What’s the Difference Between Birth Defects and Birth Injuries? June 24, 2020.

The joy of becoming a parent is incomparable. Unfortunately, deliveries don’t always go as planned and some babies suffer harm at birth. There are two types of medical issues that can occur to newborns: birth defects and birth injuries.

It’s important to know how to distinguish between the two of them to know whether grounds exist to pursue damages in a birth injury case.

What is a Birth Defect?

A birth defect is a health issue that exists and develops in your baby while he or she is in the womb. These are often caused by a genetic abnormality, with examples including Down Syndrome, a cleft palate, or a heart murmur. However, in other instances, birth defects are a cause of outside factors, such as drugs and alcohol use.

If a certain medication administered by a health care provider is the cause of an infant’s birth defect, the health care provider may be held liable for any subsequent injuries.

What is a Birth Injury?

Birth injuries occur during labor and delivery and are in most cases completely preventable. The most common types of preventable birth injuries are due to:

• Pulling and/or twisting the infant improperly during the delivery process

• Misuse of birth-assisting tools, such as forceps or vacuum

• Administering the wrong amount or type of medication to the mother

These are often caused by mistakes made by the medical staff and can lead to lifelong mental and physical disabilities.

Contact our Cleveland Medical Malpractice Attorneys

While birth defects are typically unavoidable, birth injuries are often caused by the negligent care of medical staff and can be prevented. At The Mellino Law Firm LLC, we want to help you hold those responsible accountable for their actions.

Contact the The Mellino Law Firm LLC at (440) 333-3800 to speak to one of our birth injury attorneys today.