Detroit Anoxic Brain Injury Attorneys

Experienced Michigan Birth Injury Attorneys Pursuing Compensation on Behalf of Families Throughout Wayne County

Oxygen is vital to a newborn baby. If a baby experiences a lack of oxygen during gestation or the labor and delivery process, the baby can enter into an anoxic state. Anoxia refers to the complete lack of oxygen to the brain.

At the Metro Detroit birth injury law firm of Sommers Schwartz, P.C., we proudly represent families in medical malpractice cases against negligent healthcare providers. Our birth injury lawyers handle all types of claims, including those involving anoxic birth injuries. We can help your family seek justice and compensation for everything you’ve been through.

What Is an Anoxic Brain Injury?

An anoxic brain injury occurs when a fetus or newborn baby stops receiving oxygen to the brain. After about four minutes of oxygen deprivation, brain cells start to die, often resulting in debilitating lifelong conditions and, in some cases, death.

Often babies in an anoxic state will not be breathing when they are born. Doctors and nurses will typically try to get these children as much oxygen as possible by placing an oxygen mask over their nose and mouth or putting them in a hyperbaric chamber. Babies born in an anoxic state must receive immediate medical attention to address their oxygen deficiency.

What Are the Long-Term Effects of Anoxia During Birth?

The long-term effects of anoxia depend on the duration of oxygen deprivation the baby experiences. With prompt medical treatment, some children can recover from mild cases of anoxia, where the period of oxygen deprivation is short. However, some babies never make a full recovery. Brain cells die after four minutes without oxygen, resulting in permanent brain damage.

A lack of oxygen can quickly result in severe cognitive and physical impairment. Children who suffer oxygen deprivation during the birth process may experience long-term brain damage. While some symptoms may not be observable immediately, infants who suffer brain damage at birth may experience the following deficiencies later in life:

• Reduced gross motor skills – Gross motor skills are those movements that require the use of most of the body. Gross motor skills include walking, running, standing still, and sitting.
• Compromised fine motor skills – Fine motor skills require more precise control over a specific body area. Fine motor skills include eating, writing, grasping small objects, and dressing.
• Communication difficulties: Children who experience brain damage due to anoxic brain injury often suffer from reduced verbal skills, including an inability to speak in a clear voice and failure to use inflection while speaking.

The longer a baby goes without oxygen, the more severe their symptoms will be and the greater the chance they will suffer long-term effects. If oxygen deprivation lasts long enough, the child may develop one or more serious disorders, such as cerebral palsy. Untreated anoxia can also be fatal.

Are Anoxic Birth Injuries Preventable?

Yes, in many cases, anoxic birth injuries are preventable. Many complications can cause a baby to enter an anoxic state, including:

• Maternal infections.
• Placenta blood circulation issues.
• Placental abruption.
• Preeclampsia.
• Stroke.
• Umbilical cord complications.
• Uterine rupture.
• Very low maternal blood pressure.

While these conditions may not directly result from a doctor’s negligence, a physician may be negligent in failing to detect one or more conditions or risk factors that could indicate a child is suffering from oxygen deprivation.

Can Parents Sue Negligent Healthcare Providers Following a Birth Injury?

Families who gave birth to a child who suffered an anoxic birth injury can pursue a birth injury claim against the delivering physician, midwife, or another medical professional, as well as the hospital or birthing center. Birth injury cases are a type of medical malpractice claim. To successfully hold a medical professional liable in a Detroit birth injury case, a family must be able to establish the following elements:

1. A doctor-patient relationship existed.
2. The care provided by the doctor fell below “the degree of diligence and skill which is ordinarily possessed by the average of the members of the profession in similar localities.”
3. The doctor’s negligent care resulted in harm to the mother or child.
4. The mother or child suffered legally recognizable damages, such as a worsening medical condition.

Successfully bringing a birth injury lawsuit enables families to recover much-needed and well-deserved compensation for everything they’ve been through. While the damages in a Michigan County birth injury lawsuit vary, depending on several factors, courts generally permit families to recover for their economic and non-economic damages.

Economic damages are the family’s out-of-pocket expenses due to a birth injury. For example, past and future medical costs are among the most common economic damages. However, economic damages also include the cost of ongoing assistive care your child may need to accommodate their disabilities.

Non-economic damages refer to the emotional and psychological impact of the doctor’s negligence on a family. These damages are more subjective because every birth injury affects families differently. Non-economic damages include any pain and suffering you or your child experienced or will experience. Other types of non-economic damages available in a Michigan birth injury lawsuit include:

• Mental anguish.
• Loss of enjoyment of life.
• Disability or disfigurement.

Reach Out to Sommers Schwartz, P.C. To Schedule a Free Consultation With a Detroit Birth Injury Lawyer Today

If your child suffered from an anoxic brain injury at birth, the Detroit birth injury lawyers at Sommers Schwartz could help you hold the negligent providers accountable for your child’s injuries. For more than 45 years, our medical malpractice and birth injury lawyers have been pioneers in medical negligence, fighting for the rights of patients and their families. We are widely recognized as an authority on birth injury litigation.

Sommers Schwartz, P.C. lawyers have authored textbooks about birth injury cases and are routinely invited to speak at important birth trauma conferences, including the Boston University Medical School Annual Perinatal Conference and the American Conference Institute’s Annual Advanced Forum on Obstetric Malpractice Claims. To learn more about how we can help you pursue a claim for compensation based on your child’s injuries, call 1-800-783-0989 to schedule a free consultation. Calling is free, and because we take all birth injury cases on a contingency basis, you will not be responsible for any legal fees unless we can recover compensation on your behalf.