Injuries Caused by NICU Negligence

When your newborn is admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU), you place enormous trust in doctors, nurses, and therapists, and expect they will provide the care necessary to help your baby survive and thrive. When that trust is broken and your baby is harmed, you need a dedicated and experienced NICU malpractice lawyer who can investigate the situation, explain what went wrong, and fight for the full measure of compensation you and your family deserve.

Key Takeaways

• NICU negligence occurs when healthcare providers fail to meet the accepted standard of care and the baby is harmed as a result.
• NICU malpractice can take many forms, but all involve a failure to provide medical treatment that meets the accepted standard of care.
• Injuries caused by NICU malpractice can cause severe, lifelong medical complications, many of which could have been prevented through proper medical care and treatment.
• Babies in the NICU often face serious medical conditions, but when a medical provider makes a preventable mistake, a NICU malpractice attorney can identify the responsible actors and hold them accountable for the harm they caused.

What Is NICU Malpractice?

NICU malpractice occurs when a healthcare provider fails to meet the accepted standard of care when treating a baby in the NICU, and the baby suffers harm as a result. Proving NICU malpractice requires showing a clear deviation from what another reasonably competent professional would have done in the same situation.

What Are the Examples of NICU Negligence?

NICU negligence can take many forms. Some errors occur in an instant, while others develop over time. Regardless, they share a failure to provide the required and necessary care that robs a fragile newborn of a healthy future.

Medication Errors

Newborn babies admitted to the NICU are often small, fragile, and sensitive to even minor dosing mistakes. Medication errors that may occur in the NICU include:

• Giving the wrong drug
• Giving the correct drug in the wrong dosage (too much or too little medication)
• Miscalculating the dosage based on the baby’s weight
• Administering a medication at the wrong time
• Failing to check for dangerous drug interactions

Patient Misidentification

In a busy NICU, babies may have similar names or identification labels. Examples of patient misidentification errors include:

• Failing to confirm the baby’s identity before administering treatment or medication
• Performing the wrong test or procedure
• Providing the wrong breast milk or formula
• Mixing up lab samples

Failure to Monitor

NICU staff must carefully monitor babies for signs of distress. Failure to monitor can allow a dangerous condition to worsen. Common examples of failure to monitor include:

• Missing signs of oxygen deprivation
• Failing to observe an abnormal heart rate or breathing
• Ignoring signs of sepsis
• Overlooking dangerous changes in blood sugar levels
• Overlooking worsening jaundice
• Failure to respond to alarms that signal a change in vital signs

Oxygen and Ventilation Mismanagement

NICU babies often require respiratory support. Too much or too little oxygen can cause serious harm. Common ventilation errors include:

• Setting oxygen levels too high or too low
• Improper use of a ventilator
• Delaying necessary breathing support
• Failure to monitor oxygen saturation
• Not responding to signs of respiratory distress
• Extubating a baby too soon

Errors in Infection Control

Newborn babies are especially vulnerable to infection, and NICU staff must adhere to strict protocols to reduce the risk of infection. Common errors that can cause infections in NICU babies include:

• Poor hand hygiene
• Improper central line management
• Failure to recognize signs of sepsis
• Delayed antibiotic treatment
• Using contaminated equipment
• Not following sterile procedures

Delayed Diagnosis and Treatment

Some NICU injuries are caused by a failure to act in time. Common delays in diagnosis and treatment in the NICU include:

• Delayed treatment of infection
• Delayed response to respiratory distress
• Delayed treatment of brain bleeding or birth trauma
• Delayed treatment for feeding intolerance
• Delay in consulting with specialists
• Delayed transfer to a higher level of care when required

What Injuries Are Commonly Caused by NICU Malpractice?

Common injuries caused by NICU malpractice include:

• Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE)
• Periventricular leukomalacia (PVL)
• Seizure disorders
• Cerebral palsy and other developmental delays
• Feeding and respiratory difficulties
• Vision or hearing impairment
• Growth and learning delays
• Chronic lung disease

These and other lifelong medical conditions are often the result of NICU malpractice. In many cases, they could have been prevented through proper medical care.

How a NICU Malpractice Lawyer Can Help

Not every bad outcome in the NICU is medical malpractice. Babies in the NICU often face serious medical conditions from the start. But when a medical provider makes a preventable mistake, ignores warning signs, or fails to follow accepted protocols, a NICU malpractice lawyer at the Fraser Law Firm can investigate the situation, explain and help you evaluate your options, and fight for the full measure of compensation you and your family deserve.

Contact a NICU Malpractice Lawyer at the Fraser Law Firm Today

The Fraser Law Firm proudly serves clients in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, helping families and children who have suffered negligence-related birth injuries secure the maximum monetary recovery to which they are entitled. Contact the Fraser Law Firm today to schedule a free consultation and learn how we can help.