Brain Injury Awareness Month is coming to an end, but as a father and brain injury attorney, I believe education on these types of injuries should never stop.
We often think of brain injuries as incidents resulting from sports or catastrophic injuries like car and motorcycle accidents. However, brain injuries can happen to even the tiniest of humans.
Whether you’re a parent, soon-to-be-parent, grandparent, or family friend, understanding the signs of brain injury in an infant are crucial. A small percentage of birth injuries, especially injuries that affect cognitive development, are diagnosed at birth.
Close to 14% of children are not diagnosed until they begin school when cognitive abilities are displayed. Only 7% of birth injuries are diagnosed shortly after birth.
What does this mean for parents?
Many clients are concerned it is too late to pursue by the time their child is diagnosed with a condition resulting from a birth injury. However, the statute of limitations in the state of Ohio for birth injury claims begins when the child turns eighteen. The parent(s) or child will have until the child’s nineteenth birthday to file suit.
What types of brain injuries can occur from a birth injury?
There are several kinds of birth injuries that can lead to traumatic brain injuries in infants:
• Cerebral Palsy– CP is one of the most common types of birth injuries and is caused by an injury to the child’s brain before or during birth. This brain injury can lead to a disorder of muscle movement and coordination in your child. It is not curable but can be treated, if early enough, to give your child a better quality of life.
• Eclampsia– Preeclampsia is a birth complication caused by high blood pressure. If it is not controlled, it can lead to eclampsia. Consequences of this include kidney failure, liver rupture, blindness, placental abruption or brain swelling. If left untreated, brain swelling could lead to more severe brain developmental issues.
• Oxygen Deprivation– When a baby is born and does not receive the right amount of oxygen needed (also called anoxia), it can affect the infant’s brain ultimately leaving them mentally and/or physically disabled for the rest of their life.
• Failure to Treat an Infection– if you or your child develops an infection while the baby is still in the womb, failure to treat it immediately could allow the infection to spread to the child’s brain. This could potentially cause permanent brain injury if left untreated.
Brain Injury Awareness should not be limited to one month and can occur to anyone, including our sweet children. If your baby was severely injured due to a birth injury, call me immediately. I will fight for your family’s justice.
As your Ohio birth injury lawyer, I’ll be there for you, and I’ll Make Them Pay! ®
Author: Tim Misny | For more than 34 years, personal injury lawyer Tim Misny has represented the injured victim in birth injury, medical malpractice, and catastrophic injury/wrongful death cases, serving “Cleveland, Akron/Canton, Columbus, Dayton and neighboring communities.” You can reach Tim by email at misnylaw.com/ask-tim-a-question/ or call at 1 (800) 556-4769.
