Can Medical Malpractice Lead To Hypoxia in Newborns?

Childbirth is a process full of excitement and apprehension. When you’re expecting, you’re anticipating a new addition to your household that will make your home fuller with love and joy. The last thing a pregnant parent wants is for their child to experience any suffering during or after birth. Unfortunately, many newborns experience preventable birth injuries that negatively impact them for the rest of their lives.

One such injury, Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE), is brought on by the unborn infant not receiving enough oxygen. A baby’s brain may suffer lasting damage if it does not receive enough oxygen throughout pregnancy, labor, or delivery. This lack of oxygen could be attributed to medical malpractice at any stage. When a medical professional’s negligence causes a baby to experience hypoxia, their families should contact a medical malpractice lawyer at once to learn about their legal options.

How Medical Malpractice Can Cause Hypoxia in Newborns

Although there are numerous causes of HIE, medical malpractice frequently contributes significantly to an infant’s insufficient brain oxygenation. To avoid hypoxia, the doctor must properly monitor the mother during her pregnancy, labor, and delivery, which is ultimately the duty of the medical professional responsible for her care.

Many situations could lead to newborn hypoxia. Hypoxia is made more likely by the presence of certain conditions, including the following:

• Abnormalities in the brain’s blood vessels
• Cardiovascular collapse
• Complications with the umbilical cord
• Congenital heart disease
• Insufficient placental blood flow
• Oxygen deprivation
• Placental abruption
• Umbilical cord prolapse

Any of the conditions listed here and others could have been brought on by a doctor making a crucial error or failing to act promptly when signs or risks were present. Given that this ailment might result in lifelong health problems if left untreated, it is crucial to recognize and treat it as soon as possible. 

Unfortunately, these issues frequently go unnoticed until the baby gets a bit older. To identify a potential HIE issue and treat it promptly, infants must be adequately tested if they experience oxygen deprivation at birth.

Which Hypoxia Cases Can Be Considered Medical Malpractice?

When a medical professional fails to treat a patient under the required standards of care, it is considered medical malpractice and can result in harm or death to the patient. In this case, malpractice results in a birth injury that leads to HIE and potentially further consequences. Even if the baby doesn’t lose their life, their parents may still file a claim for medical malpractice. 

For your case to be considered medical malpractice under the law, the following factors must apply:

• The patient and the doctor involved had an established professional relationship.
• The doctor breached their duty of care to the patient.
• The patient’s injuries resulted from the medical professional failing to treat the patient properly.
• The doctor’s negligence caused the patient, the patient’s family, or both to sustain severe losses.

You may be able to establish medical malpractice was what led to your child’s hypoxia with the aid of a lawyer and receive payment for any monetary losses you incurred as a result of their negligence.

Seek Justice With Help From an Experienced Medical Malpractice Lawyer

Modern improvements in medical care have made treatment for hypoxia and early diagnosis significantly easier, so medical malpractice could have led to your child’s hypoxia. Medical personnel who violate the accepted standards of care and cause irreversible harm to babies may be held legally accountable for all resulting harms and losses. Contacting a qualified and skilled medical malpractice attorney quickly ensures that you and your family will be able to defend your legal rights. 

You can depend on the Law Office of Cohen & Jaffe, LLP to help you ensure that you and your child receive justice. We will put all our skills and efforts into defending you against the medical professional’s legal representation. To start assessing your legal alternatives, call us at (866) 924-1787 or via our contact form. Visit and subscribe to the Cohen & Jaffe Youtube channel to discover more about our company as we share our expertise there.

For a free legal consultation, call 516-358-6900