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General
- If forceps and vacuums are used during birth, is it usually a sign of medical malpractice?
Get More InformationNo. These instruments can and often are used safely to assist wth difficult vaginal births. However, if your child sustained a traumatic birth injury and these devices were used, our experienced birth injury lawyers can help you investigate whether improper use caused the harm.
Book a free consultation to review what happened. We work on a no-upfront-fee basis, so you pay nothing unless we win.
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General
- What are forceps and vacuums?
Forceps and vacuums are types of medical instruments used during assisted vaginal deliveries. Shaped like a pair of long tongs or spoons, forceps are slid on either side of the baby’s head to help guide it out of the birth canal. In a vacuum extraction, a properly sized rigid or soft cup attached to a handle is placed on the baby’s head and attached using suction.Get More Information -
General
- What are some symptoms of periventricular leukomalacian (PVL)?
Depending on the severity and location of the brain damage, a child may have no symptoms or experience significant disability. Symptoms often become more apparent over time and tend to be pronounced by six to nine months of age. They may include: spastic diplegia, cerebral palsy, developmental delays (mental and physical), poor coordination, vision problems and difficulty with eye movement, hearing loss, cognitive impairment and learning disabilities, developmental delay (mental and physical), scoliosis, seizures, urinary incontinence.Get More Information -
General
- How is periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) diagnosed?
Symptoms of PVL are frequently associated with other conditions and disorders. Therefore, a physical exam in itself may be the first step in a diagnosis, but confirmation usually comes from either a cranial ultrasound or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI).Get More Information -
General
- What is periventricular leukomalacia (PVL)?
PVL is a condition where damage to cells or cell death causes a softening of white brain tissue near the ventricles (fluid-filled chambers in the brain). It is believed that PVL is caused if the brain receives too little blood and/or oxygen.Get More Information -
General
- What are some common injuries from obstetrical errors?
Obstetrical errors can harm a pregnant woman, her fetus, or her baby. Common injuries for pregnant women include perineal injury (blood loss, skin, tissue and muscle damage, injury to the vaginal mucosa or anal sphincter), pelvic floor injury (muscle and nerve damage, prolapsed organs), postpartum infection, and spinal injuries from epidurals. A fetus may suffer from lack of oxygen, fetal distress, fetal infection, and placental abruption. Newborns may experience trauma from forceps and vacuums, lack of oxygen, untreated infection, improper resuscitation, and kernicterus.Get More Information -
General
- When is obstetrical error medical malpractice?
Get More InformationMonitoring the health of a patient/patients during a pregnancy, delivery and the first few weeks after birth requires certain knowledge, skill and experience. Although no medical provider is held to the standard of perfection, if their negligent actions or inaction breach standards of obstetrical care and cause injury or harm, it may be considered obstetrical error medical malpractice.
In these cases, the medical provider may be liable for compensating a patient for the damage they caused.
If you or your baby were harmed during pregnancy or delivery, our obstetrical malpractice lawyers can review your situation. Reach out for a free case review to learn about your options. You pay nothing upfront, since we handle cases on a contingency fee basis.
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General
- What are some common obstetrical errors?
Some common obstetrical errors include: misdiagnosis, surgical errors, medication errors, and postpartum birth injuries. The most common reasons for these errors tend to be errors in clinical judgement, miscommunication, technical issues, and inadequate supervision.Get More Information -
General|Why Choose Gluckstein?
- How does Gluckstein establish negligence in a newborn infection medical malpractice case?
For a newborn infection medical malpractice claim to be successful, a personal injury lawyer must establish that standards of care have been breached, that the breach directly caused serious harm to a person, and that another person's negligent action or inaction caused this harm.Get More Information
To establish negligence, we conduct a preliminary investigation into a client's medical files to determine when and how the infection started, how long it took to identify it, and how it was treated once identified. We also consult medical experts and birth injury lawyers who can provide an opinion about whether it is reasonable to think a doctor with a similar level of experience under similar circumstances would have made the same choices based on protocols in place.
If you believe your newborn suffered harm due to a missed or mistreated infection, contact us for a free consultation. Our services are available with no upfront fees, on a contingency fee basis. -
General
- When is a newborn infection considered medical malpractice?
A newborn infection can be considered medical malpractice if healthcare providers fail to adhere to the standard of care, leading to preventable harm or death, such as failing to diagnose or treat infections timely or adequately.Get More Information -
General
- What are some common newborn infections?
An infection can begin in utero (during pregnancy), at birth (during delivery) or after birth (in the first few days and weeks). Common maternal infections that affect the fetus/newborn include: toxoplasmosis, syphilis, rubella, cytomegalovirus, zika, HIV, Hepatitis B. Common infections a baby may be exposed to at birth include: streptococcal bacteria, gonococcal bacteria, chlamydia, escherichia coli (E. coli), listeriosis (Listeria monocytogenes), herpes simplex, HIV Hepatitis B. Some common postpartum infections include: bacterial meningitis, sepsis, conjunctivitis, pneumonia.Get More Information -
General
- When is a resuscitation of a new born medical malpractice?
Get More InformationIf there have been signs of fetal distress, if a baby is not breathing or crying normally, or if it does not have a healthy colour or skin tone, a medical provider would likely determine that something beyond routine after-birth care is needed to assist the baby.
If the baby’s heart rate is less than 100 beats per minute, some level of resuscitation effort is likely needed. More significant interventions are required if the baby’s heart rate falls below 60 bpm. If you believe resuscitation was delayed or mishandled, our birth injury lawyers can help you find out what happened.
If the standard of care to provide resuscitation in these scenarios are breached without extenuating circumstances, the medical provider's negligence may cause or contribute to a baby's injuries. This is called medical malpractice. Book a free consultation to review your case, with no upfront fees required.
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General
- What is the resuscitation of a newborn?
Newborns may require some level of intervention to help them with their breathing or to help them start breathing. Up to one in 10 babies born require simple stimulation (drying and rubbing) to help them breath. Three to six percent of newborns require basic resuscitation (bag-and-mask ventilation). Less than one percent need more serious interventions, including: endotracheal intubation, chest compressions and/or medication.Get More Information -
General
- When is jaundice medical malpractice?
Get More InformationJaundice is a common condition in newborns. Often it will resolve on its own or with minimal intervention from medical providers. In more serious cases phototherapy or transfusions are used to reduce bilirubin levels.
If a medical provider fails to identify, monitor and effectively treat jaundice, it can cause serious injury or death. Medical malpractice occurs when the standards of care are breached by a medical provider due to negligence and a patient suffers harm.
If your child was harmed due to untreated or mismanaged jaundice, a birth injury lawyer can review your case. Contact us for a free consultation. Our services are available with no upfront fees, on a contingency fee basis.
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General|Why Choose Gluckstein?
- What is the birth injury kernicterus (brain injury) from hyperbilirubinemia - jaundice?
As a body breaks down old red blood cells, it creates a yellow pigment called bilirubin that is processed by the liver prior to excretion. Some newborns have underdeveloped livers that cannot process this waste efficiently. If there is a delay or disruption in this process, bilirubin that builds up in the body may begin to collect in brain tissue and cause serious and permanent brain damage (bilirubin encephalopathy).Get More Information -
General
- How do you establish negligence in a birth injury case?
To establish negligence in a birth injury case, you must prove four key elements: a duty of care existed, that duty was breached, the breach caused the injury, and the injured party suffered damages.Get More Information -
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- How do birth injuries happen?
Birth injuries can result from difficult labor, improper use of forceps or vacuum extractors, delayed C-sections, or lack of oxygen during birth. Some injuries are unavoidable, but others occur due to medical negligence.Get More Information -
General
- What causes seizures right after birth?
Get More InformationThe underlying causes of neonatal seizures vary. They include:
- Lack of oxygen before or during birth;
- Infection acquired before or after birth;
- Stroke before or after birth;
- Blood clot or bleeding in the brain;
- Birth defects;
- Chemical imbalances;
- Metabolic disorders;
- Drug withdrawal.
About half of babies who experience seizures after birth will develop epilepsy later in life.
If your child was affected by a delay in diagnosis or treatment, our experienced birth injury lawyers can help you look into what happened. We're glad to talk through your situation at no cost, and we take on these cases without asking for payment upfront. -
General
- Can a traumatic birth cause seizures?
Yes, children born prematurely or those who experience very difficult births are at an increased risk of suffering brain injuries that may lead to seizures in the first weeks of life.Get More Information -
General
- What is meconium aspiration and are there long-term effects?
Meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS) occurs when a newborn inhales meconium (their first stool) into their lungs, potentially causing breathing problems. While most babies recover fully, severe cases can lead to long-term complications.Get More Information
