The birth of a child should be a happy occasion, but it may quickly become a nightmare if something goes wrong. No parent should need to deal with the unexpected stress of a newborn being harmed due to a preventable birth injury. If your child has suffered from cephalohematoma as a result of a medical professional’s negligence, we can help. Baltimore birth injury attorney Julia Arfaa understands how to navigate these claims and aggressively pursue the compensation that a child and their parents deserve. The team at Arfaa Law Group is dedicated to holding negligent medical professionals accountable for the harm that they cause.
Pursuing Damages for Cephalohematoma in a ChildCephalohematoma consists of bleeding between the skull and the membrane underneath the skin. The blood originates from blood vessels crossing the membrane, and it gathers in a pocket between the two layers. Put another way, cephalohematoma is a collection of blood from broken blood vessels that build up under the scalp. The pressure of pelvic bones when the baby is exiting the birth canal typically causes the condition. Other potential causes include prolonged labor during the second stage, forceps delivery injuries, or vacuum extractor delivery injuries. By some estimates, up to 2.5 percent of live births result in cephalohematoma.
If you believe that your child has developed cephalohematoma due to a medical professional’s negligence, you may be able to file a birth injury claim for damages. Medical malpractice is the theory under which an injured patient or their family may pursue damages from a medical professional or a hospital, and the majority of these cases are based on negligence. Medical negligence takes place when a patient is injured due to a medical professional failing to exercise the degree of care that a competent medical professional in the same specialty would have exercised in the same circumstances.
To succeed in a medical malpractice case against a doctor, therefore, the patient or their family must establish that the patient was owed a duty of care by the medical professional, the medical professional breached the duty of care, and the patient suffered an injury as a direct result of the medical professional’s breach.
An expert witness will be needed to testify with regard to the expected standard of care, the defendant’s deviation from that standard of care, and how that deviation was a direct and proximate cause of the plaintiff’s harm. An expert witness will be a medical professional in the same field as the defendant. However, the expert may not be a party, an employer or partner of a party, an employee or stockholder of a professional corporation of which a party is a stockholder, or an individual who has a financial interest in the outcome of the claim.
The plaintiff must show that the defendant medical professional provided sub-standard care to the plaintiff by a “preponderance of the evidence.” This simply means that the evidence must show that it is more probable than not that the plaintiff has proved their case. This is a relatively lenient standard, but it still requires collecting persuasive evidence that satisfies each of the elements of the claim. It also involves retaining knowledgeable experts who can convince a jury that your version of events is more likely to be true than the defendant’s version.
Contact Baltimore Attorney Julia Arfaa Following a Birth Injury to Your ChildIf your baby is suffering from cephalohematoma, you should reach out to Baltimore attorney Julia Arfaa for guidance on your next steps. At Arfaa Law Group, we have achieved many substantial settlements and verdicts on behalf of children and their parents, and we understand the complexities that often arise in these claims. Medical malpractice lawyer Julia Arfaa represents people throughout the state of Maryland. We are here to answer your questions and address your concerns. To discuss the details of your case, call us at 410-889-1850 or contact us online for a free appointment.