Fetal acidosis can transform a joyful birth into a medical emergency. Our Glen Burnie birth injury attorneys at Schochor, Staton, Goldberg and Cardea, P.A. have guided Maryland families through this crisis for more than three decades. Jonathan Schochor and Kerry Staton have each secured life-changing recoveries, helping clients obtain over $1 billion in verdicts and settlements.

We understand the emotional toll when doctors fail to prevent oxygen deprivation at birth. From our Baltimore headquarters, just a quick drive up I-97, we meet parents in Glen Burnie and throughout Anne Arundel County, in person or virtually. We offer free consultations and charge no fee unless we win, so your family can focus on your child’s healing.

Call (443) 909-2792 or fill out our quick online form today for a free, no-obligation consultation with our Waldorf fetal acidosis attorneys so we can start fighting for your child’s future right away.

What Is Fetal Acidosis and Why Is It Dangerous?

Fetal acidosis is a dangerously low blood-pH level in a newborn, often confirmed by umbilical cord blood-gas tests. It signals that the baby lacked oxygen during labor. Even brief oxygen loss can injure a child’s brain and organs.

Severe acidosis may lead to hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), cerebral palsy, seizure disorders, developmental delays, organ damage, or tragically, infant death. Because vigilant monitoring and timely intervention usually prevent these outcomes, a fetal acidosis injury frequently points to medical negligence.

How Can Medical Negligence Cause Fetal Acidosis?

Medical teams must recognize and correct oxygen problems without delay. Too often, preventable errors expose a baby to dangerous acid buildup.

Common negligent scenarios

  • Ignoring fetal heart-rate warnings: Delivery staff must act when monitors show late decelerations or prolonged bradycardia. Failure to intervene quickly allows blood pH to plummet.
  • Delayed emergency C-section: When labor stalls or distress signals persist, minutes matter. Postponing a needed Cesarean can leave a child with lifelong brain injury.
  • Umbilical cord complications: Cord compression, prolapse, or a tight nuchal cord cuts off oxygen. Doctors who miss these signs or delay delivery breach the standard of care.
  • Misuse of forceps or vacuum extractors: Improper tool use can lengthen delivery and worsen oxygen loss, multiplying injury risk.
  • Drug-induced hyper-contractions: Excessive Pitocin causes powerful contractions that starve the placenta of oxygen. Staff must reduce or stop the drug and deliver promptly.
  • Failure to stabilize maternal health: Untreated infection, severe preeclampsia, or anesthesia-related hypotension in the mother can rapidly distress the fetus.

Less common, but equally devastating, mistakes

  • Placental abruption handled too late
  • Uterine rupture during VBAC left unmanaged
  • Undiagnosed vasa previa leading to fetal hemorrhage
  • Missed congenital heart defect that required specialist care at birth
  • Inadequate newborn resuscitation immediately after delivery

If any of these errors occurred at a Glen Burnie hospital, our team, led by fetal acidosis lawyer Jonathan Schochor, can investigate records, enlist obstetric experts, and uncover the truth.

What Injuries Can Fetal Acidosis Cause in Your Baby?

Prolonged acidosis deprives the brain and organs of oxygen.

  • Cerebral palsy: Lifelong motor difficulties, muscle stiffness, and mobility challenges
  • Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE): Cognitive deficits, seizures, and developmental delays
  • Seizure disorders: Immediate neonatal seizures or chronic epilepsy
  • Learning and behavioral impairments: Speech, memory, or attention challenges that appear in early childhood
  • Motor disabilities and muscle weakness: Impaired coordination or partial paralysis
  • Organ injury: Heart arrhythmias, kidney dysfunction, or respiratory failure
  • Stillbirth or neonatal death: The most heartbreaking outcome for any parent

Parents deserve resources to cover intensive therapy, adaptive equipment, and lifelong medical care when negligent providers caused these injuries.

Could My Doctors Have Prevented Fetal Acidosis?

Competent obstetric care prevents most acidosis injuries. Continuous heart-rate monitoring, regular maternal vital checks, and rapid delivery when distress persists are the gold standard. Providers can give the mother oxygen, administer IV fluids, or perform a scalp-pH test for confirmation. 

When these measures fail, the baby must be delivered immediately. If your team ignored these steps, attorney Kerry Staton can help determine whether malpractice occurred.

Can I Sue for Fetal Acidosis Malpractice in Maryland?

Families may bring a malpractice claim when negligence caused fetal acidosis and injury.

  1. Duty: Doctors and nurses owed competent care.
  2. Breach: They deviated from accepted medical standards.
  3. Causation: That breach caused your child’s harm.
  4. Damages: Your child now faces medical costs, pain, and other losses.

Maryland law lets parents file within three years of discovering malpractice, while a child’s own claim remains open until age 21. Our Glen Burnie birth injury attorneys at Schochor, Staton, Goldberg and Cardea, P.A. handle the filings, obtain expert certificates, and confront hospital insurers so your family can focus on healing.

What Compensation Can We Recover for a Birth Injury Lawsuit?

A successful claim can secure:

  • Past and future medical expenses: NICU bills, surgeries, medications, therapy, assistive technology
  • Rehabilitation and specialized education: Speech, occupational, and physical therapy; individualized schooling
  • In-home and long-term care: Nursing support, home modifications, adaptive vehicles
  • Pain, suffering, and emotional distress: For your child and family (subject to Maryland’s non-economic damages cap)
  • Lost future earnings: If disabilities will prevent employment

Birth-injury verdicts often reach seven or eight figures because lifetime care costs soar. Our Glen Burnie fetal acidosis attorneys will pursue every dollar your child needs.

How Our Glen Burnie Fetal Acidosis Lawyers Can Help You

Jonathan Schochor and Kerry Staton have each spent more than 35 years litigating complex birth injury cases. Their team, including nurse investigators and medical experts, has recovered millions for children harmed by delayed C-sections and missed distress signals.

We serve families in Glen Burnie and throughout Anne Arundel County. Whether you visit our Baltimore office, meet virtually, or need us to come to your home, our compassionate approach never wavers. Consultations are free, and we advance all case costs. Call (443) 909-2792 or message us today. There is no fee unless we win.