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Kernicterus Lawsuit

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Kernicterus is a severe type of brain injury that can occur in newborn babies who experience severe jaundice. Jaundice is a yellowing of the skin, eyes, or other tissue and is often reversible when treated promptly.

Kernicterus can occur due to elevated bilirubin levels, which transfers from the baby’s blood into its brain tissue, where it quickly causes severe and irreversible brain damage.

If you or someone you love has given birth to a baby that sustained a birth injury such as kernicterus brain damage as a result of a doctor’s failure to diagnose severe jaundice, please give our team of experienced birth injury lawyers a call today to discuss your legal rights and next steps for your potential case.

What is Kernicterus and How Serious is This Birth Injury?

When an infant’s bilirubin levels, the yellow pigment in skin that leads to jaundice, progresses unfettered, infant jaundice can develop. Jaundice can sometimes go away on its own or can be easily treated when caught in time. This yellowing of the skin can also be a sign of a blood disorder or certain types of liver disease. If a significant amount of bilirubin builds up, the child may develop a condition known as hyperbilirubinemia. When hyperbilirubinemia increases past a mild level, it leads to jaundice. Jaundice may result in severe and permanent brain damage, known as kernicterus. Kernicterus brain damage can lead to permanent hearing loss or total deafness, physical defects, cerebral palsy, developmental disabilities, muscle damage, or death.

Risk factors for kernicterus brain injury include:

  • Preterm Delivery
  • Infection
  • Certain Medications Given To Mother Or Baby Before Birth
  • Genetic Disorders
  • Lack Of Oxygen To The Brain
  • East Asian Or Mediterranean Descent
  • Poor Feeding Habits Or Complications
  • Siblings Who Were Born With Jaundice
  • Evidence Of Bruising After Delivery
  • Type O Or Rh Negative Blood Type In The Mother

The early stages of bilirubin build-up that lead to kernicterus, known as acute bilirubin encephalopathy, can be immediately treated and even wholly reversed. When identified and addressed quickly and thoroughly, damage to the brain caused by kernicterus can be corrected. Unfortunately, it is only a matter of time before the brain is adversely affected, and the brain damage caused by kernicterus becomes permanent and irreversible. This condition is known as chronic bilirubin encephalopathy.

Signs and symptoms of kernicterus in an infant include:

  • Lethargy
  • Unusually High Pitched Crying
  • Difficulty Waking Up
  • Frequent And Unexplained Sleeping, Inability To Stay Awake
  • Lack Of Response To Physical Touch
  • Arched Bow-Like Back
  • Neck Hyperextension
  • Seizures
  • Fever

The extent of brain damage suffered by the infant is dependent mainly on the amount and duration of the brain’s exposure to the increased bilirubin levels.

How Medical Malpractice Can Lead to Kernicterus Brain Damage

Doctors and nurses can commit any number of post-delivery errors that can result in a baby developing kernicterus brain damage, including:

  • Failure to respond to initial lab results that suggest heightened bilirubin levels, unnecessarily delaying treatment while waiting for further tests
  • Failure to actively check for signs of acute kernicterus
  • Failure to use total bilirubin levels, not just indirect bilirubin levels, as a basis for treatment-related decisions
  • Failure to treat jaundice before bilirubin reaches critical levels
  • Failure to measure and compare bilirubin levels at hour-specific intervals

There is no cure for kernicterus brain damage once the condition develops, though it can be prevented by prompt treatment of jaundice with minimal intervention. The correct treatment of the initial onset of jaundice can include leaving the infant under UV light, monitoring the baby’s blood and bilirubin levels, and observing the baby for behavioral abnormalities. All too frequently, the doctor’s failure to act per the standard of care for treating jaundice or suspected kernicterus brain damage can lead to devastating results.

What Happens to Infants With Kernicterus Brain Damage?

In the short time following the onset of acute kernicterus, parents will be able to notice unusual mannerisms and behavioral changes in their baby. Often, symptoms are detectable within 24 hours of labor and delivery and may manifest themselves before the baby has made it home from the hospital. The resulting brain disorders will be primarily based on the severity of the brain damage and may take months or years to diagnose. Permanent effects of kernicterus brain damage can range from mild disorders in which the child can live a healthy life to severe complications in which the child will require total medical support and complete co-dependence with their families.

Chronic kernicterus results in varying degrees of injury, including:

  • Cerebral palsy
  • Partial hearing loss or total deafness
  • Mental retardation
  • Gaze and vision abnormalities, especially upward gaze paralysis
  • Abnormalities of baby teeth

In some cases, babies who sustain kernicterus brain damage shortly after birth suffer from mental retardation or are otherwise mentally challenged. There may be signs of long-term physical and emotional needs, including physical therapy, speech therapy, long-term medical treatment, implantation of medical devices, and special education services depending on the severity of the baby’s brain damage.

Brain-damaged infants usually require special assistance to help them become as independent and healthy as possible as they grow into adulthood. The medical and educational component is only one aspect of the equation, as adults raising mentally challenged children often face mounting financial burdens. The economic ramifications of long-term medical care, various therapies, and special schooling can often cripple families regardless of their income.

Why File a Kernicterus Lawsuit?

There is nothing more disheartening than a child looking at a life of incredible suffering and pain from brain damage. These children are most likely to experience issues in learning, socializing, and extracurricular activities.

The type of daily life we want for our children is denied for those suffering from Kernicterus. Imagine growing up without being able to play Little League baseball, swim comfortably at the local pool, or even wield a pair of scissors for kindergarten crafts. This is daily life for children with kernicterus brain damage. A lawsuit can address the emotional suffering inflicted on all members of the family.

Besides emotional distress, kernicterus lawsuits can cover insurmountable costs of medical care. Victims of kernicterus could end up spending extensive time in physical therapy. There can be surgeries needed to extend good health. These costs add up quickly for parents, not to mention leaving them feeling helpless, frustrated, and overwhelmed. A successful lawsuit not only relieves struggling families of the financial burden, but it also gives them hope that their children will be cared for.

Here are a few reasons why parents of children with kernicterus should file a lawsuit.

  • Spreading the word about negligence-based kernicterus and hopefully preventing future negligence-based cases.
  • Holding negligent medical professionals and facilities accountable has to be a priority. They will use whatever legal means at hand to minimize their responsibility.
  • Securing needed compensation for existing medical bills and future rehabilitation. It allows parents to take a proactive approach to long-term care.
  • Delivering a sense of justice. It can promote peace of mind for angry parents and other family members.

How Will a Kernicterus Lawsuit Help?

From emotional to financial vindications, kernicterus lawsuits allow families to stabilize their lifestyles. More importantly, it will help manage the child’s condition, maybe one day healing it completely.

Awarded compensation in kernicterus lawsuits is based on many factors, including:

  • Current and potential future costs related to adaptive equipment, therapy, counseling, etc.
  • Past, present, and future medical bills for surgeries, rehab, etc.
  • Any loss of wages due to a family member quitting their job to care for the child
  • Other issues, including pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of companionship

Kernicterus lawsuits need to be undertaken as quickly as possible. It affords parents and children life-changing treatments.

Statutes of Limitations for Kernicterus Claim

There are statutes of limitations regarding kernicterus lawsuits. Once the time period is over, any victims or families can no longer file and recover compensation for their losses, pain or suffering.

These statutes will vary from state to state. Some regions may require filing within a year of the negligent-based incident, while other states allow a five-year period. This is an unfortunate fact of the law. And the only real way to deal with it is to get legal advice from an experienced kernicterus lawyer.

Factors that can influence a statute of limitations include:

  • The date by which legal action can no longer be taken (the presence of a statute of repose) regardless of the discovery date.
  • A date the court believes the condition should have been discovered.
  • The possibility that the affected child could file a medical malpractice case at the age of 18 (this is not common.)
  • Some states require plaintiffs to submit expert witness affidavits before the statute of limitations.

Georgia has a general statute of limitations for medical malpractice lawsuits of two years, however, exceptions can be made that either shorten or extend the time limit. A kernicterus lawyer in Georgia can help plaintiffs file a lawsuit before the time limit expires.

Compensation in a Kernicterus Lawsuit Settlement

Monetary damages are material compensation awarded in a lawsuit. Also called legal damages, these awards are paid by liable parties. Parents of a child harmed through medical negligence may be eligible for monetary damages.

No amount of compensation can truly alleviate the suffering a family and child has gone through. However, financial compensation aims to provide the family with financial aid and a resolution that helps them manage a difficult, challenging, and emotionally draining time.

Compensation from a kernicterus lawsuit will cover a range of financial losses because of a birth injury. What follows is a list of damage types parents might collect if a birth injury lawsuit is successful.

  • Enjoyment, income and companionship loss
  • Pain and suffering
  • Past and future medical bills
  • Healthcare expenses including in-home care, therapy, or special medical equipment

How to Prove Kernicterus Medical Malpractice?

You have to establish four things that prove you are a victim of medical malpractice.

  • Duty of care – A duty of care is an obligation under the law. It identifies consistent medical care accepted as medical community standards of care. Your doctor needs to have provided similar care to what other medical professionals with similar training in a similar situation would have.
  • Duty of care was violated – You have to provide examples of mistreatment by the treating doctor, which contradicted accepted medical standards.
  • Child’s injury is the result of the breach of duty of care – You establish a direct link between your child’s injuries and the breach. Our kernicterus lawyers will need to disprove the defendant’s claims.
  • Injuries resulted in damages to the child – We submit evidence of the effects of your child, such as medical bills or personal accounts of experienced pain and suffering.

If our kernicterus lawyers use their expertise and experience to identify and prove these four elements of malpractice, we may be able to obtain compensation for the damages your family has suffered. Our findings will be used to justify your argument that these medical professionals caused your child to develop kernicterus.

Contact a Kernicterus Lawyer

If you or a loved one gave birth to a baby diagnosed with kernicterus brain damage, give our team a call. The experienced birth injury lawyers at the Eichholz Law Firm have the experience and resources necessary to investigate your case and determine if medical malpractice caused your child’s birth injury. 

Our team of kernicterus lawyers and staff is available to answer your questions and help you secure adequate compensation for your child’s medical care and future related costs.

References

Please seek the advice of a medical professional before making health care decisions.
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