Intracranial Hemorrhages

Intracranial hemorrhage is a traumatic birth injury that has the potential to devastate a child’s life. If your newborn suffered from intracranial hemorrhage due to medical negligence, a seasoned Baltimore birth injury attorney can investigate the facts of your case and assess the feasibility of your legal claim. We understand that dealing with a birth injury is very distressing, which is why we will try to make the legal process as seamless as possible for you.

Also sometimes called a “brain bleed” or a brain hemorrhage, an intracranial haemorrhage refers to a severe kind of bleeding in the brain. The bleeding can occur inside the skull, either inside the brain or between the brain and the skull. Data from the National Institutes of Health indicate brain bleeds are one of the most common types of birth injury.

Intracranial hemorrhages typically occur during delivery of the infant due to excessive pressure or trauma to the newborn’s head. Common causes of intracranial hemorrhages include:

• Improper use of assisted birthing devices such as forceps and vacuum extractors;
• Errors that cause oxygen deprivation;
• Abnormal fetal presentation (i.e., a breech birth);
• Marcosomia (i.e., when the fetus is larger than average for its gestational age);
• Improper use of force during a complex or difficult delivery.

Doctors can be held accountable for intracranial hemorrhages if their negligent actions contributed to the injury. Early diagnosis is critical because bleeding of the brain can lead to serious injuries including brain damage, impaired motor function and developmental disabilities. In fact, research has shown that when intracranial hemorrhage involves the brain tissue, the rate of newborn death can be almost 25 percent.

If a medical professional detects signs of an intracranial hemorrhage or suspects that an intracranial hemorrhage took place, they must act immediately. When the condition is not diagnosed and treated properly and causes injury as a result, you may be able to recover compensation through a medical malpractice claim, and a knowledgeable birth injury lawyer can help.

Medical malpractice occurs when a medical professional causes injury by failing to use the level of care that a reasonably prudent medical professional in the same speciality would have used in the same or similar circumstances. In order to win a medical malpractice case, the plaintiff has the burden of proving the following elements: i) the medical professional owed the patient a duty of care; ii) the medical professional violated the duty of care owed to the patient; iii) the medical professional’s breach was a direct and proximate cause of the patient’s injury; and iv) the patient suffered quantifiable harm as a result. It is important to note that each one of these elements must be established before any damages can be recovered.

The effects of an intracranial hemorrhage can vary. Some babies recover from it without any signs of neurological damage, while others suffer long-term harm. Obtaining compensation for an intracranial hemorrhage-related injury allows your family to pay for treatment, therapy, adaptive equipment, long-term care, and more. As such, the following types of damages are typically available in birth injury cases: medical expenses, lost wages, cost of home accessibility modifications, rehabilitation costs, attendant care services, and more. You can rest assured we will analyze your case and help you come up with an appropriate damages amount in your case.

If your child has suffered an infant intracranial hemorrhage, you may be entitled to compensation. At Arfaa Law Group, our hard-working birth injury lawyers have an extensive background in birth injury claims. For years, we have been helping families in Baltimore and throughout Maryland obtain the justice and compensation they rightfully deserve. If you work with our legal team, we will be with you every step of the legal process. Call us at 410-889-1850 or contact us online to learn more.