Birth injuries are not always readily apparent, like a paralyzed arm or shoulder due to a forceps injury. In fact, many birth injuries can be so subtle, parents might not be aware of it. Think of a brain injury that will slow down the development of the child in the coming weeks or months. Due to the subtlety of the injury, some parents will be entirely blindsided and shocked later on, perhaps due to another diagnosis from a pediatrician, to find their child has a birth injury.
How does this situation occur so frequently? Given that medical providers need to pay close attention to a child’s health before, during, and after birth, shouldn’t they have noticed the signs of a birth injury? In some cases, they did but chose not to disclose that information to the parents.
Your Right to the Knowledge of Your Doctor
As upsetting as it may seem, some medical providers intentionally do not tell parents their child has a birth injury, despite knowing about it. Why would they choose to hide such important information?
Some doctors will not tell a pregnant mother that her unborn child will likely be born with a birth injury out of fear she may decide to abort the pregnancy. This controversial decision has stirred up arguments and emotions in recent years. Certain states have even begun working on legislation that makes it legal for a medical provider to withhold information just for this reason.
The more likely case, however, is that the medical provider wants to try to shield themselves from responsibility or liability for a child’s birth injury. They may panic after discovering they have caused a child harm through their negligence, such as failing to monitor oxygen levels during birth or missing an obvious sign of trouble while acting as an obstetrician. Rather than admitting the health condition exists and letting the parents decide how to care for their child and whether or not they want to file a medical malpractice claim, they deceptively choose to say nothing and hope the problem will never be traced back to them. In this situation, the doctor is in the wrong and may be seen as committing medical negligence.
When to File a Birth Injury Claim
Did you discover your child has a birth injury and you suspect your medical provider has known about it since your child’s birth or the mother’s pregnancy? If you can prove they withheld information from you as their trusting patient, it can act as important evidence of liability in a resulting birth injury claim. Getting a doctor to admit they withheld information of a birth injury from you will be a challenge, to say the least. Most likely, you will need to threaten to take them to court if they or the parent medical organization does not cooperate.
Beam Legal Team can act as your legal guide and representation throughout your birth injury claim. Our nationwide birth injury attorneys are capable of tackling any case, no matter where you live in the country. Using our extensive experience and unmatched legal knowledge, we can help determine if your doctor withheld information and what to do if they did.
Want to know more about your legal rights and how to file a birth injury claim? Contact us online or call 866.404.5221 today.