Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (“HIE”) is a devastating birth injury. It occurs when your baby’s brain doesn’t get enough blood and oxygen. The Cleveland Clinic estimates that HIE effects approximately 9,000 to 12,000 newborns in the United States each year. ¹

There are several causes of HIE in newborns. One of those causes is medical negligence. When I’m evaluating whether a child’s HIE may have been caused by medical negligence, the first factor I consider is how long the child’s mother was in “active labor.” Active labor typically lasts four (4) to eight (8) hours. When active labor lasts longer than this, it can be a clue that something is wrong. Almost every HIE case I have handled has involved a protracted phase of “active labor” or a failure of medical providers to timely diagnose an arrest of labor.

When you are trying to figure out whether medical negligence caused a birth injury, context matters. Did mom have any complications with this pregnancy? Did she have an epidural? Was she given any medications meant to speed up or slow down her labor? How did mom and baby respond? How did labor progress from that point? Do the birth records contain any charting that indicates whether medical providers considered an emergency C-section? If so, when was it first considered? Was that communicated to mom? If so, when? Is this mom’s first birth? If it is not, were her other children delivered vaginally or by Caesarean (“C-section”)? Did she have any complications with her prior pregnancies?

The context matters because it tells us what medical providers knew or should have known and considered during your labor. Establishing this is the first step in determining whether the care provided to you and your child was negligent.

If your child has been diagnosed with Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (“HIE”) at or shortly after birth, I recommend that you request a copy of your and your child’s medical records from before, during, and after birth. When you do, make sure you also specifically request a copy of the “fetal monitoring strips.” Securing these records early will allow your legal team to review your child’s case quickly and efficiently.

One way to protect your child (and their future) is to investigate the cause of their birth injury. If their birth injury was a result of medical negligence, an experienced birth injury attorney can guide you through the process of securing financial compensation for your child including for their past, present, and future medical care.

If you or a loved on has questions regarding their child and Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (“HIE”), please feel free to contact me. We’re here to help.

Footnotes:

1. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/hypoxic-ischemic-encephalopathy-hie ↩︎