Each day many parents in New Mexico rush to their local hospitals to experience the miracle of childbirth. Labor and delivery can be a particularly stressful, not to mention painful, experience for parents, and once they have the opportunity to see their newborns they often feel the relief of knowing that everything will be fine. However, in some unfortunate situations, newborns enter the world with health struggles that may or may not have been caused by the medical professionals charged with their care.
When babies are hurt during labor and delivery, they may suffer a serious birth injury. Birth injuries happen when mistakes are made during the birthing process and a child suffers harm. Birth injuries can cause broken bones, hypoxia and other serious and potentially life-threatening complications.
In some situations, however, a child may be born with a medical condition that is not the result of medical malpractice. During their development they may suffer injuries or illnesses, or they may be afflicted with a genetic condition. For these children, the causes of their ailments are not attributable to the wrongful actions of others. Their birth defects are present due to how they developed prior to births.
When a child is born with a health problem it is important to quickly determine if the ailment is the result of a birth defect or a birth injury. Birth injuries might be caused by medical mistakes and may be compensable through litigation based on medical malpractice. Those who want to learn more about birth injuries and the laws that protect victims may need to get more information about personal injury legal options.