Brian White | January 16, 2024 | Birth Injuries
While your pregnancy should be a joyful time, numerous circumstances can develop that need a skillful doctor’s intervention. An umbilical cord prolapse is one such condition that demands immediate care from a competent and careful physician. However, should your doctor fail to give you and your baby appropriate care, the situation can become life-threatening.
If your baby suffers injuries or disabilities because of a poorly managed umbilical cord prolapse, know that you have legal rights. These can include bringing a birth injury claim against your doctor and the other medical staff who contributed to the incident. Like any medical malpractice claim, having an experienced attorney’s assistance can prove extremely valuable.
Description and Frequency of Umbilical Cord Prolapses
During pregnancy, the umbilical cord serves the vital function of delivering the essentials of life to a developing fetus. When it is time for the baby to be delivered, they are delivered first, and the umbilical cord follows. An umbilical cord prolapse occurs when that sequence is reversed; the umbilical cord drops down and emerges from the cervix before your baby does.
When the umbilical cord is delivered first, it can become pinched, disrupting your baby’s blood and oxygen supply while they are still in the birth canal. Unless emergency measures are taken immediately to deliver your child, there is a risk of permanent brain damage within minutes.
One study shows the heartbreaking frequency of these scenarios, estimating that umbilical cord prolapses occur in approximately one out of every 1,000 births and are fatal in about seven percent of cases.
How Umbilical Cord Prolapse Injuries Can Occur
Your doctor and delivery team are legally and ethically responsible for providing you and your child with reasonable medical care at all stages of your pregnancy.
That includes monitoring for risks of umbilical cord prolapse, such as:
- A low birth weight
- Being pregnant with multiple children
- The baby being breech (that is, feet or bottom-first in the uterus)
- An excess of amniotic fluid
These and other signs should alert your healthcare provider to the possibility of an umbilical cord prolapse developing. Your doctor will want to monitor your baby’s heart rate carefully, as it may be the only indication of an umbilical cord prolapse aside from physically feeling the umbilical cord in the cervix during delivery.
Compensation Following Umbilical Cord Prolapse Injuries
An umbilical cord prolapse birth injury lawsuit alleges that your doctor failed to diagnose and respond to the condition in time to avoid injury to your child. An umbilical cord prolapse lawsuit — or any birth injury case — must be brought within two years of your delivery date, or it will be barred by the state’s statute of limitations.
Winning such a lawsuit will typically involve evidence and opinions from professionals who examined your case and your doctor’s actions. If other doctors could have reasonably prevented your baby from suffering the effects of the prolapse, your claim will most likely succeed.
Damages could include compensation for the medical expenses you incurred (and will incur) for your child and other losses like lost wages. You can also recover compensation for your physical and emotional pain and suffering.
Legal Assistance Can Help You Recover Damages for a Birth Injury
The trauma of knowing your child suffered something like brain damage in an umbilical cord prolapse, coupled with the complexity of bringing a claim, makes hiring an experienced Texas medical malpractice lawyer a wise decision.
Hiring an attorney soon after your child’s delivery is essential to preserving important evidence and meeting the statute of limitations. Your attorney can also help you calculate the past and future costs of your child’s injuries so that you are pursuing the compensation you need and deserve.
Contact a Houston Birth Injury Lawyer to Help You With Your Claim
For more information, contact the Houston personal injury law firm of Attorney Brian White Personal Injury Lawyers by calling (713) 500-5000
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