HIE

Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is brain injury caused by a deprivation of oxygen and blood flow to the infant’s brain around the time of birth. It is a central concept in birth injury litigation, because HIE can lead to permanent neurological impairment, including cerebral palsy, and because the timing and cause of the hypoxic insult are frequently the decisive issues in the case.

Allegations in HIE cases commonly concern failure to recognize a non-reassuring fetal heart rate, delay in proceeding to delivery, and mismanagement of an intrapartum emergency. Causation is heavily contested. The medical literature recognizes that neonatal brain injury can arise from antenatal and non-negligent causes, and the defence routinely relies on neuroradiology evidence about the pattern and timing of injury and on placental pathology to argue that the injury predated or was unrelated to intrapartum care. Establishing that negligence during labour caused the HIE requires careful expert evidence from obstetrics, neonatology, and neuroradiology.

Posts tagged HIE analyze Ontario and other Canadian decisions involving hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, with particular attention to the timing-of-injury and causation analysis.