Most families return home from a hospital birth with a healthy newborn. However, occasionally things go wrong. Some children enter the world with congenital abnormalities. Others suffer significant medical setbacks because they have birth injuries.
Birth injuries are different than congenital conditions because they are the result of something going wrong during the labor and delivery process. Cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy and many other medical conditions have an association with medical mistakes during the birth process.
Sometimes, families believe that a birth injury may be mild. They may not realize the impact it could have on their child and the entire family. Other times, they may not even notice the initial signs of a birth injury. It might only be later, when the child starts demonstrating developmental delays, that they realize that their child isn’t as healthy as they initially thought.
Developmental delays can be expensive
Developmental delays come in many different forms. Some children have delayed fine and/or gross motor function development. They may struggle to hold their heads up or roll over when other children may have already begun sitting on their own. Other times, children may seem to have speech delays that prevent them from mastering language as fast as their peers.
Infants may also have cognitive delays that become increasingly obvious as they get older. Developmental delays may require specialized therapies to help the child overcome their challenges. That care alone can be costly.
However, developmental delays tend to produce an assortment of secondary expenses. If the parents rely on professional child care, they may have to pay more for those services because their child has special needs. Other times, the delays may be significant enough that the child does not qualify for professional care.
One parent may have to take an extended leave of absence from work or even give up their job if their employer isn’t flexible. Even with interventions and support from parents, children with developmental delays may lag behind their peers for years if not for the rest of their lives.
Parents may need to act to offset their losses
Once parents understand the extent and impact of a child’s developmental delays, they can start exploring the underlying cause. When it is clear that the medical challenges the family faces stem from an injury caused by inappropriate medical intervention or injuries sustained because doctors failed to act, the family may be able to assert that the delays are the result of medical malpractice.
When doctors don’t conform to established best practices and harm their patients as a result, they may open themselves up to medical malpractice lawsuits. Such lawsuits can compensate families for medical expenses, lost wages and other costs generated by birth injuries and developmental delays. Holding medical professionals and facilities accountable can help families defray the economic damage generated by mistakes in the labor and delivery ward.