Offices of Dr. Bruce G. Fagel & Associates we offer a free consultation to discuss your claim and your child’s injuries.

For further information regarding Erb’s palsy, click here to view a video featuring Dr. Bruce Fagel.

California Medical Malpractice Attorney Handling Erb’s Palsy Lawsuits
Medical malpractice may lead to brachial plexus injury and therefore Erb’s palsy in some cases, including:

A failure to recognize an infant that is too large to pass through the birth canal
Failure to turn an infant and position him or her properly for vaginal delivery
An improperly estimated due date, potentially not being prepared for an infant that is very large
Failure to perform a cesarean section when necessary
Negligence in maneuvering an impacted shoulder during childbirth
California medical malpractice attorney Dr. Bruce Fagel can review medical records in order to determine what negligence may have led to your child’s condition. It costs nothing to work with our firm unless we are successful in recovering financial compensation on your behalf.

If doctors or other medical professionals are not proactive in screening and managing a high-risk pregnancy, they can be held legally accountable if the mother or baby sustain a birth injury or wrongful death. If a doctor fails to properly diagnose the signs of a high-risk pregnancy, the results can be catastrophic. Examples of medical conditions that add risk to a woman’s pregnancy include high blood pressure, preeclampsia and the baby’s size while in the womb. It is the doctor’s responsibility to look for high risk signs and decide whether they put the mother or infant at risk.

Certain women are at greater risk for medical conditions that can harm their developing fetuses or endanger their own lives. At the Law Offices of Dr. Bruce G. Fagel & Associates, we represent families who have been harmed, suffered harm due to negligent managment of a high-risk pregnancy, labor or delivery. Our birth injury law firm has successfully handled cases involving mismanagement of high-risk pregnancies, including claims involving:

Advanced Maternal Age

Women age 35 or older have an increased risk of birth injuries and birth defects including Down syndrome, miscarriage, gestional diabetes, high blood pressure, placental problems and premature birth. Advanced maternal age is directly related to an increased risk of Down syndrome. Certain medical testing can detect the presence of chromosomal defects that cause Down syndrome and other birth defects. Parents must be offered the opportunity to find out whether their infant has these defects. These tests are voluntary, however, offering the opportunity to be tested is not. Doctors who fail to offer the parents these medical tests can be held legally responsible.

Premature Birth

Premature babies are more susceptible to developmental problems, delivery trauma and neonatal death. A doctor must make every effort to prolong gestation while monitoring for distress that may require emergency birth delivery. Doctors can often prevent premature labor and premature birth. Our birth injury lawyers represent families in premature birth injuries, including claims that involve a failure to:

Diagnose problems during ultrasound tests
Diagnose and treat preeclampsia or infections
Diagnose and treat incompetent cervix
Recognize and treat premature rupture of membranes
Recognize preterm labor & administer anti-contraction medications (tocolytics)
Perform an emergency cesarean delivery (C-section)
Administer corticosteroids to the fetus when premature birth is imminent
Monitor the infant for dehydration, low glucose, and seizures
Multiple Births

A multiple pregnancy increases the risks involved in any pregnancy and birth, whether the mother is pregnant with twins, triplets, quadruplets or more. Early screening and regular prenatal visits to the doctor are critical to monitoring the health of the infants. Medical negligence may involve failure to perform routine tests, such as ultrasounds and fetal non-stress tests. Other negligent errors could include the failure to recognize fetal distress or symptoms in the mother, inappropriate medical response to complications, and failure to plan for a C-section when necessary. Our birth injury attorneys are experienced at conducting a full independent investigation in order to prove liability on the part of doctors, nurses, and hospitals.

Large Fetus

Large infants present more challenges during pregnancy, labor and delivery than average sized ones. Infants with excessive birth weight, known as macrosomia, are at a greater risk for a birth injury to the mother and child. Ultrasound images taken at different stages of pregnancy estimate the size of the fetus. Medical malpractice can occur if a doctor or other medical profesional fails to properly interpret ultrasound tests or fails to properly estimate the weight of the fetus. When doctors are attempting to estimate fetal weight, they must also consider the mother’s height and weight, obstetrical history, size of the pelvis, and the presence of gestational diabetes. If the fetus is too large for delivery through the mother’s pelvis, the infant may need to be delivered by Cesarean section. A failure to perform a C-section delivery in a timely manner can cause a serious birth injury or even death to the mother or child.

Vaginal Birth After Cesarean

Women who have had a previous C-section birth can attempt a vaginal birth after Cesarean (VBAC). However, VBACs can be risky because the uterus already has been scarred from the previous Cesarean delivery. Stress from the labor could cause the uterus to tear along the scar of the C-section, known as a uterine rupture. This places the mother and child at risk of a serious birth injury. When a mother decides to attempt a VBAC, doctors and other medical professionals must recognize that there is a lower threshold for intervention for a VBAC patient than for someone who has never had a C-section birth delivery. They must pay close attention to the fetal monitoring strips for indications of fetal distress and be ready to order a C-section delivery.

Premature Rupture of Membranes

When a woman’s water breaks, it means that the amniotic sac surrounding the baby has broken or torn. This is known as the rupture of membranes. Normally the membranes rupture just before the start of labor. The premature rupture of membranes (PROM), is when the mother is past 37 weeks of gestation and labor has not yet begun. If the membranes rupture before 37 weeks of gestation, it is known as a pre-term, premature rupture of membranes (pProm). If a doctor or other medical professional fails to establish whether Prom or pProm occurred, and fails to respond properly to the premature rupture of membranes, then the infant can be at risk of serious birth injuries. The vagina can contain bacteria that has direct access to the fetus. The umbilical cord can prolapse and the membranes can become inflamed. PProm can cause pre-term labor which exposes the infant to risks of premature birth, which includes respiratory distress or brain damage from a lack of oxygen due to ill formed lungs.

Contact a High-Risk Pregnancy Attorney
Just because you fell into a high-risk pregnancy category does not excuse medical malpractice. The skilled and experienced birth injury lawyers at the Law Offices of Dr. Bruce G. Fagel & Associates can determine whether malpractice occurred during your pregnancy, labor and delivery. If the facts support your claim of a birth injury, we can assist you in pursuing financial compensation through a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Dr. Bruce Fagel practiced emergency medicine for 10 years before becoming an attorney. In fact, he still maintains his medical license. Due to his decades of experience as a medical malpractice attorney, he knows how to identify and expose medical malpractice. Dr. Fagel and his talented staff have handled more than 700 medical malpractice and negligence cases and have obtained more than $1 billion in settlements and jury verdicts.

Infant hematoma happens when blood collects in the area between the outer and the middle layers of the brain covering. It is usually a result of bleeding in the dura caused by a blow to the head, and the seriousness of the condition depends on the size of the hematoma. Hematomas are categorized as a subdural hematoma, where blood collects inside the skull, or cephalohematoma, when blood collects under the scalp.

There is a possibility that the brain trauma could have been sustained during the birth process. In spite of the sophistication of modern medical procedures, unexpected circumstances can arise during the birth process and errors can be made. Difficulties can occur when the baby is not passing through the mother’s birth canal normally and doctor intervention becomes necessary. Physicians are sometimes required to use specific tools to adjust an infant’s birth journey. For example, infants who have turned sideways in the birth canal, might have to be turned around before birth delivery can proceed.

These types of difficult birth deliveries frequently involve the use of forceps, or vacuum extraction devices. Vacuum extraction is cup-like device that is placed on the infant’s head and used to physically pull the infant from the womb. They can be made of plastic or metal and due to the fragile nature of the infant’s head, the procedure can cause a serious injury. Hematoma is caused by excessive force used during direct handling or forceps or vacuum extraction. When infant hematoma occurs, it requires a timely diagnosis and quick intervention in order to prevent permanent damage. Signs of infant hematoma include head swelling, high respiration rate, convulsions, coma, and increased intracranial pressure.

Contact an Infant Hematoma Injury Lawyer
Medical malpractice that causes hematoma or other birth injuries is unacceptable. A labor and delivery doctor or other medical professional may be held financially responsible for causing a hematoma, failing to diagnose fetal distress that caused the hematoma, or failing to properly treat this injury.

If your infant sustained a hematoma injury because a medical professional made a mistake, you may choose to file a birth injury lawsuit. If you decide to pursue this path, you will need an experienced birth injury attorney to guide you through the legal process to ensure every step is completed with accuracy and precision. After your child has sustained a devasating birth injury, they deserve sufficient financial resources to adequately prepare them for their future.

The experienced birth injury lawyers at the Law Offices of Dr. Bruce G. Fagel and Associates knows the implications associated with birth and delivery, especially those that involve infant hematoma. Dr. Fagel can assist you in finding out whether the circumstances that caused your infant’s birth injuries were the result of a medical mistake. He has the knowledge and resources to research your claim to find out whether medical malpractice occurred.

Kernicterus is a rare type of brain damage that occurs in a newborn with severe jaundice (yellowing). It happens when a substance in the blood, bilirubin, builds up to very high levels and spreads into the brain tissues. This causes permanent brain damage. Kernicterus may be prevented by treating jaundice early before it gets severe.

A low-level buildup of bilirubin is normal. This is called mild jaundice, and it gives a newborn a slightly yellowish tint to the skin and sometimes the eyes.

After birth, it takes a few days for the newborn’s liver to effectively remove bilirubin from the blood. With feedings every two to three hours, mild jaundice will usually go away on its own after a few days. If a baby has any signs of jaundice at birth, he or she needs to be watched closely.

Kernicterus has likely already started if a baby has one or more of these symptoms: extreme sleepiness and lethargy; does not respond to touching or does not startle from sudden movements; an abnormal high-pitched cry; poor muscle tone, including unusual muscle flexing; seizures; and a fever.

Long-term damages from kernicterus include: movement difficulties, hearing loss or deafness, learning problems, developmental disabilities, and problems moving eyes.

Your doctor diagnoses kernicterus through a physical exam and knowledge of a child’s history. Blood tests to measure bilirubin levels are also done. So, the question is, can kernicterus be prevented? Yes, with proper testing and treatment.

If a baby is still in the hospital and has signs of jaundice, the doctor will perform a blood test measuring the bilirubin level. High levels require treatment, either by phototherapy or blood transfusion. Also, babies should be fed at least every one to three hours during the first couple of weeks of their life as this helps keep bilirubin moving out of the body through urine and stool.

Quick treatment may help prevent further brain damage. Long-term treatment for brain damage depends on a child’s specific problems. Typical treatment includes physical therapy, speech therapy and special education.

Kernicterus can have life-long consequences to a baby and the family. This calls for an immediate and careful investigation of the entire labor and delivery process to determine whether this injury could have been prevented. Often, evidence in the medical records shows significant problems and gives clear proof that the unfortunate outcome could have been prevented with responsible medical care.

Mental retardation is the medical term referring to an individual whose brain operates below the normal standard, characterized by mild, moderate or severe impairment to cognitive brain function. Mental retardation may exist due to a genetic disorder or naturally occurring complications in the development of a child’s brain. However, serious birth injury or brain injury during delivery can also cause mental retardation.

Dr. Bruce G. Fagel is an experienced medical malpractice lawyer who is dedicated to helping parents whose child has suffered birth injuries due to negligence on the part of an obstetrician, doctor, nurse or medical facility. Mental retardation may mean that your child will require constant care and attention for the rest of his or her life. It may also mean that your child will be unable to lead a normal life, as you would hope for and expect if medical care had been appropriately provided when necessary.

By reviewing medical records and conducting a careful investigation of all circumstances involving the childbirth and the medical treatment that the mother and baby received, medical malpractice attorney Dr. Fagel can determine whether medical negligence was to blame.

Mental Retardation and Children
Mental retardation may cause a number of developmental delays in a child. A child may take longer learning how to sit up, crawl and walk. He or she may learn to talk later than a child with normal cognitive abilities would. Some characteristics associated with mental retardation include the following:

Memory problems
Difficulty learning social skills and rules
Difficulty solving problems
Delays in language development
Lack of social inhibitors
Delays in developing self-care skills
California Medical Malpractice Lawyer
If your child suffers from mental retardation and you suspect this may have occurred due to medical malpractice, you have the right to seek help from a skilled lawyer. By consulting California birth injury lawyer Dr. Bruce Fagel immediately, you can find out what your options are and what choice is right for your child’s future. Dr. Fagel can review your birth injury case to determine if a medical malpractice lawsuit is warranted.

Has your child been diagnosed with microcephaly? This serious disorder may occur due to birth injury as a result of medical malpractice. California birth injuries attorney Dr. Bruce G. Fagel can help by offering you a free consultation to discuss this matter and determine what legal assistance he can provide in bringing the responsible party to justice for their actions through a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Microcephaly is a neurodevelopmental disorder (an impairment of growth and development of the brain or central nervous system) that involves an individual with a head circumference a certain degree smaller than the standard for his or her age and gender. Depending upon the specific case, a person with microcephaly has a reduced life expectancy and cannot achieve normal brain function.

Developmental delays are expected for a child with microcephaly. Additional symptoms and associated conditions may include: mental retardation, seizures, impaired intellectual development, impaired motor function, hyperactivity, and an underweight, dwarfed body. At this time, there is no cure for microcephaly and treatment is of a supportive nature and will vary depending upon specific symptoms.

Microcephaly and Medical Malpractice
While microcephaly may be related to a maternal problem such as alcoholism or diabetes, it may also be genetic or may develop due to birth injuries a child sustains at the beginning of his or her life. When an infant suffers a serious brain injury during or after birth, it is possible that this may lead to microcephaly. The brain will not grow or will only grow slightly and the infant’s head will remain the same size while his or her body and face continue to grow.

California Birth Injury Attorney
A skilled medical malpractice lawyer should review your particular case if you suspect that medical malpractice led to your child’s diagnosis of microcephaly. By reviewing your medical records and all aspects of your case, an experienced birth injury attorney can determine whether you have a claim that you can bring against the medical professional or medical facility responsible for your child’s injury.

Premature delivery is the single leading cause of death in newborns. If you lost a child due to premature delivery or if your child was born prematurely and suffered a serious birth injury, California medical malpractice attorney Dr. Bruce G. Fagel can help.

A pregnancy is considered to reach full term after 9 months have passed (approximately 38 weeks). A delivery approximately 6½ months into term, or ranging from 26 weeks to 36 weeks of pregnancy, is considered to be a premature delivery. Because the baby is not fully developed at this time, there is an increased risk of lung or brain injury. These risks can be addressed when a mother goes into early labor through the use of steroid injections, which will speed up the development of the brain and lungs. Following a premature delivery, the baby will be placed in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) to receive special treatment.

Did Medical Malpractice Lead to Birth Injury?
Contact California birth injury lawyer Dr. Bruce G. Fagel immediately if your child was born prematurely and sustained injury as a result. Careful review of all medical records regarding childbirth and the care of your baby after birth is required in order to determine whether medical malpractice led to birth injuries that your child suffered. Perhaps the obstetrician failed to recognize signs of early labor, failed to provide steroid treatment in time or was negligent in the care of your child following delivery. Whatever the particular cause, having a medical malpractice lawyer on your side can help ensure that the responsible party is held liable for their actions through a medical malpractice case.

Premature Delivery Attorney Serving California Patients
With 10 years of experience in emergency medicine and a California medical license, Dr. Fagel is a medical malpractice attorney who is uniquely qualified to address your legal matter. With his assistance, you may be able to receive monetary compensation for medical expenses, future medical treatment, lost wages, pain and suffering and more.

Pitocin is the synthetic form of oxytocin, a natural hormone produced by a woman’s body that causes uterine contractions. It is generally used in two ways: to start or induce labor, and/or to augment labor. It has become a very controversial topic in childbearing today. Critics complain that it is used too frequently, even when its usefulness and safety are still uncertain.

Oxytocin is secreted in bursts. When a woman is given pitocin, it is administered through an intravenous line, which regulates the amount to a steady flow. Pitocin-induced contractions differ from natural contractions in strength and effect. This induced contraction may decrease uterine blood flow, which could reduce oxygen to the baby. Birth injuries such as brain damage and cerebral palsy could occur.

Pitocin can present other hazards to both the mother and the child. For the mother, dangers include tumultuous labor and contractions that may cause premature separation of the placenta, rupture of the uterus, laceration of the cervix or post-birth hemorrhage. Threats to the baby include fetal asphyxia and neonatal hypoxia from too frequent and prolonged uterine contractions, physical injury and prematurity.

A large percentage of women–nearly 80%–who received pitocin say that there is more pain with pitocin than without. There is no slow build-up of contractions with pitocin. And very few women–less than 10%–believe the pitocin helped with the delivery.

When inducing labor with pitocin, it works best when the uterus is ready to receive it, which is at term. When it is used prior to that, it is likely to produce a long, drawn-out or unsuccessful labor.

Because every woman responds differently to pitocin, the dose must be carefully monitored and adjusted. Too mild or infrequent contractions won’t bring the baby. Too strong or prolonged contractions can stress the baby.

Women have different views on pitocin. Some find it wasn’t a problem at all, while others intensely dislike it because of the potential harm it can cause. The most recent research shows how dangerous pitocin can be. The artificially produced contractions can cause too much stimulation, which can result in a decrease of oxygen to the baby and potentially causing a serious birth injury.

If your child has brain damage or cerebral palsy, it could be the result of induced labor using pitocin and the improper monitoring of fetal monitor records. That could be medical malpractice or negligence. The Law Offices of Dr. Bruce G. Fagel and Associates have a track record of success in pursuing birth injury cases through a malpractice or negligence lawsuit.