Medical Health Care Centre

Roughly 700,000 babies are born annually in the UK. Claims have been made that 70% of these babies will somehow be affected by a birth injury. A birth injury is classed as any form of damage that may occur to a newborn before, during, or after delivery. The most common forms of birth injury are extremely minor, but in some rare cases birth injury may be more severe, and could even leave a child struggling with lifelong health issues.

If a birth injury occurs as a direct result of negligence on the behalf of a doctor or hospital, the British legal offers many options for you and your child, with the pursuit of compensation to aid support.

As most mothers will agree, labour is a very traumatic, but ultimately rewarding experience. It’s one experience that you would hope never has any complications, yet unfortunately it can. These complications can be much worse if doctors react ineffectively. This could be anything from a doctor being too forceful during labour, failing to realise the size of the baby, or even failing to react quick enough.

One of the more likely circumstances is that a baby becomes deprived of oxygen, which can lead to brain damage, and permanent disability. This can come about from a baby is too large, or when surgical delivery is needed, but not provided quickly.

Common Types of Negligent Birth Injuries

Not all birth injuries will be the same. Each of the following is known to occur as a result of birth injury.

• Brachial Plexus Palsy, Erb’s Palsy, Klumpke’s Palsy – The brachial plexus is a bundle of five major nerves extending from the spine, through the shoulder and to the tips of the fingers. When these nerves are damaged during birth, it can cause partial or total paralysis.
• Cerebral Palsy – Cerebral palsy is a permanent condition caused by brain damage before, during or shortly after birth.
• Perinatal Asphyxia – Occurs when there is in sufficient blood flow to tissues.

Filing a Claim for Birth Injury Compensation

If the worst case scenario happens and you find yourself in a situation where you are eligible for compensation, you must first establish a legal case. The first step of which is to talk to experienced solicitors within the field, who will be able to provide advice on how to go forward. They will be able to point you in the right direction for any support you may need, as well as assisting your claim.

Before any claim case begins, an investigation must take place. This investigation will look at the medical care given at the time of injury, just to make sure where the blame falls. Claims by adults can be made until a child’s 18th birthday, and a child can make a claim for themselves up to the age of 21.

It’s worth noting that due to the nature of many claims, they can on the rare occasion, take several years to complete.

Door handles are the most common harbourers of germs both in the home and outside. Whilst kitchen worktops, sinks and ovens are cleaned on a regular basis, many people neglect their door handles, even though they are a hotspot for bacteria. Touch points within the home should be cleaned frequently as a large family, or individual alike, can deposit a large amount of harmful germs there.

Washing hands before cooking, eating and after visiting the toilet is an essential activity that should be instilled into a child’s behaviour pattern very early on to ensure a safe and healthy lifestyle. The same goes for adults, however there are many that do not follow this simple rule.

Door handles from public toilets are the worst places to pick up infections due to the amount of people that visit them every day. This can cause a whole range of harmful bacteria to be placed upon the handles, which are then touched by, almost, everybody who goes there. It is also worth mentioning that not everyone cleans their hands after using a toilet, so extra care should always be taken when in public places.

There are numerous infections that can be passed on through touching dirty door handles; E.coli, Aureas and Staphylococcus, fungal and viral infections are just some of the examples. The first defence against these types of viruses is to wash your hands. However, it doesn’t matter how careful you are, there is no guarantee that the person who visited the place beforehand went to the same trouble as yourself. Even if you ensure that you wash your hands before leaving, you will still need to touch the handle that could have been touched previously by someone who may have just blown their nose, leaving a nasty virus for you to pick up.

Carrying a small pack of antiseptic wipes or sterilising hand gel will definitely help to prevent this type of germ transfer. These can be of particular good use when in situations where there is nowhere to wash your hands and can also be used on any other touch point you need it to, for example, telephones, keyboards and vending machines.

It’s not just employees and cleaners that need to make sure the handles are cleaned regularly, homeowners and tenants also need to take extra precaution to prevent germs being spread amongst those who are staying within this area. Using sanitising wipes on a daily basis to thoroughly clean door handles around the home is extremely advisable.

Winter is the time of year when most of us feel at less than our best. The dark nights and damp days probably don’t help matters and of course, nature simply can’t be avoided.

Whilst we can’t control the weather outside, we do have a significant amount of control over our home environment, and keeping this clean and warm by turning on our electric heating systems will go a long way to help fight the colds and flu viruses that seem more prevalent at this time of the year.

Our bodies are actually very good at fighting off the worst of these viruses but it is when our immune system is not at its strongest that we succumb to them. So what can we do in our own homes to keep our immune systems strong and healthy?

It probably isn’t a well-known fact that when we are cold, our body reduces the supply of blood to our extremities in order to preserve its supply to the heart and brain. This in turn reduces the amount of white cells in our body that are needed to fight off the cold and flu viruses which they normally do quite effectively. The first thing that we should do therefore is to make sure that our electric heating systems are in good working order, especially if they have been stored away during the warmer months. By ensuring that they are working correctly, we will be able to keep warm during the winter and this is an important factor in fighting off those winter illnesses.

Diet too is important; it is very tempting to reach for comfort foods during the cold dark evenings; however these foods tend to be very heavy on fats and sugar and provide very few of the nutrients and vitamins that our body needs to stay in top condition. It is especially important to have a sufficient intake of vitamin C and if you find that your fruit intake is reduced during winter, then a vitamin C supplement can be useful. Healthy food though can be comforting and a good hearty vegetable soup or stew warms the soul on cold winter nights.

Some people do not like their bedrooms to be too hot as it stops them from sleeping very well. With a good quality duvet, there should be little need to have a hot bedroom but it is a good idea to keep the temperature at a reasonable level; with modern electrical heating systems, there is no need to return to the days of waking up with frost on the inside of the window.

There are many types of electric heating systems available to suit a wide range of purposes. Many houses now have central heating but for those that don’t or who prefer a method to top up the heat in a particular room, electrical oil filled radiators offer an efficient and economical way of heating a room and are usually portable so that you can move them from room to room.

So, don’t neglect your health this winter; eat well and stay warm and give your body the best chance to ward off those winter bugs.