Balest (2021), in her article, Birth Injuries in Newborn, defined birth injury as “damage that occurs as a result of physical pressure during the birthing process, usually during transit through the birth canal.” Birth injuries often happen in children, most of which heals without medical care. According to an article by Birth Injury Support, “almost 6 out of every 1000 children born in the United States every year suffer from serious birth injuries such as fractured bones, developmental disorders, or neurological disorders.”
In addition to this, the article by Birth Injury Support provided more stats stating that; a lot of birth injuries do not surface immediately following birth; about seven percent of birth injuries are diagnosed within the first year of the child’s life; another 14 percent of birth injuries are not diagnosed until the child is of school-age; cognitive and developmental impairments caused by birth injuries are more likely to be diagnosed later than physical impairments caused by birth injuries. Most times, there may be circumstances that may naturally cause birth injury to a child or a mother. However, with the help of a medical practitioner, this problem can be scaled easily.
Medical malpractices that can lead to birth injury include but are not limited to negligently failing to control maternal blood loss after delivery, failure to monitor the baby’s oxygen intake before and after birth, erroneously delivering a baby prematurely, failure to act swiftly in dangerous situations, delayed birth, use of unnecessary force, failure to prescribe a cesarean section when appropriate, failure to communicate important diagnosis before childbirth.
Before the court, a plaintiff can use trial animation in a birth injury case. Some birth injuries lead to fractures, brain damage, nerve issues, and even death in babies. You can illustrate all these through detailed trail animations.
Birth Injury Cases
Woods v. Lancet
In this case, the complainant alleges on behalf of her child that while the child was in the mother’s womb, the baby sustained a grievous injury that caused him to be permanently maimed and disabled. The defendant affirmed the claim but maintained that the child could not get damages because of precedent. The court held otherwise and gave judgment in favor of the claimant.
Wolfe v. Virginia Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Program
Similarly, in this case, the claimant’s child, following a series of incidents seconds after birth, was diagnosed with cerebral palsy. The child was permanently disabled motorically and developmentally. While trying to get compensation for her child, she was denied on some grounds. Hence, she brought some claims before the court. The case was decided partly in her favor as a retrial was asked for because of missing evidence.
Plaintiffs must bring complete evidence pointing to the medical practitioner’s negligence before the court in proving a birth injury case. Since this is a case involving medicine, an expert witness can testify with the aid of trial animations.
Trial animations are very appropriate in situations that involve things that cannot be seen with the naked eyes, like the effect of a wrong prescription by the doctor to the baby in the womb, the cause of fracture to a baby, blot clot in the brain, and many other circumstances. Medical scenarios are most times difficult to comprehend and will need an extra explanation to be understood. With the help of trial animations, these issues can be dealt with efficiently and clearly by the court and the jury.
While preparing your trial animation for your birth injury case, some things must be considered. You must have proof that your child’s pre-birth and post-birth treatment involved negligence on the part of the medical practitioner, that the negligent treatment causes the injury, and that the injury or loss is reasonably foreseeable in that line of practice. Your trial animation would be more effective if these factors were considered while preparing it.
In conclusion, trial animation can do wonders for your birth injury cases because it can show hidden factors effortlessly. However, you don’t have to do it alone. It would be best if you had the assistance of a good attorney and a knowledgeable trial animation company to win your birth injury case. With the proper combination of an attorney, animation company, and expert witness, you can be sure you’re on the right track to winning your case.
