Did Your Child Have to Suffer a Brain Injury Because of Preeclampsia?

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Did your doctor wait too long for a full diagnosis?You were scared from the moment that you heard you had a preeclampsia. You quickly learned that your life and the life of your unborn child were in danger. You are grateful—every minute of every day—that you and your child survived, but you can’t help wondering whether it was the preeclampsia or your doctor’s negligence that may have led to your child’s brain injury.

How Preeclampsia Can Result in a Child’s Brain Injury

You probably learned of your preeclampsia after a doctor’s appointment when you were found to have high blood pressure and protein in your urine. Doctors do not yet have a way to prevent preeclampsia from occurring; however, doctors are expected to use reasonable care in the treatment of pregnant women. To that end, it may be reasonable to expect a doctor to:

  • Promptly diagnose preeclampsia. Sometimes preeclampsia can be effectively managed if it is promptly diagnosed. While delivery is currently the only cure for preeclampsia, doctors may use medication to lower blood pressure, to prevent seizures, to improve liver function, and to help your baby’s lungs mature.
  • Increase monitoring of you and your baby once preeclampsia is diagnosed. Preeclampsia can progress quickly. Accordingly, you should expect your doctor to recommend more frequent appointments and additional tests including—but not limited to—blood tests, ultrasounds, non-stress tests, and even hospital monitoring.
  • Talk to you about your options. At some point, usually by your 37th week of pregnancy—or earlier if your life is in danger—your doctor may talk to you about the pros and cons of delivering the baby.

Sometimes, the only way to save the life of the mother is to deliver the child prematurely. A child who is born before he or she is full term may have a lifelong brain injury that results in learning disabilities, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, or other disabilities.

Questions to Ask After Your Child is Diagnosed With a Brain Injury

Some children will be born with brain injuries after being delivered early because of preeclampsia, and the doctors and hospital will not be at fault for that child’s injury. However, as a parent it is important for you to understand why your child is suffering. Accordingly, you may want to know:

  • When a reasonable doctor would have diagnosed your condition.
  • Whether a reasonable doctor would have monitored your pregnancy more closely.
  • Whether a reasonable doctor would have recommended an early delivery.
  • Whether appropriate precautions were taken to treat your child in the delivery room, in the neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) or in the regular hospital nursery.
  • Whether a reasonable doctor could have prevented your child’s brain injury even if he had to be delivered early.

The answers to these questions could impact what help is available for your child, because if your child suffered a brain injury due to medical malpractice then you may be able to fight for a financial recovery.

How to Get the Answers You Need

It is one thing to ask questions, but who is going to give you the answers? It is unlikely that the doctors or the hospital will answer your questions unless they are legally obligated to do so. Instead, you may have to require the doctors and hospital to give you the information that you are seeking by filing a birth injury case. For more information about birth injury lawsuits in Kentucky, please read our FREE report, Family First: How to Get the Help You Need After a Birth Injury to Your Child Happens in Kentucky.

Has Your Family Been Impacted By A Birth Injury?

If your family has been impacted by a birth injury you need to speak with an experienced birth injury attorney as soon as possible. Contact us online or call our office directly at 888.450.4456 to schedule a free consultation.

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