A reliable Kansas City forceps injury lawyer can help Missouri families who have experienced a birth injury situation due to forceps or vacuum determine if negligence caused the injury. The attorneys at Dickerson Oxton, LLC have extensive experience handling medical malpractice claims. Every birth is different, and some newborns will need some assistance making the final pushes out of the birth canal. Doctors may use several methods for assisting the delivery, including repositioning the mother, medications, or surgical instruments like forceps and vacuum extraction devices.
While these methods may help a baby along, they also increase the risk of traumatic birth injuries to both the mother and baby. Delivery assistance is very common in the United States with about one in every 20 deliveries requiring some form of it. However, doctors have a legal and moral obligation to do no harm to their patients. When negligence causes birth injuries, families should take reasonable legal action by contacting a Kansas City birth injury lawyer.
Contact a Kansas City Forceps Injury Attorney Today
Suffering any type of birth injury can lead to additional hospital bills, more time away from work, and concerns about the permanent disability of a newborn child. At Dickerson Oxton, LLC, our lawyers understand the concerns facing parents in these situations. We can help handle the legal concerns, so you can focus on starting your family. Contact us today for more information or to schedule a consultation with a forceps injury lawyer in Kansas City, MO.
Determining Negligence
Doctors must adhere to a standard of care set forth by the medical community with every patient. This standard of care refers to the manner and level of treatment for a particular patient type, medical condition, disease, or injury. The medical community uses peer-reviewed research, medical data, and technological advances to determine the most effective methods of treating particular ailments, and doctors generally refer to these methods first. When accusing a doctor of negligence, a plaintiff and his or her Kansas City medical malpractice attorney must prove that another competent and similarly skilled doctor in the same situation would have acted differently.
Some circumstances like dangerous drug interactions, patient allergies, or other issues with a patient’s medical history may preclude the accepted methods of treatment. Doctors who perform unconventional or experimental treatments without justification risk absorbing liability for medical malpractice. When it comes to using forceps and vacuum tubes during childbirth, the doctor must use good judgment to determine whether the use of these devices is safe and acceptable. If a doctor uses these instruments at inappropriate times while applying too much pressure, or without adequate training, this can cause serious injuries to newborns and their mothers. For more information regarding determining negligence, consult a Kansas City forceps injury lawyer.
Compensation for Forceps/Vacuum Extraction Injuries
Forceps can potentially cause lacerations to both baby and mother, bruising of the baby’s head and face, or injuries from excessive pressure. A vacuum tube may help a baby’s head clear the birth canal, only for the larger shoulders to become stuck. This tension can cause nerve damage in the shoulders, neck, and upper arms. Damage to a newborn baby’s shoulders or neck can lead to brachial plexus or Erb’s palsy. The suction of the vacuum extractor may also cause bruising, skull fractures, and cranial bleeding. Any of these injuries can lead to permanent brain damage, developmental difficulties, and other permanent disabilities.
Contact a Kansas City Forceps Injury Lawyer
If you or a loved one have been impacted as a result of a forceps injury, our attorneys are here to help. Contact us via our online contact form, or call us for a free initial consultation.