Most birth injuries will occur due to medical malpractice or negligence before a child is born or during delivery. "Most" is not all, though, as some will occur after the child is born and taken into further care. Medical providers in neonatal intensive care units (NICU) and pediatric intensive care units (PICU) need to exercise utmost care and caution when working with newborns and young children who have debilitating health complications. Otherwise, they could commit medical negligence of their own and cause an after-birth injury.
What Causes NICU & PICU Trauma?
NICUs and PICUs are similar to any other sort of intensive care unit in a hospital setting in that the patients there have severe health conditions that require around-the-clock or specialized care. In such a high-stakes environment, a single mistake can trigger a domino effect of negative consequences that endanger infants and toddlers. Any deviation of acceptable and cautious medical care is entirely unacceptable and should be challenged with a claim for compensation or a lawsuit.
Examples of medical negligence in a NICU or PICU that could cause birth or after-birth injury are:
- Failure to monitor: Perhaps the most common form of medical negligence in a NICU is simply not watching an infant patient closely enough. Failing to monitor their vital signs, or for traditional signs of distress like crying, can allow a serious health problem to persist and worsen.
- Misdiagnosis: Infant and toddler patients cannot communicate what is hurting them to doctors. A birth injury that affects their development, like a brain injury, will make patient-doctor communication difficult even if the child is a few years old. As such, it is all the more likely a medical provider will commit a misdiagnosis in a NICU or PICU. Difficulty of treatment, however, is not an excuse for medical negligence.
- Exhaustion: Working in a NICU is a tiring experience when done correctly. It is important for hospitals and medical groups to staff NICUs well enough to make certain fatigue does not set in enough to reduce a medical provider’s efficiency.
- Inexperience: A new NICU doctor or nurse has to start somewhere, but inexperienced medical providers should not be directed to take care of infants with birth injuries and complications on their own. Serious complications can be averted by scheduling veteran medical providers with newcomers as they improve their practice.
- Miscommunications: Within a NICU or PICU, medical providers need to be constantly sharing information with one another about a patient’s needs and developments. Miscommunications can lead to avoidable mistakes, such as mixing up patient files.
Seek Compensation with Beam Legal Team
If your child suffered a birth injury at any point, including while in NICU, you might be able to seek fair and maximized compensation. Discover your rights as the parent of a child with a birth injury caused by medical negligence by working with Beam Legal Team. We have become the go-to name in birth injury representation across the nation due to our experience, tenacity, and history of success.
You can call (866) 766-3806 or contact online at any time to request a no-cost case evaluation with our team.