Birth Injuries Caused by Delayed Cesarean Births
            

During labor and delivery, the medical professionals continuously assess the health of the baby and the mother, as well as the progress of labor. When a situation arises in which it appears that the health of the baby or mother is in danger, decisions must be made quickly, and action must be taken immediately to resolve the dangerous condition. Often, the quickest way for medical professionals to bring a mother and child through a dangerous labor and delivery situation to relative safety is the emergency cesarean birth, or emergency c-section.

Medical professionals occasionally wait too long before they order an emergency c-section. This is because the hospital administration has difficulty determining whether the mother’s insurance will cover the procedure. In most cases, an emergency c-section is ordered promptly, but it does not actually get performed within the thirty-minute window of time that meets the applicable standard of care. Some extremely pressing emergency conditions even require delivery within an even narrower window of time, such as ten minutes instead of the usual thirty. Other causes of delays in emergency cesarean births are that some birthing centers are short-staffed or all operating rooms at the facility are already in use and are thus unavailable for delivery. Unfortunately, if an emergency cesarean birth is delayed for any reason, serious injury, disability, and even death may result.

Extended labor is one situation that could lead to delivery by emergency cesarean birth. Additionally, an abnormal heart rate or any situation which results in a reduced flow of oxygen to the baby is likely to be resolved through emergency c-section. Other situations where emergency c-sections may be needed are births where there are problems with the umbilical cord and cases of placenta previa or placental abruption.

Delayed emergency c-sections can cause various birth injuries like cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy, and mental disabilities. Even in some timely emergency c-sections, if performed in a rush by the medical professionals, can result in serious injury to both the baby and mother. Unfortunately, delays in emergency cesarean births have even been shown to cause death of the mother, the baby, or both.

If someone you love has been injured or killed because of a delayed emergency cesarean birth, you need the support and assistance of an experienced birth injury attorney. My name is Charles H. Thronson, of Parsons Behle & Latimer, and I am here to help you secure the financial assistance you need to make it through a birth injury. I have helped the families of many injured children from Utah, and elsewhere in the United States to obtain the financial recovery and support they deserve. If you have questions about birth injury lawsuits, please contact my office to schedule a consultation.