Brain Damage
Brain damage is sometimes the result of a preventable birth injury or other instance of medical malpractice. During a baby's delivery, mistakes or negligence on the part of the delivery team can cause serious, even permanent, brain damage that may necessitate a lifetime of medical care.
At The Berkowitz Law Firm, our medical malpractice attorneys have the medical knowledge and legal experience to obtain fair and satisfactory compensation for the families of patients suffering such losses.
Common Causes of Brain Injury at Birth
The brain damage that occurs shortly before, during or soon after a baby's delivery is often due to:
- a lack of blood flow or oxygen, or
- trauma that is a result of too much force being used, e.g. with forceps or vacuum extractors
These causes may have been unavoidable, or they may have been due to substandard, inadequate medical care.
Types of Brain Injuries
There are several types of brain damage that a newborn may incur as a birth injury, including:
- Cerebral palsy
- Loss of oxygen supply to the brain
- Intracranial hemorrhage (bleeding in the baby's head)
- Cranial nerve trauma
- Cephalohematoma (an area of bleeding beneath the scalp)
- Swelling or bruising of the brain
Symptoms of Brain Damage
An infant who suffers a brain injury at birth may show signs or symptoms of the damage immediately. However, the child may seem normal and healthy at birth, showing the signs of the damage much later, when the parents realize that their baby is not meeting the usual growth markers for being able to:
- hold its head up
- sit up
- crawl
- babble and talk
- walk
Motor and speech skill limitations, seizures, and mental retardation are signs of brain damage that may have been caused by medical negligence.
Brain Damage in Older Patients
In children, adolescents, adults and the elderly, brain injuries may occur due to unavoidable accidents. When the damage is due to medical malpractice or to the negligence or intentional harm of another, the attorneys at the Berkowitz Law Firm are ready to help. We understand that brain damage is one of the most severe and life-altering misfortunes that can happen to an individual and his or her family.
The medical bills, rehabilitation costs, and loss of physical and mental capacity alone can be devastating, and the emotional anguish can seem overwhelming. We counsel and represent people whose lives have been impacted by brain damage, and we strive to obtain the best possible legal outcome for our clients.
To speak to an experienced brain damage attorney in Stamford, Danbury, or Bridgeport, Connecticut, contact the Berkowitz Law Firm today.
