The Various Forms of Birth Injury

Last week, we introduced the general topic of birth injury, a category of injuries that occur to an infant during childbirth that can affect the child for the rest of his or her life. While we discussed factors that might give way to a birth injury and two major kinds of birth injury, this week, we go in-depth and explain different forms of birth injury, some of them being minor and capable of clearing up on their own, and others being more serious in nature and effect.

The following are some of the more common birth injuries, according to Stanford Children’s Health:

• Facial paralysis – Pressure on the baby’s face during birth, either from natural labor or from the use of forceps, can cause damage to the facial nerves. The damage becomes evident when the baby cries, as he or she may not be able to move the side of the face that has been injured. While the nerve might just be bruised, in which case paralysis will improve after a few weeks, if the nerve has been torn, surgery may be necessary to correct the paralysis.
• Brachial palsy – Brachial palsy is the result of damage to the nerves of the baby’s arms and hands, which can occur most commonly in delivering the baby’s shoulder. This condition can cause the baby to lose his or her ability to flex and rotate the arm. Much like facial paralysis, if the injury merely bruised or caused swelling around the nerves, movement will return to the baby’s arm within months; tearing of the nerve, however, can cause permanent damage.
• Cephalohematoma – Cephalohematoma occurs when an area under the cranial bones bleeds, and it appears as a “raised lump on the baby’s head.” These disappear over the course of two weeks to three months, depending on the size of the lump, as the body resorbs the blood.
• Fractures – Fractures can occur during the process of delivery and occur most frequently in the clavicle or the collarbone. However, the injury typically heals quite quickly. Limitation of the movement of the arm and shoulder on the side where the clavicle has been injured can help soothe any pain the baby might experience.

If your loved one suffers from cerebral palsy, call us for help. We will talk to you and review your case for free. The Tyrone Law Firm specializes in representing those who have suffered a devastating injury, such as birth injuries or traumatic brain injury resulting from the negligence of another. Our personal injury firm here in Atlanta has a very successful record of trying such cases.
Nelson Tyrone handles Brain Injury, Spine Injury and RSD/CRPS cases throughout the United States. He involves only the top medical, rehabilitation and life-care plan experts in the field. His results on behalf of clients include several of the largest settlements and verdicts on record, and he was recently able to obtain a $13.9 million verdict, one of the largest in the state of Georgia, for a birth injury client in 2014.
You can reach us at 404-377-0017 or via email at admin@tyronelaw.com. If we can’t help you, we will do our best to put you into the hands of lawyers who can.
Additional Resources

• Stanford Children’s Health: Birth Injury
• Merck Manuals: Birth Injury