Fractures

While no medical provider can guarantee that your child will be born without injury, sometimes there is negligence during the birth of a child that causes a birth injury. If your child suffered a birth injury that should have been prevented they may be entitled to compensation for their injuries.

DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers has extensive experience in helping families whose child suffered birth injuries. Our personal injury law firm also consults with board certified medical experts from outside of the local area to confirm that your case has merit and to ensure that we receive objective reviews of the medical care you received. We will only pursue cases where experts have confirmed there was a deviation from generally accepted medical standards that caused a child's birth injury.

If your baby suffered a bone fracture injury due to medical negligence during birth, call DeFrancisco & Falgiatano at 833-200-2000 today for a free consultation.

Around one in every thousand childbirth results in bone fracture injury during the delivery process. The most common bone fracture at childbirth is the clavicle or collarbone fracture. Other birth fractures include fracture of the skull, arm, wrist, ankle, foot, leg, backbone or hipbone.

There are a few risk factors of labor and delivery that may result in bone fracture:

• Birth weight more than 8 pounds, 13 ounces.
• Premature birth, i.e. as babies delivered before 37 weeks of pregnancy are more fragile and can get injured more often
• Unusual birth positioning, such as breech birth (feet first)
• Dystocia which is a general terminology for hard labor or delivery
• Prolonged labor
• Cephalopelvic disproportion, i.e. the inadequate pelvic shape and size for a vaginal delivery

Collarbone fracture is the most common birth fracture. Typically it results in cases where the baby starts crowning feet and hips first (breech birth position) during delivery, instead of head first. It also occurs if the baby experiences shoulder dystocia, where the infant's shoulder gets stuck on the pubic bone of the mother. In such situations, special instruments and techniques are required for safe child delivery. Improper use of the techniques and instruments results in bone fracture for the baby.

Skull fracture birth injuries often occur due to forceps misuse or excess pressure in vacuum extraction. Fractures in baby's arms or legs may occur if the ob-gyn or medical provider pulls the baby too forcefully in an attempt of delivering the baby.

The signs and symptoms of fracture are a non-moving limb, loud crying on touch at certain body parts and bruising of the body part. Sometimes the symptoms are not prominent immediately after birth and parents might only realize what is wrong with their baby after several days. The diagnosis of bone fracture in the newborn is made with the help of CT scan, MRI study or X-rays. Minor birth fractures are left to heal on their own. Moderate fractures are treated with icepack and splints. Severe fracture may need several surgeries as well as physical therapy for several months.

If your child suffered a fracture or other birth injury call DeFrancisco & Falgiatano Personal Injury Lawyers at 833-200-2000 or contact us online. Consultations are always free and you will never be responsible for any legal fees unless we are able to recover compensation for your child.