Maryland Attorney for Infant Favoring One Side of the Body

If an adult favors one side of their body, they are generally compensating for some type of injury. When you see a newborn acting similarly, they could be doing it for the same reason. However, in the case of an infant, they are unable to tell you what is wrong. In many cases, their conduct is a symptom of a more serious medical condition. In many cases, this condition was directly caused by the carelessness or negligence of a mother’s healthcare provider.

When medical professionals make unjustifiable mistakes that injure infants, they should be held accountable. the Maryland birth injury attorneys for infants favoring one side of the body at Rice, Murtha & Psoras have spent decades fighting for the rights of families and infants who suffered preventable birth injuries. If your child was harmed because of the negligence of your doctor or another healthcare provider, you should not be required to bear the financial burden associated with the injury. Call (410) 694-7291 to schedule a free consultation and review your legal options.

Birth Injuries that Result in Infants Favoring One Side of Their Body

When you see an infant favoring one side of their body, it could be because that child’s brain is telling them that there is pain where none exists, or it could be that the child is struggling to control a muscle group. When an infant is straining to control one side of their body, it could be the result of a traumatic brain injury they suffered during a difficult pregnancy or delivery.

Hemiplegia

Hemiplegia is a medical condition that results in an infant favoring one side of the body. A common cause of hemiplegia is a brain injury before or during birth. Typically, an injury to the left side of the brain will impact the right side of an infant’s body, while an injury to the left side of the brain will cause a right hemiplegia.

Hemiplegia could be a congenital condition. However, it can also occur during pregnancy or birth if the attending medical professionals cause an injury resulting in brain damage.

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is often thought of as a muscular disorder. Actually, it results from a neurological brain injury that adversely impacts the brain’s ability to send signals to specific muscle groups. When an infant is favoring one side over the other, it could be the result of a disruption in the signals from their brain.

Erb’s Palsy

Sometimes, a child might favor one arm over the other. If this is the case, your child could be suffering from Erb’s palsy. Unlike the previous medical conditions, Erb’s palsy results from a muscular injury and not a neurological one. This muscular injury occurs when an infant suffers damage to their brachial plexus nerves during birth. the brachial plexus is a connection of nerves that connect the infant’s neck, collarbone, and shoulder. Often, a doctor will injure a child’s brachial plexus while assisting in a difficult delivery.

How to Know If Your Maryland Doctor is Responsible for Your Infant Favoring One Side of the Body?

Infants could suffer a birth injury for a variety of reasons that are outside the control of the mother or her attending healthcare providers. However, in some situations, a medical professional will make a grave error or decision that will injure a newborn. When this occurs, you could seek financial compensation for the pain and suffering you and your child endured.

Medical professionals are often confronted with complicated pregnancies and challenging deliveries. Their decisions and actions will impact the health and wellbeing of the newborn. When errors in judgment or conduct are made, the child could suffer a debilitating brain injury.

For example, if a baby is in a breech position, a doctor could decide to use surgical instruments, such as forceps, to assist the delivery. When excessive force is applied, a child could suffer a brain injury. In other situations, a mother might require an emergency cesarean section. When a doctor fails to order one or is delayed in performing a necessary procedure, an infant’s oxygen or blood supply could be significantly restricted, resulting in permanent brain damage.

Holding Maryland Medical Professionals Responsible for Birth Injuries

To hold a medical professional liable for the injuries your child suffered, our Maryland medical malpractice attorney will have to establish that their conduct was negligent. Every mistake a doctor makes does not constitute medical malpractice and every negative outcome does not provide the basis for a civil lawsuit. However, when a doctor, nurse, or other healthcare provider made an unjustifiable error, they could be held accountable.

To prove negligence, a plaintiff must demonstrate four elements.

First, the medical professional must have owed the plaintiff a duty of care. Healthcare providers have a duty not to do harm and treat their patients professionally. In most situations, establishing that a duty of care existed is straightforward.

The difficulty in a medical malpractice lawsuit is proving that a medical professional breached their duty of care. As stated previously, every error does not constitute medical malpractice. However, when a doctor or another medical professional’s conduct deviates from what a prudent and comparable trained professional would do under similar circumstances, then their actions could be found to be negligent. Proving to the court or a jury that a breach of duty occurred often requires expert medical testimony that would question your doctor’s decisions or actions.

Next, the breach must have caused the harm. If your infant suffered a brain injury because of the pressure applied with forceps, then a causal connection could be shown between your doctor’s behavior and the damage. Generally, proving causation is dependent on the facts of your case.

Finally, you must have experienced quantifiable damages. Legal damages include medical expenses and physical harm. If your baby sustained a permanent brain injury, then your damages could be substantial.

Call Our Maryland Attorney for Infant Favoring One Side of the Body for a Free Consultation

If your infant is favoring one side of their body, it could be the sign of a more serious medical condition. In many cases, an underlying neurological or muscular injury could have resulted from an inexcusable mistake by a medical professional. If you believe your child was harmed due to medical malpractice, contact our Maryland attorney for an infant favoring one side of the body immediately. Call Rice, Murtha & Psoras at (410) 694-7291 to schedule a free appointment.