Brain Hypoxia Attorneys in Philadelphia, PA
Brain hypoxia is one of the most dangerous issues a person can suffer. Brain hypoxia describes lack of oxygen to the brain. This can occur during birth, during surgeries, or from trauma. Without fast and effective treatment, hypoxia can cause important brain cells to die since they need an uninterrupted flow of oxygen to properly function. This can lead to permanent brain damage. If you suspect medical malpractice caused or contributed to brain hypoxia and subsequent injuries, speak to a med mal lawyer at Anapol Weiss.
Malpractice and Brain Hypoxia
Physicians should be able to foresee hypoxia in many situations and take steps to prevent the problem. For example, during the birth of a child, the doctor should carefully monitor fetal vital signs. Red flags such as fetal distress can point to hypoxia, at which point the doctor must take swift emergency action to prevent damage to the infant’s brain. While physicians can’t always prevent brain hypoxia, there are procedures they can perform to quickly resolve the issue and minimize damage to the brain. Failure to do so, resulting in injuries or death, may mean medical malpractice.
Oxygen deprivation in the brain can result from strangulation, choking, drowning, hypotension (very low blood pressure), or carbon monoxide poisoning. An irregular heartbeat, stroke, and cardiac arrest can also lead to brain hypoxia. Brain hypoxia related to medical malpractice may take the form of anesthesia errors, brain surgery errors, birth injuries, or brain injuries. Anesthesia errors such as administering too much anesthesia, or improperly intubating the patient, can cut off oxygen to the brain during surgery, resulting in brain damage, coma, or death.
Birth injuries resulting in hypoxia can include shoulder dystocia and umbilical cord prolapse. Shoulder dystocia occurs when the infant’s shoulder becomes lodged behind the mother’s pubic bone. The infant is stuck inside the birth canal, but contractions continue. This can squeeze the baby’s neck and umbilical cord, cutting off oxygen to the brain. Brain injuries during birth, surgeries, or medical care can also cause brain hypoxia. If negligence contributed in any way to these injuries, it may be possible to sue the hospital and/or doctor responsible.
Birth Injury Practice Areas
Your Options Following Brain Hypoxia
Brain hypoxia can have devastating effects on patients. Many will never fully recover from lack of oxygen to the brain and will suffer from physical or cognitive difficulties throughout their lives. Others may fall into a coma or experience brain death. Still others do not recover at all. If you or a loved one suffered injuries or wrongful death due to brain hypoxia, you have the right to investigate the cause of the incident. It’s possible that negligence and malpractice played a party in the damages.
Your first step is to speak to an attorney in Philadelphia. Anapol Weiss has lawyers with extensive medical malpractice experience waiting to hear your story. Schedule a free consultation and give us all the details of what happened to you or your loved one. It will help your case if you keep documentation of the incident, including medical bills, scans, tests, treatment recommendations, medication prescriptions, and discussions with health care professionals. The more information you gather regarding your injuries, the better we can help you. Our team will analyze your case and tell you if we believe it has merit as a medical malpractice lawsuit.
How a Philadelphia Brain Hypoxia Lawyer Can Help
Signs of malpractice may include failure to warn of the risks of surgery, unexpected complications during an operation, birth injuries, or incidents involving anesthesia. After any brain hypoxia incident, talk to a birth injury attorney. You may not realize that negligence caused your injuries, but a team of skilled attorneys can get to the bottom of what happened. We can help you take the initial steps toward bringing a lawsuit against the defendant. Contact us online or call (866) 735-2792 now.