What To Do If a Doctor Drops Your Baby

Taking care of a newborn baby can be very overwhelming, particularly for first-time parents. Newborns are so tiny and their bodies look so delicate, so it’s very common for new parents (and their friends and family members) to be very nervous that they might drop the baby and hurt it, especially if they don’t have a lot of experience holding babies.

But what about people like doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals who routinely work with newborns and infants? With how often they hold babies as part of their jobs, you’d think they would be very good at understanding how to hold them securely, right? Even as often as some doctors hold babies, it is still possible for them to occasionally drop one. Just recently, a family in Arizona had the horrifying experience of a doctor dropping one of their premature twin daughters. The baby was later found to have a grade-one brain hemorrhage, although the family was not given an official explanation about what exactly caused the hemorrhage.

It’s difficult to know exactly how many infant falls occur in hospitals every year. Some data from 2010 suggested that about 600-1,600 infant falls happen in American hospitals every year. However, some believe that infant falls in hospitals might be underreported for a couple of different reasons. Regulatory agencies don’t require those numbers to be reported and even if individual hospitals do track those numbers on their own, they may still skew low because the people responsible might be reluctant to report it because they feel guilty or are afraid of being judged.

While a doctor dropping a baby is believed to be a rare occurrence, it can potentially result in serious injuries when it does happen. The types of injuries that can come with being dropped largely depend on how high the fall was and the type of surface it fell onto. A very short drop onto a soft surface might not cause any serious, long-term injuries, but a bigger drop onto a hard surface, particularly if the baby falls head first, could potentially result in things like bone fractures and injuries to the skull and brain.

If a doctor or other type of medical professional dropped your baby around the time of delivery and they suffered an injury, one of the best things you can do is contact a birth trauma lawyer as soon as possible. It’s extremely upsetting to realize your child was injured as a result of physical trauma, so it’s only natural to have a lot of questions. A lawyer will be able to answer your questions and help you figure out which steps need to be taken next. At Goodwin & Scieszka, we have lawyers who are experienced in helping the victims of birth injuries and their families. Contact us today to get started.