What Causes HIE in Infants

• Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
• What Causes HIE in Infants

Causes of HIE in Infants

HIE or hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy occurs when the blood flow to the baby’s brain is cut off or reduced, resulting in oxygen deprivation (birth asphyxia). The longer the baby’s brain remains without oxygen, the more severe the HIE is likely to be. This birth injury usually occurs around the time of labor or delivery, and may eventually lead to cerebral palsy.

Oxygen loss to the in-utero baby’s brain takes place in two stages:

• Primary Energy Failure:The initial reduction of blood flow to the brain leads to loss of oxygen and glucose, which causes brain cells to die
• Secondary Energy Failure: Occurs 6 to 48 hours after the initial HIE injury, further damage to the baby’s brain occurs. In this stage, the neurons in the baby’s brain (neurons are the brain’s information messengers) suffer damage because they have been under prolonged stress from the oxygen deprivation of the brain tissue

Medical Negligence as a Cause of HIE Injury

Medical negligence can play a role in the baby suffering an HIE brain injury during pregnancy, labor, or delivery. Here are some of the common forms of medical negligence that could lead to HIE and eventually cerebral palsy in babies.

Mismanagement of a High Risk Pregnancy

Failure to diagnose, delayed diagnosis, wrong diagnosis, poor monitoring, and inadequate or inappropriate treatment of the following conditions during pregnancy may be an underlying cause of HIE injury to the baby occurring around labor or delivery:

Health Complications of the Mother

(Maternal Complications)

Some examples of maternal complications that require more frequent monitoring, treatment, and delivery preparation to protect the baby from potential HIE injury include:

• Gestational diabetes
• Preeclampsia (maternal high blood pressure)
• Maternal infections (such as Group B Strep)
• Rh factor incompatibility
• Multiple pregnancy
• Maternal age greater than 35
• Maternal history of pregnancy complications

Pregnancy Complications

High risk complications for baby with an HIE Insult can be anticipated and managed by diligent medical providers:

• Umbilical cord complications (such as cord compression, which can cut off the baby’s oxygen and nutrient supply)
• Placental abruption (placenta detaches from the uterus before childbirth)
• Placental insufficiency (placenta fails to supply sufficient blood to the baby)
• Placenta previa (placenta covers the cervix, increasing the risk of baby’s brain damage during delivery)
• Uterine rupture (the uterus tears fully or partially before childbirth)

Improper Fetal Heart Rate Monitoring

When the baby’s brain is deprived of oxygen for any reason the electronic heart rate monitor will show signs known as “fetal distress.” It’s crucial to detect fetal distress early and take immediate steps to restore the oxygen supply or perform an emergency cesarean section.

If the medical team fails to perform fetal heart rate monitoring or the monitoring is not properly interpreted the signs of fetal distress may be missed. Even a delay of minutes in this situation can cause an HIE injury, potentially leading to cerebral palsy.

Mistakes During Labor or Delivery

In case of prolonged or arrested labor, the medical provider should be able to make a timely decision about inducing labor with medications or performing an emergency cesarean section. Delays in making the right decision can lead to the baby’s HIE injury.

Administering wrong medications or wrong dosage to induce labor can also cause excessive uterine contractions, putting the baby at the risk of brain damage. During assisted vaginal delivery, improper use of devices such as forceps or vacuum extractors may cause head injury, leading to hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy.

Is Your Child’s Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE) the Result of Medical Malpractice?

Parents whose children are living with complications caused by HIE (Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy) have a right to know whether preventable mistakes by the doctors and nurses contributed to their child’s birth injury.

At Miller Weisbrod Olesky, our award-winning birth injury attorneys have represented families all over the United States after an HIE injury. We help answer parents’ questions and we employ our skills and expertise to obtain for you and your child a medical malpractice settlement that will help provide specialized medical, nursing, and therapeutic care in order to maximize the quality of life and life expectancy of your child as they cope with the common complications that accompany HIE.

• Were there signs of birth injury or birth complications during the pregnancy, labor, and delivery process, or presence of risk factors, which were either not recognized or properly treated?
• During the labor and delivery, were there clear indications that the baby was suffering from fetal distress, but appropriate actions were not taken by the maternal fetal specialists, obstetrician or nurses?
• Was there a delay in diagnosis of a likely premature birth that led to later complications, including brain injury?
• Did the medical team fail to order a series of tests to diagnose this birth complication in a timely manner?
• Was the decision to perform a cesarean delivery delayed leading to birth trauma during vaginal delivery or labor?
• Did the neonatal resuscitation team fail to quickly begin important breathing support?
• Should brain cooling (also called “hypothermia therapy”) have been provided to your baby, but the doctors and nurses failed to perform the appropriate tests or ignored the results of the tests?

Our birth injury attorneys have recovered millions of dollars in settlements for families of children that have suffered a birth injury. At no point in our legal intake process will we ask you to pay anything. The medical review of your case and the consultation are free. We only receive payment when you do, no matter how long or tough your case is.

Registered Nurses and Nurse-Attorneys Are a Vital Part of Our Birth Injury Team…and Yours

Most birth injury law firms will employ one or two nurses to assist the review of cases and medical research. But Miller Weisbrod Olesky offers an unmatched number of nurses and nurse-attorney employees support to both the birth injury attorneys and our clients.

Our team of registered nursing staff and nurse-attorneys bring a deep level of medical and personal insight to every client’s case. Our nursing team includes both an experienced labor and delivery nurse as well as an ICU nurse. Working closely with the rest of the team, they investigate the reasons behind a birth injury and how medical professionals breached their standard of care.

Why Should You Talk with the Highly Capable Attorneys at Miller Weisbrod Olesky?

The only way to find out if you have a birth injury case is to talk to a lawyer experienced in birth injury lawsuits. It’s not uncommon that a birth related complication results in a preventable birth injury, including cerebral palsy, but it takes a detailed expert review by a birth injury attorney of the medical records from your child’s birth to determine if the birth injury was the result of medical malpractice.

At Miller Weisbrod Olesky, a team of committed lawyers, nurses and paralegals uses our detailed medical negligence case review process to assess your child’s potential birth injury case. We start by learning more about you and your child and the status of meeting/missing developmental milestones. Then we gather medical records to determine what happened before, during pregnancy. We call in documented and proven medical experts who review your records and let us know if they think medical errors could have caused your child’s injuries.

If we feel medical negligence caused or contributed to wrongful birth in your case, we meet with you to discuss how you can receive compensation from the medical professionals who made the errors. Our birth injury attorneys have recovered millions of dollars in settlements for families of children that have suffered a birth injury.

At no point in our legal intake process will we ask you to pay anything. The medical review of your case and the consultation are free. We only receive payment when you do no matter how long or tough your case is.

Contact Our Birth Injury Lawyers