South Florida Injury Attorneys Blog
Bringing a child into the world is a monumental experience that should be a joyful time for expecting parents. Unfortunately, out of 1,000 infants born in the US, 6 to 8 are victims of birth injuries. Certain birth injuries can cause horrific long-term complications, while others can be traumatic to endure based on required surgeries due to infants being in their most fragile state of life.
Facial Nerve Palsy is one of the birth injuries an infant can sustain before or during delivery. While it seems unlikely to think of medical professionals causing birth injuries, it’s possible, and you can fight against it.
Here’s how you can find a Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyer to fight against your medical malpractice claim.
What Is Birth Trauma?
Birth trauma refers to the distress a mother can experience during or after childbirth that can be emotional and psychological. Depending on how a woman’s birth experience is or how she’s treated during the process, birth trauma can occur.
Here are some reasons that can cause birth trauma:
- Birth plan not going as expected
- Experiencing labor complications
- Having emergency surgeries or tools used during the birth process
- Suffering from birth injury (mom or baby)
- Doctors not performing care or support
It is possible that complications during the delivery can lead to birth trauma, especially when emergency tools such as forceps are used. Any time a medical professional has to act out of unforeseen circumstances, it can put the mother in distress due to not meeting expectations.
What Is Facial Nerve Palsy?
Facial nerve palsy is the loss of muscle movement in the infant’s face. It is a result of birth trauma when medical professionals have to use force and apply pressure on the facial nerve before or during childbirth.
A giveaway that your infant could be suffering from facial nerve palsy is if there is noticeable drooping on one side of their face. Other symptoms of facial nerve palsy in infants are drooling, inability to blink, and when they are older, speech problems.
How Does Facial Nerve Palsy Occur?
There is not one specific cause for the occurrence of facial nerve palsy, but its main cause is constant pressure on the baby’s facial nerve. Some preexisting conditions such as Moebius Syndrome can also cause facial nerve palsy, but in a medical malpractice case where the doctor acted wrongly, it is something on their end that has caused the injury.
Another commonly known factor that can cause this birth injury in infants is the use of a medical tool called forceps. A pair of forceps is a tool that looks similar to salad tongs and is used to help guide the baby’s head out of the birth canal. Forceps are only used when delivery isn’t progressing, and the doctor feels that the baby’s safety is relying on this tool to guide them out. This tool is especially used in emergency situations, which is why it is associated with birth trauma.
There are a variety of treatments that can be done for curing facial nerve palsy. Luckily, most cases in infants will resolve on their own. However, if it doesn’t, there are several surgeries that can be done to restore the baby’s facial muscles. These surgeries are costly and could have been prevented with better, safer medical care.
What To Do If Your Infant Has Sustained Facial Nerve Palsy as a Result of Birth Trauma
If you believe your baby has sustained a birth injury, you should contact a legal representative. Hiring an attorney in the Fort Lauderdale, Florida area can help you seek extra compensation to help with medical bills and make up for the birth trauma that was sustained.
Speaking to a legal representative can give you an indication of how to proceed in your medical malpractice claim for personal injury. Filing a medical malpractice claim, even for personal injury, means that your infant was injured at the wrongdoing of medical professionals who could have handled birth with more care.
Filing a claim against hospitals or doctor’s offices can be very tricky since these established organizations have many rules and regulations in place to protect them from lawsuits such as these. They have their own team of high-quality legal professionals who know hospital and state laws to try and find their way out of a lawsuit.
Find An Attorney to File Medical Malpractice
When you hire a Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyer, you get to take a breath and allow your legal professional to take the reins for you. Your attorney will fight your battle on your behalf by doing most of the speaking to the hospital’s legal advocate.
When you start to build your medical malpractice case with an attorney, you should hand them over your medical records of birth and thoroughly explain to them the birth story and how the injury was sustained. Your medical malpractice claim is filed in the hopes of coming out with a fair settlement.
Medical malpractice claims have many steps involved in them since there is a lot to prove in regards to the doctor’s care and performance. There has to be established documented proof that a relationship existed between you and the doctor and that their negligence led to the injury and other complications.
Florida has a statute of limitations that states a person has 2 years from the day the injury was discovered to file a medical malpractice claim. If you have noticed the facial nerve palsy injury in your child recently, it’s important that you take the first step in contacting an attorney before the two-year window passes.
Discuss Your Options with Frankl Kominsky Injury Lawyers
If you or a loved one have an infant who’s believed to have suffered facial nerve palsy from birth trauma, you should contact Frankl Kominsky Injury Lawyers immediately. Our team of legal professionals is ready to help you fight against the wrongdoings of trusted medical professionals by filing a personal injury claim in this medical malpractice lawsuit.
We have been practicing for over 40 years and have expert knowledge for knowing how to fight these particular cases. We have plenty of experience handling cases working against hospitals and doctors’ offices, which means we can anticipate how their side thinks.
Seeking extra compensation to cover medical bills and make up for the impact on quality of life can be done with a high-quality attorney. Whenever you’re ready, our 24/7 hotline is always available at (561) 800-8000. We also have a free case evaluation form for you to fill out online.
Once you have submitted your contact information, someone from our firm will get in touch with you about scheduling your no-obligation free consultation to come in and meet one of our attorneys to discuss your case in detail. If you feel as if we would be a good fit after hearing our services and how we can help you, we can officially start building your case.
If you’re ready to seek extra compensation with one of the best Fort Lauderdale personal injury lawyers, call Frankl Kominsky Injury Lawyers today for a complimentary initial appointment.