Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE) Attorneys in Jackson, MS

Helping You Through HIE Birth Injury Claims

Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a serious birth injury that can occur before, during, or immediately after labor and delivery. It affects 2 to 3 infants per every 1,000 full-term births and can cause problems in several bodily systems.

Many times, infants suffer HIE because of mistakes during the birthing process, and HIE can become more severe when it is not treated immediately.

If you believe something went wrong while you were delivering your child, ‘MAGGIO LAW can investigate the procedure and help you pursue legal action, if appropriate.

Call us at (601) 265-6869 today and tell us what happened.

What Is HIE?

Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy, or HIE, is brain damage that occurs when the brain does not receive enough oxygen or blood flow. As the Benioff Children’s Hospital clarifies:

“Hypoxic means not enough oxygen; ischemic means not enough blood flow; and encephalopathy means brain disorder.”

Children affected by HIE exhibit a multitude of outcomes. Some children make a complete recovery, but others experience cerebral palsy, epilepsy, developmental delay, cognitive impairment, and other severe and permanent disabilities.

If HIE has seriously impacted your child’s life, you and your family deserve justice. Our Jackson hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy lawyers are here to help you get it.

What Causes HIE?

Complications during pregnancy, labor, and delivery frequently lead to HIE, but medical malpractice can also play a role, especially because many complications are foreseeable.

Some of the most common HIE-causing mistakes in the delivery room include:

• Mismanagement of a high-risk pregnancy
• Undiagnosed placental abruption
• Untreated infections in the mother
• Improper fetal heart monitoring
• Failure to prevent a premature birth
• Failure to intervene in prolonged labor
• Failure to recommend or utilize an emergency C-section
• Medication errors
• Mismanagement of a neonatal condition

While complications during labor and delivery are sometimes unavoidable, doctors must handle these medical emergencies quickly and efficiently. Further, birth injuries like HIE are more common when the baby is large or premature and the mother has an irregularly shaped pelvis or birth canal or another condition.

Birth injuries are also more common when doctors use devices, like forceps or vacuum, to deliver the baby.

If your doctor fails to anticipate, respond to, or use the appropriate tools in emergencies, you may be entitled to compensation.

Discuss your case with 'MAGGIO LAW today.

How Is HIE Treated?

The standard of care for treating HIE is therapeutic hypothermia or “cooling.” To receive this kind of treatment, your child must be transported to a Level III or IV neonatal intensive care unit (NICU). Cooling can help reduce your child’s chances of death and disability and occurs when doctors place a cooling cap or blanket on your child, allowing the damaged brain cells to recover.

After a 3-day cooling period, your child will be slowly warmed to normal body temperature with mitigated brain damage. While you may still notice some of the effects of HIE, the cooling process can prevent more serious problems.

If your doctor did not treat your child’s HIE with cooling immediately, they did not meet the standard of care and can thus be found liable for medical negligence.

The University of Mississippi Medical Center is the only Level IV NICU in Mississippi, so if your child was not transported here or to a Level III NICU, you should call us immediately.

Why Choose 'MAGGIO LAW?

While nothing we do can change what happened to your child, our firm understands the far-reaching effects HIE can have on the rest of your child’s life, and we want to help you prepare for them. With a successful lawsuit, you could recover compensation for:

• Your child’s current and future medical care
• Rehabilitative services
• Therapy
• Assistive care and devices
• And more

With the right resources, your child can have a rich life, despite the disabilities caused by medical negligence and HIE.

We will fight tirelessly for your child’s future, even when other firms won’t. When you choose 'MAGGIO LAW, you will not pay any fees unless we win your case, you will be directly represented by one of our law partners, and we will return all your phone calls within the same business day.

Our firm acts as a voice for the voiceless. Let us fight for your child. Let us fight for your family. Let us fight for you.

Call us at (601) 265-6869 or contact us online to get started.