If your infant has seizures, this can be a frightening problem that leads to rounds of medical testing to determine the cause. Understanding why infants experience seizures and when infant seizures might be connected to medical negligence could lead to a lawsuit for your family.
The Minneapolis birth injury attorneys at Goldenberg Lauricella, PLLC are here to help you seek justice for a preventable birth injury that caused neonatal seizures. We will listen to your family’s story, evaluate for a potential birth injury case and guide you down the best path forward.
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How the Minneapolis Infant Seizure Lawyers at Goldenberg Lauricella Can Help
If your child’s birth injuries, seizures or epilepsy are traced back to a medical error in Minneapolis, our experienced medical malpractice attorney can help your family seek justice against a negligent health care provider. A lawyer will pursue maximum compensation for losses such as related medical bills, long-term care, permanent disability, lost wages, and pain and suffering.
Our reputable personal injury law firm has exceptional legal resources and skilled lawyers ready to handle your case. Our birth injury law firm can conduct a comprehensive investigation into what caused your infant’s seizures to determine causation and name the liable parties. From there, your attorney can go up against one or more defendants to negotiate for a fair settlement or demand accountability in court.
What Causes Seizures in Infants?
A seizure is a sudden, uncontrolled episode of abnormal electrical activity of the brain. This burst of abnormal electrical signaling can change the way messages are sent and received by the brain, disrupting regular processing and triggering changes in the infant’s movement, behavior, awareness, muscle control and consciousness level.
Infant or neonatal seizures are not as uncommon as most parents think. They are especially frequent among premature infants, or babies born before 37 weeks of pregnancy. Many medical conditions and injuries can cause seizures or epilepsy (chronic seizures) in infants, including birth injuries caused by medical negligence.
Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
If an infant’s supply of oxygen is disrupted during labor or delivery, oxygen deprivation to the baby’s tissues can lead to hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, or HIE. This is a loss of oxygen in an infant that reduces blood flow to the child’s brain, potentially causing permanent brain damage. HIE increases the risk of infant seizures, epilepsy, cerebral palsy and other serious consequences.
Traumatic Brain Injury During Delivery
Any damage or injury to an infant’s brain before, during or shortly after delivery could lead to infant seizures as a symptom. Traumatic brain injury during the birthing process can affect how the brain develops, and trigger abnormal electrical activity that causes seizures. Infant brain injury can also cause long-term neurological conditions with seizures as a symptom, such as cerebral palsy.
Maternal or Neonatal Infections
Infections in a pregnant woman or newborn can pose a risk of infant seizures. The infection can cause inflammation or swelling in the brain that harms the developing tissues and increases the risk of a child developing seizure conditions or epilepsy. Common examples include bacterial meningitis, Rubella, Herpes, sepsis and Strep.
Metabolic Disturbances and Hypoglycemia
Hypoglycemia, or low blood sugar, can cause metabolic problems that induce neurological stress in an infant. If hypoglycemia or other metabolic disturbances are not detected and treated promptly, this can lead to the development of brain injuries and related seizures in the baby.
What Are the Different Types of Infant Seizures?
Seizures present in an infant are classified according to type to help health care providers determine likely underlying causes and recommend treatment options. There are many different types of infant seizures, some more common than others.
Subtle Seizures
Subtle seizures are the most common type. They are named because the characteristics of these seizures can be difficult to detect and may masquerade as normal infant behaviors. Examples include eyelid fluttering, rolling eyes, mouth and tongue movements, thrashing or pedaling of the limbs, and long pauses between breaths.
Tonic-Clonic Seizures
A tonic-clonic seizure is a generalized seizure that can affect the infant’s whole body. Common symptoms are a brief stiffening of the baby’s body and potential loss of consciousness. The initial spasm can last one to several minutes, followed by smaller repetitive body movements.
Myoclonic Seizures
An infantile myoclonic seizure is a brief episode of involuntary muscle contraction, usually present in isolated muscle groups rather than the full body at once. An infant may suddenly drop or jerk the head, flex the legs, wave the arms, or clench the trunk. Each episode lasts a few seconds, and there may be many episodes in a day.
Identifying Medical Negligence in Infant Seizure Cases
Infant seizures can be connected to preventable birth injuries. When a hospital or birthing center falls short of the medical industry’s standard of care, it is known as medical negligence or malpractice. Medical malpractice is a tort (wrongful act) that can cause significant patient injuries, including infant injuries and avoidable deaths.
The elements of medical negligence are:
- A doctor-patient relationship existed. This imposes a professional standard of care on the physician, OBGYN, hospital or another health care provider.
- The standard of care was not met by the health care professional during labor and/or delivery.
- The breach of the duty of care was the proximate or actual cause of the infant’s injury.
- The infant suffered specific damages as a result of the negligence, such as a birth injury that causes infant seizures.
If your infant is having seizures and a doctor diagnoses your child with a birth injury, consider whether medical negligence could be the cause. Red flags for medical errors are understaffing, lack of communication among the medical team, inadequate infant vital sign monitoring, delayed C-section, improper birthing techniques, and injuries caused by a vacuum or forceps.
Contact a Minneapolis Birth Injury Attorney for a Free Consultation
If your infant has experienced seizure events that led to the diagnosis of a birth injury or medical condition, contact the birth injury lawyers at Goldenberg Lauricella, PLLC for a free case review. If your child suffered a birth injury that led to brain trauma, permanent disability, a developmental delay or another serious health condition, your family may have a malpractice claim in Minneapolis.
We are a family-oriented law firm that has represented clients in Minnesota, Wisconsin and nationwide since 1986. Our lawyers have recovered over $200 million in settlements and jury verdicts, including a groundbreaking $29 million verdict for a birth injury causing cerebral palsy. Call (612) 439-4321 today for your free consultation.