Understanding Spinal Birth Defects and Spina Bifida
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Could a Spinal Birth Injury in Kentucky Be Caused from Medical Negligence?
When parents are preparing to bring a child into this world, there is much to do, including reading parenting books, decorating the nursery, buying clothes and toys – the list can go on endlessly. However, parents are in for a big adventure when they bring their newborn home because of the never-ending list of things to do as a child’s parent.Things get even more complicated when a baby is born with a spinal birth injury in Kentucky. Dealing with a newborn is precious but exhausting, and when an infant is injured, the baby requires more attention and care.
Understanding Spinal Birth Defects and Spina Bifida
Babies born with a spinal birth defect typically have a condition called spina bifida. This is where a neural tube defect occurs during the pregnancy, causing a baby’s vertebrae to not grow properly. Sadly, approximately one out of every thousand newborns has this type of defect.
Spinal irregularities can occur from a lack of folic acid taken before conception and during the early stages of pregnancy. However, this is not the only reason why spinal defects at birth occur. Sometimes, this Kentucky birth injury happens because of medication the expecting mother took during pregnancy.
Certain drugs linked to causation of spina bifida include acne medications and epilepsy prescriptions. If your baby was born with a spinal birth injury and a doctor prescribed these types of medications to you while you were pregnant, you may have a claim for medical negligence.
In addition to doctors being aware of the prescriptions they are prescribing to you while you are pregnant, they also should run tests to check for irregularities with the baby or the neural tube. Doctors can order ultrasounds, sonograms, and amniocentesis to detect spinal abnormalities during pregnancy. If your doctor did not run these tests to look for birth defects, they may have not been providing you with acceptable care.
If you believe that your newborn’s spinal birth injury in Kentucky was a result of unsafe medications and medical malpractice, we would like to talk to you. During this time, you need to know your rights, what you should and shouldn’t do or say, and how to pursue a claim for damages.
Call one of our skilled Louisville birth injury lawyers at the law office of Hendy Johnson Vaughn Emery at (859) 578-4444 or (888) 606-5297 to schedule a free legal consultation today.