Neonatal stroke birth injury lawsuits are a type of medical malpractice claim that arise when an infant suffers a stroke shortly before, during, or after birth due to medical negligence. These tragic lawsuits typically focus on the actions or, more likely the inactions of healthcare providers during the critical periods of pregnancy, labor, and delivery.
The causes of neonatal strokes can be varied, but frequently include hypoxia (a lack of oxygen to the brain), untreated maternal infections, and physical trauma during delivery. For instance, improper use of medical instruments like forceps or vacuum extractors can lead to significant brain injuries in newborns.
Expectant parents often face numerous fears as they prepare for the birth of their child, and the possibility of birth injuries is among the most daunting. While strokes are typically associated with older adults, the reality is that various factors during the perinatal (before birth) and neonatal (during birth) periods can increase the risk of stroke in newborns.
Understanding and addressing these factors is crucial to mitigate the risks and ensure a safe delivery. If medical negligence is involved, parents may seek legal recourse through malpractice lawsuits, which can result in significant settlements to cover medical expenses, future care, and emotional distress.
Causes of Neonatal Strokes
Trauma, according to many defense attorneys, is the least common cause of a neonatal stroke. But negligent forceps use, vacuum extraction, thrombophilia, abnormal positioning, and cephalic pelvic disproportion are considered just a few of the complications that can cause a neonatal stroke.
The exact causes of perinatal stroke are often difficult to identify. Untreated infections and outside influences such as smoking, cocaine use or diabetes are considered potential maternal risk factors. The cause of congenital hemiparesis is most often a focal perinatal stroke
Whatever the precipitating cause, signs of a potential stroke are usually there for a doctor to see. How? The number one way to diagnose a stroke is to identify abnormal fetal monitoring strips. Often, the smartest play is to take the baby out quickly by c-section. Our birth injury lawyers see a lot of claims where if the doctor had simply ordered a C-section, the child’s injury could have been avoided.
Not only can a stroke delay or limit speech and cognitive growth in a child, there is evidence to suggest that those with substantial developmental delay or seizures related to neonatal or prenatal strokes face a shorter life expectancy as well. An infant’s stroke missed by medical professionals before or during delivery can have a permanent impact on their child’s life. It takes a while to make the diagnosis One scary statistics is that one-third to one-half of all newborn children with neonatal strokes have a normal newborn record.
Detecting a Stroke
While neonatal stroke occurs in roughly 1 in 6,300 live births, perinatal strokes are considered much rarer. As you can imagine, defense lawyers like to pretend that perinatal strokes are more common than they are because they want to argue the injury to the child happened long before the errors made by the obstetrician during delivery.
Approximately 25 percent of the babies that have a perinatal stroke are fatalities. Instances of perinatal stroke are often discovered via ultrasound when a telltale stain appears within the amniotic fluid. If the stroke is severe enough to result in a serious neurological deficit, this is usually apparent upon delivery, If for instance, a newborn infant suffered a right hemisphere stroke then left side extremity weakness will be obvious. Neonatal strokes, however, can remain undetected for as long as a few months after delivery.
Several studies of perinatal stroke have noted an association with prolonged rupture of membranes and chorioamnionitis.
Treatment Options
While comprehensive screening by healthcare providers over the course of the pregnancy is the only way to truly prevent perinatal stroke, many doctors are turning to unusual tactics when it comes to the combatting neonatal stroke.
These treatments include deliberately inducing hypothermia to prevent an infant’s brain from overreacting to changes in blood flow and use of Hyperbaric Oxygen Therapy, which immerses a newborn in an oxygen-only environment as a means of counteracting a potential stroke. Certain anticoagulants, such as herapin, are also considered effective methods of treatment.
Neonatal Stroke Malpractice Lawsuits
The legal grounds for these lawsuits rest on proving that the medical professionals involved did not meet the standard of care expected in similar situations. This means demonstrating that another competent healthcare provider would have acted differently under the same circumstances, potentially preventing the stroke. Causation is a crucial element in these cases; there must be clear evidence linking the healthcare provider’s negligence directly to the infant’s stroke. The plaintiffs, typically the parents, must show that the stroke and its consequences were a direct result of the substandard medical care.
Sample Neonatal Stroke Lawsuit Settlement Amounts and Jury Payouts Verdicts and Settlements in Perinatal/Neonatal Stroke cases
There are not a lot of settlements and verdicts in these cases. There are not lawyers for infant strokes; there are not enough of these claims, thankfully. Most birth injury lawyers have never litigated a neonatal stroke case.
Below are a few example results in neonatal stroke birth injury cases. We have included a settlement, a plaintiff’s verdict, and two defense verdicts.
- $1,950,000 Settlement (New York): — A male infant was admitted to the ICU with suspected sepsis and suffered a seizure due to a neonatal stroke. The mother alleged the stroke caused developmental delays and was due to the obstetrician’s failure to diagnose and treat her chorioamnionitis. The obstetrician denied negligence. Before trial, the parties settled for $1.95 million, paid into an annuity valued at approximately $11 million over the child’s life.
- $2,300,000 Verdict (Massachusetts): — During an attempted vaginal delivery, a male infant was unable to pass through an unusually narrow birth canal. After a delayed c-section, it was determined he suffered a prenatal stroke due to oxygen deprivation. The parents alleged the attending physician’s refusal to perform an earlier c-section caused the stroke. The defense lawyer argued the infant’s stroke occurred before delivery. The jury awarded the infant $1.8 million and each parent $250,000.
- Defense Verdict (Maryland): — A fetus suffered a neonatal stroke during childbirth after the mother was administered Pitocin. Plaintiffs alleged the drug caused hyperstimulation and the subsequent stroke, leading to one-sided weakness and fine motor deficits. The jury found the hospital and OB not responsible for the stroke.
- Defense Verdict (Texas): — After a 36-hour delivery, a male infant was born with cerebral palsy, resulting in permanent disability. The parents alleged excessive Pitocin administration caused skull compression and cerebral palsy. The defense argued the palsy was due to perinatal strokes unrelated to the delivery method. The jury found in favor of the defense.
Getting Help for Your Stroke Claim
If you believe your child has suffered a perinatal or neonatal stroke that could have been prevented, you may have a medical malpractice case for which you and your child may receive compensation. If you believe this was the situation for your child, call our newborn stroke attorneys at 800-553-8082 or get a free online consultation.
Resources
- Neonatal Stroke is Not a Harmless Condition. AdenU: Stroke 40:1948-1949, 2009.
- The Black Box of Perinatal Ischemic Stroke Pathogenesis. MineykoA and Kirton A: J. Child Neurology 26(9): 1154-1162, 2011.
- Perinatal Stroke in Children with Motor Impairment: A Population-Based Study. Wu YW, March WM. Pediatrics, 114: 612-619 (2004).