What Can Cause Infant Brain Damage?
Hospitals are responsible for recognizing and responding to problems during pregnancy, delivery, and newborn care. When warning signs are missed or treatment is delayed, a child may suffer brain damage that could have been prevented.
Our infant brain damage attorneys investigate cases involving:
Lack of Oxygen (Birth Asphyxia)
A baby's brain requires a constant supply of oxygen. If that supply drops and medical staff fail to intervene, conditions like hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) can occur. Fetal monitoring tools are designed to detect signs of distress in real time. Delayed emergency delivery or failure to address prolonged low heart rate may point to critical errors in care.
Jaundice and Kernicterus
Jaundice is common in newborns, but elevated bilirubin levels must be closely tracked. If signs of severe jaundice are overlooked or therapy is delayed, bilirubin can build up in the brain, leading to kernicterus. This severe form of brain damage is treatable, mainly and often avoidable, through timely blood tests and light therapy.
Physical Head Trauma
Tools like forceps or vacuum extractors are sometimes necessary during delivery, but they must be used with precision. If too much force is applied or the procedure takes too long, it can lead to bleeding, swelling, or other trauma inside the brain. In these situations, medical teams are expected to monitor the infant closely, order appropriate imaging, and take swift action if signs of injury appear.
Infection
Infections such as Group B Strep, meningitis, or sepsis can spread quickly in infants. Without diagnosis and treatment, inflammation may damage the development of brain tissue. Proper screening during pregnancy and careful postnatal monitoring are crucial steps in preventing long-term harm.
Umbilical Cord or Placental Complications
Issues like cord compression, knots, or placental abruption can limit oxygen and nutrients during labor. These risks are typically visible using standard hospital monitoring techniques. When signs of trouble are not addressed, a child may be left with permanent brain damage and lifelong complications.
Understanding the delivery trauma is only part of the story. For many families, questions continue to grow in the weeks after birth.
A Diagnosis Tells You What. It Doesn't Tell You Why.
Many parents are told their child's brain injury was unpredictable or unavoidable. But when you examine the fetal monitor tracings, the Apgar scores, or the critical decisions made during labor and delivery, signs of distress or delay often emerge.
Sometimes those warning signs only seem clear in hindsight, after a parent has spent weeks watching their child struggle, wondering if something during the birth was missed.
What Parents Usually Notice First
Most parents begin to notice changes in the days, weeks, or months that follow birth. These signs vary from child to child, but some of the most common indicators of infant brain damage include:
- A weak or absent cry at birth;
- Difficulty feeding or swallowing;
- Stiff or unusually floppy muscles;
- Shallow breathing or low Apgar scores;
- Limited responses to sound, light, or touch;
- Seizure activity or frequent jittery movement; or
- Missed developmental milestones such as rolling, sitting, or crawling.
Too often, parents leave the hospital without full information. Fetal monitoring records, notes from nurses and obstetricians, and test results are usually spread across different parts of the chart without clear explanations about what was done, when, or why.
Reviewing these details with the proper medical and legal insight can help determine whether medical malpractice may have led to infant brain damage. This includes examining whether staff responded to warning signs quickly, if delivery protocols were followed correctly, and how the outcome might have changed with earlier intervention.
When You're Ready to Ask Why
If you're seeing signs that your child's injury might be connected to labor or delivery, you're not alone, and you're not imagining it. We work with medical experts to review the whole picture: what happened during the birth, what may have been missed, and whether something could have been done sooner.
Have questions? You can speak directly with an infant brain damage attorney—call (832) 690‑7000 or send us a message online.
How Infant Brain Damage Affects a Family
A diagnosis of infant brain damage changes the structure of daily life in ways most parents never imagined. What starts with medical questions quickly expands into financial, logistical, and emotional demands that continue long after the hospital stay.
Many families come to us after months of trying to manage:
- Complex care schedules that include physical, occupational, and speech therapy;
- Expenses for medical equipment, feeding supplies, or in-home support;
- Lost income when one parent reduces hours or stops working altogether;
- Constant communication with doctors, schools, and service coordinators; and
- Delays, denials, and appeals when insurance coverage falls short.
None of this comes with instructions. Parents are left trying to figure it out while navigating a system that rarely makes things easy.
"Part of our job is helping parents connect the dots. From what happened during delivery to what they're facing two years later, because it's often all connected. If there were medical mistakes, families deserve answers and a way to prepare for what's ahead."
— Michael Pierce | Founding Attorney
Legal action can't undo the harm but can open the door to long-term support: therapy, care, equipment, and education. We've seen what that means for our clients—and we fight for it every day.
What Compensation May Cover in an Infant Brain Damage Case
By the time most families speak with an infant brain damage attorney, they've already absorbed the reality: their infant will need care for years to come, and those costs add up quickly.
Medical malpractice cases involving brain damage at birth focus on measurable needs, both current and future. A proper claim accounts for how an infant's condition will affect their life as an adolescent, adult, and someone who may always require assistance.
Compensation in these cases may cover:
- Ongoing care from pediatricians, neurologists, or specialists;
- Physical, occupational, or speech therapy throughout childhood and beyond;
- Adaptive equipment such as wheelchairs, communication devices, mobility aids, or feeding support systems;
- Architectural modifications to the home;
- Full-time or part-time caregiving services;
- Educational services, tutoring, or behavioral support based on individual learning needs;
- Lost earning potential if the child is unable to work in adulthood;
- Lost income for a parent who becomes a long-term caregiver; and
- Noneconomic damages related to the child's physical limitations or medical condition.
Every case is different. The value of an infant brain damage claim depends on the nature of the injury, the expected cost of care, and the long-term challenges the child is expected to face.
A strong legal team will work with life care planners, medical professionals, and financial analysts to build a clear, detailed account of what your infant may require and why.
Studies show that families represented by a qualified infant brain damage lawyer receive nearly three times more in compensation than those who try to recover losses on their own.
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