During an accident, there are a number of ways people can suffer a brain injury. For example, someone involved in a car crash may suffer a traumatic blow to the head, or a penetrating injury, which results in a brain injury. However, medical malpractice is another type of negligence that can result in injury to the brain. If you have suffered this type of injury, it is critical that you speak to a South Carolina medical malpractice lawyer who understands the nature of brain injuries and how they impact the lives of victims and their families.
How Does Medical Malpractice Cause Brain Injuries?
Medical malpractice occurs when a healthcare professional such as a nurse, doctor, or anesthesiologist fails to provide the required standard of care and a patient becomes hurt as a result. Medical professionals are held to very high standards when treating patients and if these standards are not met, it can be considered medical malpractice if a patient is harmed as a result.
Some common types of medical malpractice that can result in brain injuries are as follows:
- Failing to diagnose a patient’s heart attack or stroke in a timely manner
- Excessive bleeding during treatment that causes reduced oxygen levels
- Failing to intubate a patient properly during surgery
- Neglecting to monitor a patient who is under the effects of anesthesia
- Failing to diagnose or treat a brain bleed or aneurysm in a timely manner
- Giving the wrong type or dose of medication to a patient
- Failing to diagnose or treat a pulmonary embolism properly
- Failing to use forceps or a vacuum extractor properly while delivering a child
It is not always easy to determine what act of medical malpractice caused a brain injury. A South Carolina medical malpractice lawyer can investigate your case and carefully review your medical records to determine what caused your injury.
Brain Injury Caused by Medical Negligence
Medical negligence can cause many different types of brain injuries. The most common of these include:
- Anoxic brain injury: An anoxic brain injury occurs when the brain is completely deprived of oxygen. These injuries can be caused by surgical complications, anesthesia errors, or a failure to properly monitor a patient’s vital signs during certain treatments or procedures. The survival rates for anoxic brain injuries are quite low.
- Hypoxic brain injury: Hypoxic brain injuries occur when some oxygen reaches the brain but the levels of oxygen are insufficient. While survival rates are better in these instances than in cases involving anoxic brain injuries, a person can still suffer a number of negative effects for years to come. These injuries are often caused by respiratory problems during surgery, complications during childbirth, and anesthesia errors.
- Stroke: People can feel the effects of a stroke for the rest of their lives. Medical malpractice such as failing to treat or diagnose stroke symptoms promptly, managing medication improperly, or surgical mistakes made during procedures meant to treat or prevent strokes.
- Hemorrhagic brain injury: This type of brain injury is also known as bleeding in the brain. Often, it is caused by ruptured blood vessels. Medical malpractice can involve mismanaging head trauma, failing to monitor patients on certain medications such as anticoagulants, and mistakes made during surgery.
- Infections: Encephalitis, meningitis, and other brain infections are often contracted during medical malpractice. Improperly sterilized medical devices and a failure to diagnose or treat infections properly can result in infections in the brain.
Long-Term Impacts of Brain Injuries Caused by Medical Malpractice
Any type of brain injury will have a significant impact on a person’s life. Brain injuries can cause a number of manifestations that can impact an individual’s daily living activities to varying degrees.
The exact impacts a person will feel will depend on the nature of the injury and the extent of the damage done. The main impacts a person may feel in the long term after suffering a brain injury due to medical malpractice are as follows:
- Cognitive skills: Brain injuries can cause people to struggle with reasoning and memory.
- Sensation: People who have suffered brain injuries may struggle with vision, balance, hearing, and other types of sensations.
- Communication: Victims of medical malpractice may not be able to speak properly or process language after suffering a brain injury.
- Emotions: Behavioral issues, depression, and anxiety can often impact people after a brain injury, causing them to inappropriately engage with others or act out aggressively.
The above impacts of a brain injury caused by medical malpractice can remain with a person for the rest of their life. They typically require ongoing care, treatment, and supervision. It is not uncommon for medical malpractice victims to be unable to return to work or enjoy the activities they once did. In the most severe cases, a brain injury can even result in a coma or death.
Cerebral Palsy and Medical Negligence
Cerebral palsy is just one type of brain injury caused by medical malpractice but it affects children because it occurs during pregnancy or birth. By early childhood, a child suffering from cerebral palsy will start to show exaggerated reflexes, involuntary motions, and rigid or floppy limbs.
When a medical professional is negligent during pregnancy, labor, or delivery, a child’s brain can become deprived of oxygen and result in cerebral palsy. Uterine rupture, detachment of the placenta, improper use of forceps or a vacuum extractor, or issues with the umbilical cord during delivery can all result in cerebral palsy. While certain issues happen on their own and are not considered negligence, medical professionals have a legal duty to know how to respond to them quickly and appropriately so children do not suffer harm.
Call Our Medical Malpractice Lawyers in South Carolina Today
If you or someone you love has suffered a brain injury and you believe it was due to medical malpractice, you need legal help. At Rikard & Protopapas, our South Carolina medical malpractice lawyers can help you determine what caused your injury and guide you through the process so you obtain the full and fair settlement you are entitled to. Call us now or contact us online to schedule a consultation and to learn more about how we can help.