New Mexico HIE Lawyers

The birth of a child should be one of the most joyful moments in a family’s life. You’ve waited, planned, and hoped for your baby’s safe arrival. You’ve imagined hearing that first cry, holding your newborn close, and cherishing their earliest moments. Sadly, for some parents, this experience takes a devastating turn when a preventable birth injury occurs—leaving the child facing serious health complications and the family facing heartbreak, fear, and uncertainty about the future. 

One of the most life-altering birth injuries is hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), a type of brain damage caused by a lack of oxygen and blood flow. In many cases, HIE could and should have been prevented with proper medical attention and care. When doctors, nurses, or other medical professionals in a labor and delivery setting fail to uphold the standards of care expected of them, the results can be tragic. 

An HIE attorney in New Mexico can help you understand your legal options, guide you through the intricate process of pursuing justice, and work tirelessly to secure the financial compensation your child needs—giving you the resources to provide the best possible future for them. 

If your child has been diagnosed with HIE, we understand how overwhelming and confusing this time can be. You’re not alone. ABC Law Centers: Birth Injury Lawyers is dedicated to connecting families like yours with local lawyers experienced in handling complex birth injury claims, including those involving HIE.

Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a brain injury that occurs when a baby doesn’t get enough oxygen at birth. This lack of oxygen can happen before delivery, during labor, or immediately after birth. Without adequate oxygen, delicate brain cells begin to die, potentially leading to long-term neurological problems and developmental delays.

When healthcare professionals closely monitor a mother and child during pregnancy, labor, and delivery, they can often identify risk factors for oxygen deprivation and take steps to prevent harm. Proper care includes responding promptly to fetal distress, addressing complications that arise during birth, and ensuring the baby receives immediate intervention if something goes wrong.

Tragically, when medical standards of care are not followed, families can be left to cope with the catastrophic consequences. If medical staff do not address risk factors or complications in time, it could lead to HIE.

HIE can occur for various reasons. Sometimes, labor becomes complicated, and medical professionals must react quickly and skillfully. Examples of potential causes of HIE include:

• Prolonged, Difficult Labor: If the baby’s oxygen supply is compromised during a long, stressful labor, immediate steps must be taken to prevent irreversible damage.
• Umbilical Cord Issues: A prolapsed cord, cord compression, or knots in the cord can reduce or cut off blood flow. Healthcare providers must identify and address these issues promptly.
• Placental Problems: Placental abruption or other conditions that limit blood flow to the baby can lead to oxygen deprivation. Doctors should monitor for and respond quickly to signs of placental distress.
• Maternal Complications: Issues like low blood pressure, infection, or inadequate oxygenation in the mother can affect the baby’s oxygen supply. Vigilant monitoring and appropriate medical intervention are crucial.
• Delayed C-Section or Assisted Delivery: If a baby is in distress and not delivered promptly, ongoing oxygen deprivation can cause severe brain damage. Medical professionals must know when to opt for an emergency C-section or properly use assisted delivery methods such as forceps or vacuum extraction. 

In many cases, timely and competent medical care can prevent HIE. When it doesn’t, and a child is harmed due to medical negligence, parents have the right to seek justice and compensation.

HIE can be caused by numerous factors, but it can be a preventable injury. Unfortunately, an HIE diagnosis is commonly associated with medical malpractice. Doctors and other medical staff may not correctly follow standards of care and consequently make an error during pregnancy, birth, and/or delivery.

After receiving an HIE diagnosis, many parents wonder whether it was preventable. While every case is unique, certain factors may indicate that medical malpractice plays a role. These can include:

• Failure to Respond to Fetal Distress: If fetal heart rate monitors or other indicators showed the baby was in trouble and healthcare staff did not act quickly, it might be malpractice.
• Inadequate Monitoring of Risk Factors: Conditions like preeclampsia, maternal infections, or gestational diabetes should be carefully managed. If they were overlooked or mishandled, this could point to negligence.
• Delays in Delivery: If a doctor waited too long to order an emergency C-section, used improper delivery techniques, or didn’t intervene when labor stalled, it may have caused or worsened HIE.
• Inexperienced or Distracted Medical Staff: Medical personnel who fail to coordinate, communicate, or follow established safety protocols could cause preventable harm.

Improper Resuscitation After Birth: If a newborn needed immediate help breathing and medical staff did not provide adequate, timely care, it could cause or worsen HIE. 

Identifying these signs can be challenging without expert help. A local New Mexico lawyer experienced in birth injury cases can work with medical experts to review your records, determine if malpractice occurred, and help you take the next steps.

It can be difficult to recognize if your child’s HIE diagnosis was due to malpractice. Additionally, it can look different based on each individual case. However, there are numerous risk factors for HIE. We commonly find the following complications and conditions present in HIE cases:

• Signs of fetal distress
• Baby born floppy, unresponsive, and/or with bluish tint to the skin (low APGAR scores)
• Infant seizures
• Baby needs resuscitation
• Trouble feeding; not being able to latch, suck, or swallow

HIE may be noticeable when a newborn baby does not feed or has seizures, but in other cases, it may not be so apparent. Head imaging like MRIs or CT scans identify the extent and duration of the injury. Newborns suspected of HIE will usually need critical care in a neonatal intensive unit (NICU), specific treatment like head cooling (hypothermia therapy), and will typically have head imaging done.

Beyond the immediate heartbreak of realizing your precious newborn has suffered a severe injury, there are long-term emotional, physical, and financial burdens that families must face. 

A child with HIE may require intensive therapy, ongoing medical treatments, special education services, assistive technology, and round-the-clock care. These costs can place an enormous strain on families already reeling from the shock of their child’s birth injury. 

Parents may have to take time away from work or leave their jobs entirely to care for their child’s complex needs. They might worry about affording specialized medical equipment, covering hospital stays, or ensuring their child has access to expert therapists and caregivers. 

The emotional toll is immense. Parents may feel grief, anger, confusion, and guilt. They may ask themselves if something more could have been done or question the doctors and nurses they once trusted with their child’s life. 

Pursuing a birth injury claim can serve as a way to hold the responsible parties accountable, seek financial stability for the child’s future care, and find some measure of closure and support.

Not only is a birth injury emotionally difficult for a parent, but the added financial costs from the additional care their child needs can be overwhelming. A birth injury lawsuit can obtain justice on behalf of your child and also secure the financial compensation they need to ensure they’re taken care of for the rest of their life.

There is a time limit to file a lawsuit, known as a statute of limitations. It’s important to speak with a birth injury attorney as soon as malpractice is suspected. The statute of limitations varies state by state, with some states leaving as little as two years from the date of the child’s injury to file a suit for them as a minor. 

The statute can also vary depending on what kind of facility the malpractice or negligence occurred in. In New Mexico, the statute of limitations is nine years but may be as short as two years if the facility is run by the state. 

Additionally, birth injury lawsuits can take years to litigate. It’s crucial to find an attorney that only handles birth injury. The complexity of the medical records and the law requires experience and the right network of experts.

Under New Mexico law, medical professionals must provide care that meets the accepted standards within their field. If a doctor, nurse, or hospital deviates from these standards and harms a patient, they may be held liable.

Hospitals, clinics, and other healthcare facilities can sometimes be held responsible for the negligence of their employees, including nurses and support staff.

As mentioned above, if the malpractice occurred in a state-run hospital or medical center, different rules, procedures, and timelines may apply. This can affect whether your claim is filed correctly and on time.

A successful birth injury claim can provide several forms of compensation to help ease your family’s burden:

• Medical Expenses: This includes current and future medical bills, hospital stays, surgeries, medications, and any required therapies.
• Long-Term Care and Support: Children with HIE often need ongoing care, including rehabilitation, assistive devices, therapy, and special education services. Compensation can ensure these needs are met.
• Home Modifications: Whether it’s installing ramps, widening doorways, or adapting your home for medical equipment, the costs of making your home safe and accessible for your child can be covered.
• Lost Wages and Earning Capacity: If a parent must leave the workforce or reduce their hours to care for a child, compensation can address lost earning potential. Similarly, it can consider the child’s future ability to earn income if disabilities prevent them from working later in life.
• Pain and Suffering: While no amount of money can truly compensate for the emotional anguish of seeing your child suffer, financial recovery can provide a sense of justice and acknowledgment that your family’s pain matters. 

Securing compensation is about more than money; it’s about ensuring your child has the resources they need to live a full, supported life, and holding accountable those whose negligence caused harm.

ABC Law Centers: Birth Injury Lawyers exclusively handles birth injury cases. We have first-hand experience working with local counsel in New Mexico on birth injury cases involving HIE. Our unique focus means that we have a thorough knowledge of the complex medical aspects of birth trauma cases. 

Our firm has a network of renowned medical, economic and forensics experts at our side, and our attorneys have been consistently recognized for their work in birth injury.

Through this network, you gain the benefits of:

• Local Legal Insight: A New Mexico lawyer who understands the state’s medical malpractice laws, statutes of limitations, and local court systems.
• Experienced Collaborations: By working with ABC Law Centers, you benefit from our firm’s extensive background in birth injury cases and our relationships with top-notch experts.
• No Upfront Fees: We work on a contingency basis, which means you don’t pay any fees unless there is a recovery. This removes financial risk and ensures that you can focus on your child’s well-being rather than legal expenses.