Damages for Perinatal Encephalopathy

Newborns are placed at heightened risk for complications that may result in birth injuries that resonate through the baby’s life. One potentially serious birth injury is perinatal encephalopathy, also called hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). This is an insult to the brain inflicted when a fetus faces lack of oxygen during birth. If your child is diagnosed with perinatal encephalopathy and you believe it is the result of medical malpractice, you should discuss your situation with the seasoned Syracuse birth injury attorneys of DeFrancisco & Falgiatano. We seek the best results for the families we represent and, as members of the prestigious Million Dollar Advocates Forum, we have a strong reputation for achieving success in the courtroom. It is imperative that you secure the greatest available damages for perinatal encephalopathy to help your child thrive, and we work hard to achieve awards and settlements that address our clients’ needs.

Oxygen is crucial to a newborn. Perinatal encephalopathy is a broad term that indicates brain damage arising out of birth trauma. It may arise in connection with a ruptured uterus, trauma, placenta separation, obstructed or twisted umbilical cord. In some cases, children do not face impacts to their lives from mild perinatal encephalopathy. However, there are also situations in which the lack of oxygen to a fetus’ tissues or organs can result in serious, emotionally devastating harm after birth. It can have consequences for a newborn that are similar to a stroke. A significant percentage of infants with perinatal encephalopathy have neurological injuries such as developmental delays, learning disabilities, seizures, epilepsy, cerebral palsy, and speech problems. Complications with HIE during a child’s life can include not only brain damage, but also wrongful death.

Fetuses may sustain permanent brain injury due to mistakes nurses, staff or doctors make that result in oxygen deprivation and lack of blood flow to the brain before or during or just after birth. If you suspect your baby suffered perinatal encephalopathy due to mistakes your obstetrician-gynecologist or another doctor made during pregnancy or labor, you should give our attorneys a call to see whether you have grounds to sue for damages.

In order to establish liability, we will need to show it is more likely than not: (1) your doctor owed you and your baby a professional standard of care, (2) he departed from the professional standard of care, (3) causation, and (4) actual damages. Once brain cells start to die, there is an increased risk of severe harm, and a child can go from healthy to permanently disabled in just a few minutes.

Assuming we can establish liability, the effects of perinatal encephalopathy on your child will determine the damages that can be recovered. Infants with moderate to severe perinatal encephalopathy may need significant therapies. In most cases, when we’re able to establish liability, we can recover past, present, and future medical expenses. These include the costs of emergency care, ongoing medical treatment, specialists, medications, and therapies—any medical care needed because of the birth injury.

One therapy used for moderate cases of perinatal encephalopathy is therapeutic hypothermia. Generally, this type of therapy doesn’t improve outcomes for more severe cases. Other therapies include melatonin, erythropoietin, and remote ischemic post conditioning. Sometimes stem cells possess therapeutic potential. There are also exogenous therapies that are being investigated such as magnesium sulfate, allopurinol, argon and xenon, and monosialogangliosides. Research continues to be done regarding promotion of cell repair and regeneration.

We may be able to also obtain the costs of past, present, and future rehabilitation for developmental delays and learning disabilities associated with brain injuries. When a child is left without certain bodily functions due to medical malpractice, it is appropriate to seek compensation for permanent disability and loss of function.

We can recover noneconomic losses of both parents and the child in question. These can include pain and suffering, mental anguish, and loss of enjoyment.

If your child suffered perinatal encephalopathy as a result of medical malpractice in Upstate New York, you should call the seasoned Syracuse birth attorneys of DeFrancisco & Falgiatano. We represent babies and their families in Lowville, Rochester, Auburn, Watertown, Herkimer, Oswego, Wampsville, Canandaigua, Lyons, Ithaca, Cooperstown, Oneida, Utica, Binghamton, and Elmira. Fill out our online form or call us at 833-200-2000.