Glen Burnie, MD Birth Injury Lawyer

Birth injuries alter a family’s expected path when medical providers fail to deliver appropriate care during labor and delivery. In Glen Burnie and throughout Anne Arundel County, these preventable injuries create substantial hardships. Children face years of medical treatment, while parents struggle with unexpected caregiving responsibilities and healthcare expenses.

Schochor, Staton, Goldberg and Cardea, P.A. represents Glen Burnie families coping with birth injuries. Our attorneys secure financial resources for affected children while holding medical professionals accountable for substandard care.

While financial compensation cannot reverse your newborn’s injuries, it provides access to the necessary medical care, therapies, equipment, and educational services they require for their best possible future.

Understanding Birth Injuries and Medical Negligence

Birth Injury Basics

Birth injuries occur during labor, delivery, or shortly after birth. They range from minor bruising that heals quickly to severe conditions affecting brain function, nerve pathways, or physical abilities. Unlike birth defects (which develop during pregnancy from genetic factors), birth injuries typically result from physical trauma or oxygen deprivation during the birth process itself.

Common injuries include nerve damage affecting arm function, brain damage from oxygen deprivation, bone fractures during difficult deliveries, and spinal cord trauma. The long-term impact varies significantly—some heal completely, while others cause permanent disabilities affecting development, mobility, or cognitive function.

When Medical Care Falls Short

Healthcare providers must follow established protocols for pregnancy monitoring, labor management, and delivery techniques. Medical negligence occurs when practitioners deviate from these accepted standards and cause harm.

Examples include misreading fetal monitoring strips, delaying necessary cesarean sections, applying excessive force during delivery, administering incorrect medications, or failing to respond properly to maternal conditions that threaten the baby.

Not all birth complications involve negligence. Distinguishing between unavoidable outcomes and preventable errors requires detailed medical record analysis and expert opinions—services your Glen Burnie birth injury attorney provides.

Common Birth Injury Cases in Maryland

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy affects muscle coordination and body movement due to brain damage. Preventable causes include:

• Oxygen deprivation during birth
• Untreated maternal infections
• Delayed intervention when monitoring shows distress
• Medical errors causing physical trauma

Children with cerebral palsy typically need physical therapy, adaptive equipment, medications, and sometimes surgery. Lifetime care costs often exceed $1 million, making proper compensation vital for affected families.

Brachial Plexus Injuries

When excessive force or improper techniques are used during delivery, the nerves controlling arm and shoulder movement can be damaged. Erb’s palsy, the most common form, causes weakness, limited mobility, or paralysis in the affected arm.

These injuries frequently occur during deliveries involving shoulder dystocia—when the baby’s shoulder becomes lodged behind the mother’s pubic bone. With proper technique and care, most of these injuries are preventable.

Oxygen Deprivation Injuries

Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) occurs when a baby’s brain receives insufficient oxygen during birth. Causes include:

• Umbilical cord problems
• Placental complications
• Prolonged labor without intervention
• Delayed response to fetal distress signals

Brain cooling therapy can reduce damage if started promptly after birth. Children with HIE may develop seizure disorders, developmental delays, or intellectual disabilities depending on the severity and duration of oxygen deprivation.

Physical Trauma During Birth

Difficult deliveries sometimes result in fractures, particularly of the clavicle (collarbone), or injuries to the skull, limbs, or spine. While some occur despite proper care, many result from unnecessary force or improper delivery techniques.

Facial nerve injuries can cause temporary or permanent facial paralysis, often resulting from pressure during delivery or improper forceps use. With appropriate care and technique, many of these physical injuries are avoidable.

Less Common Birth Injury Scenarios

Several other preventable birth injuries occur less frequently but remain significant:

• Kernicterus results from untreated severe jaundice, causing brain damage. Medical staff should monitor and treat rising bilirubin levels before they reach dangerous thresholds.
• Emergency C-section delays can cause permanent injuries when fetal distress signals are ignored or response times exceed medical standards.
• Maternal condition mismanagement, including preeclampsia, infections, or gestational diabetes can directly harm the baby when not properly treated.
• Medication errors during labor and delivery can affect fetal heart rate, and oxygen levels, or cause other complications when incorrect drugs or dosages are administered.
• Maternal injuries during childbirth can also result from negligence, including surgical errors during cesarean sections, uncontrolled bleeding, or improperly treated infections.

Establishing Liability for Birth Injuries

Potential Responsible Parties

Birth injury cases typically involve multiple responsible parties:

• Physicians and obstetricians who make medical decisions during pregnancy and delivery may be liable for surgical errors, improper delivery techniques, medication mistakes, or delayed interventions.
• Nurses and medical staff providing direct patient care bear responsibility for monitoring, medication administration, and communication with physicians.
• Hospitals and medical facilities may be responsible for the following:
  • Poor policies or insufficient staffing
  • Liability for employee negligence
  • Inadequate supervision or credentialing
• Specialists, including anesthesiologists, perinatologists, and neonatologists may share liability for errors within their areas of practice.

Proving Medical Negligence

Successful birth injury claims require establishing four key elements:

1. Duty of care existed between the healthcare provider and the patient
2. Breach of duty occurred when the provider failed to meet accepted standards
3. Causation links this failure directly to the birth injury
4. Damages resulted from the negligence

Medical experts play a decisive role in birth injury cases, explaining where care fell short and how proper treatment would have prevented the injury.