If you recently learned that your infant is blind, it could be because they were injured at birth by a negligent doctor or medical professional. Such birth injuries are serious and often require compensation.
Blindness in infants might occur for any number of reasons, including because of negligence exhibited by a delivering doctor during birth. For example, the use of forceps or other tools might cause lacerations that lead to scarring or vision issues. Birth injuries might cause cerebral palsy in an infant as well, which can also include damage to the optic nerve and blindness. In the event that a birth injury caused your child’s vision issues, you can sue the negligent hospital or doctor responsible. This will require you to prove that medical malpractice occurred at the time of your baby’s birth. To do this, we will review your medical records as well as those of your baby’s. We will also advise you to get your child seen by another doctor to confirm the cause of their blindness. If successful in your claim, you can get compensation for economic and non-economic damages related to your baby’s birth injury.
You can call (410) 694-7291 to speak with the team at Rice, Murtha & Psoras and schedule a confidential and free assessment of your case from our Baltimore birth injury lawyers today.
Can Birth Injuries Cause Blindness in Infants?
During labor and delivery, medical professionals might act negligently or fail to properly monitor an infant following birth, leading to injuries that cause blindness. Our lawyers can explain some of the common birth injuries that cause blindness so that you can compare such examples to your specific situation.
Birth asphyxia, caused by a lack of oxygen during delivery, could cause cerebral palsy, which might affect the optic nerve, leading to partial or total blindness. This might happen if the delivering doctor fails to deliver the infant properly or in a timely manner.
The use of vacuums, forceps, or other tools commonly employed during difficult deliveries might cause physical damage to a baby, leading to eye injuries that cause blindness or other vision issues. The misuse of these tools might increase the chances of your infant being injured during birth.
Blindness in infants is not always caused by medical malpractice during delivery. That said, if your baby has vision issues and you had a particularly difficult birth, or someone on the medical team acted in a way that made you uncomfortable during delivery and led you to believe that they acted negligently, causing your child’s blindness, contact our lawyers to see if you can sue for compensatory damages.
What if a Birth Injury Caused Your Infant to Become Blind?
If a birth injury caused your child’s blindness, there are several steps you should take. Start by contacting our lawyers to learn whether or not you have a case.
Birth injuries can be difficult to establish for several reasons. First, births are often somewhat chaotic, and parents might not be aware of everything medical professionals do during delivery. Parents might have difficulty remembering exactly what happened, making acting quickly important. The sooner you reach out to our Laurel, MD birth injury lawyers, the sooner we can begin gathering evidence of medical malpractice if that is what caused your child’s blindness.
We will also need certain information, like your medical records from delivery and birth, as well as your child’s. While birth injuries can cause blindness in infants, that is not always the case. Congenital blindness might happen while a mother is pregnant for various reasons. We can enlist a medical expert to review your baby’s medical records prior to birth to see if there were any indications of blindness prior to birth. Though not all cases of blindness can be diagnosed when a fetus is still in the womb, there are certain tests that can detect issues in the eye. Some tests should be run after birth to test for blindness in babies and monitor their vision.
How to Prove that Malpractice Caused Your Infant’s Blindness
Proving that medical malpractice caused your infant’s blindness can be a difficult task. Our lawyers can gather evidence of negligence so that you and your family can recover the damages you need.
To prove that your child’s blindness was caused at birth because of medical malpractice, our lawyers will review the medical records from the birth. We may also speak with individuals present at the time of the birth, such as medical staff or family who were in the room. If certain tools were used during your delivery, such as a vacuum or forceps, inform our lawyers. The use of such tools might increase the chances of an infant sustaining a birth injury that immediately causes or eventually leads to blindness.
You should also get your child assessed by separate medical professionals after birth. They might be able to determine if your baby’s blindness was caused by malpractice during birth or some other event. They can also determine the extent of your child’s visual impairment and help your baby get the care they need moving forward.
After proving negligence on behalf of the delivering doctor, medical team, or hospital, you can recover compensation for damages related to your child’s injuries. That might include medical expenses necessary to treat your child or provide them with accommodations they need to thrive. You might also recover damages for pain and suffering in a birth injury lawsuit. Traumatic births can be devastating in many ways, both physically and emotionally. Documenting your various damages will be necessary to your recovery, so keep any invoices or bills related to your infant’s injury. Our attorneys can ensure you and your family recover compensation for all losses related to an injury sustained at birth and caused by negligence.
Call Our Lawyers About Your Birth Injury Case Today
Call Rice, Murtha & Psoras at (410) 694-7291 for a free case evaluation from our Maryland birth injury lawyers.