Quality Legal Services from Compassionate Mississippi HIE Attorneys

Fighting for families impacted by hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy

Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) occurs when an infant’s brain does not receive adequate oxygen. This extremely severe medical condition can have lifelong consequences, even leaving some families to deal with the death of their infant. During the labor and delivery process, the risk of HIE is high if doctors and medical staff members fail to provide the mother and fetus with proper care. One medical error can lead to HIE and a lifetime of medical complications.

The lawyers of Merkel & Cocke, P.A. have seen the challenges faced by families when HIE impacts their newborn. Not only are they mentally and emotionally spent, but they are also left to deal with necessary medical expenses they cannot afford. Our caring Mississippi HIE lawyers assist families through these extremely difficult circumstances. We combine more than 200 years of collective legal knowledge to provide you with the quality representation your injured baby deserves.

Aggressive representation when physician negligence leads to HIE

During pregnancy, the brain of the fetus receives necessary oxygen from the blood flowing through the umbilical cord. Any trauma to the cord or interruption of the blood flow can impede the delivery of oxygen to the baby’s brain, possibly leading to brain injury. Treating physicians and medical staff members have a duty to provide mothers with proper care before, during, and after labor and delivery. When they fail to meet this duty, the baby may suffer from severe birth injuries.

Our team has seen HIE-related injuries caused by such medically negligent acts as:

• Failure to adequately identify, treat, and monitor conditions present during pregnancy. When pregnant women regularly visit their doctors, they do so to promote the health of the fetus. Industry standards dictate that doctors should test for dangerous conditions, like maternal diabetes, cardiac complications, and preeclampsia. Each of these conditions can increase the risk of HIE, so timely and effective treatment and monitoring are extremely important.
• Failure to properly monitor the condition of the mother and fetus during labor. Obstetrical doctors and medical staff are trained to recognize complications occurring during labor. Such conditions as abnormal bleeding, problematic fetal positioning, and prolonged labor warn that the fetus may be in distress. When these complications are ignored, the baby can be left without oxygen to the brain.
• Improper delivery procedures. During the delivery process, the doctor may make decisions that negatively impact the mother and fetus, creating or furthering the risk for HIE. From anesthesia mistakes to a delayed cesarean section, doctor errors can contribute to the occurrence of HIE in infants.
• Improper treatment following delivery. The risk of HIE does not end with delivery. Failure to properly treat the infant for conditions like meningitis, skull trauma, or low blood pressure can further complicate an already harmful situation. Hospitals, like Blair E. Batson Hospital, generally maintain ventilation machines and other equipment to treat HIE in infants. However, it is up to the treating physician to use these resources in a proper and timely manner.

Call the Mississippi birth injury law firm you know and trust today

If your child suffered from HIE due to the negligent actions of your doctor, the reputable attorneys of Merkel & Cocke are committed to obtaining compensation for your family. We provide client services from our home offices in Jackson and Clarksdale, where we also assist injured babies throughout Mississippi, including Tupelo, Jackson, Cleveland, Indianola, and across the Gulf Coast region. We also handle birth injury cases occurring in Tennessee and Arkansas. To schedule your free initial consultation, call us today at 662-627-9641 or complete our contact form.