Our Baby Is Injured, Why Isn’t Anyone Telling Me Anything?
When a baby is born, their parents may be so focused on meeting their little one for the first time that they may not notice the medical staff rushing in and out of the room with panicked looks on their faces. After studying their little one intently, the parents may begin to suspect that something is amiss, but they may not be able to tell exactly what it is. In this type of situation, parents are likely to think that perhaps everything is fine and they are just feeling anxious – after all, if something were wrong with their child, the doctors would certainly tell them, wouldn’t they?
Unfortunately, medical staff are not always forthcoming about whether a baby has suffered a birth injury. Since birth injuries are often caused by malpractice, informing parents that their baby was injured during labor and delivery is, in essence, admitting that you made a mistake – a very big mistake which has altered the course of someone else’s entire life. As you can imagine, doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals may not want to talk about what they did wrong. Unfortunately, they may even go beyond not talking about it and actively attempt to cover up the fact that a mistake was made by altering medical records and destroying evidence of their mistake.
If you feel as though something is not quite right, ask questions. Pay close attention to whether or not you receive actual answers to your questions, and to the demeanor of the people who are responding to your inquiries. The medical staff may attempt to minimize the harm that has occurred by telling you things like “it is common”, “it is treatable”, “wait a few weeks and it should go away”, and other things. While these answers may seem comforting at first, they are not really answers that will help you understand what is happening with your child’s health right now, and what it means for their future. Sometimes, doctors and other may go beyond attempting to minimize your concerns by getting angry and either saying that there is nothing wrong or refusing to answer the questions that you have asked them. This is a red flag which indicates that there is a high likelihood that something has gone wrong and that you do not have all of the information that you should.
If you suspect that your child was born with a birth injury and the medical professionals who delivered your baby are not answering your questions about what happened, it is essential that you seek an independent opinion from a doctor who has no ties to the hospital where you gave birth. Look for someone who specializes in treating birth injuries, so that you will be able to get an honest assessment of what is going on regarding your child’s health. Early detection and treatment are essential to successfully treating many birth injuries, so prompt action on your part will give your child the best chance at making as much of a recovery from his or her condition as is possible.
To learn more about whether you can pursue a Tennessee birth injury lawsuit in connection with your child’s brachial plexus injury, discuss your case with a knowledgeable Tennessee Birth Injury Attorney as soon as possible. The dedicated Tennessee Birth Injury Attorneys at Greer Injury Lawyers, PLLC would like to learn more about your case. To learn more, call us at (888) 470-9143 to schedule a time to discuss your case. At Greer Injury Lawyers, PLLC, we are small enough to care, big enough to fight, and experienced enough to win.