Alabama Birth Injury Lawyer
If your child has suffered a birth injury from a health care provider’s negligence, you may be entitled to seek compensation. Legal options are available for Alabama residents dealing with birth injuries due to medical negligence or malpractice. Contact the Birth Injury Center to connect with a skilled Alabama birth injury lawyer. Our compassionate attorneys are ready to help fight for your family.
- Last Updated Date: March 15, 2024
The birth of a child should be a joyous time for a family. However, when a birth injury results from the negligence of a health care professional, it can quickly rob a family of that joy, leaving them with long-term emotional and financial stress. If your child has suffered a birth injury from medical negligence, you may be entitled to compensation. A medical malpractice lawsuit can help offset some of the extensive costs of a birth injury and help make your family whole after tragedy strikes.
The Birth Injury Center provides resources to assist families impacted by birth injuries. We can connect you with a skilled and experienced Alabama birth injury lawyer to pursue the compensation you deserve. Contact the Birth Injury Center today to learn how our attorneys can help.
Birth Injury Basics
Most births involve minimal complications. However, complications and birth injuries do occur. In many cases, a reasonable health care provider can take precautions that minimize the likelihood of complications and reduce the severity of those that are unavoidable.
Unfortunately, not all health care providers provide the appropriate care. When a health care provider fails to meet the applicable standard of care, the baby may suffer an unnecessary birth injury before, during, or immediately after childbirth.
Common types of birth injuries include the following:
- Head trauma, such as skull fractures or scalp swelling
- Extracranial bleeding, such as cephalohematoma and subgaleal hemorrhage
- Intracranial bleeding, such as epidural hemorrhage, subdural hemorrhage, subarachnoid hemorrhage, and intraventricular hemorrhage
- Cranial nerve injuries, particularly to the facial nerves
- Brachial plexus injuries, including Erbs-Duchenne palsy and Klumpke's palsy
- Spinal cord injuries
- Skeletal injuries, such as clavicular fractures and humerus fractures
- Facial injuries, such as subconjunctival hemorrhages
- Soft tissue injuries, such as bruising, lacerations, and subcutaneous fat necrosis
- Abdominal visceral injuries, including bleeding into the liver, spleen, and adrenal glands
- Brain damage due to oxygen deprivation, which may lead to cerebral palsy
No two birth injuries are exactly alike. Some injuries may heal quickly without medical intervention, but others may result in severe, long-term disabilities or even death.
When Is a Health Care Professional Liable for Birth Injuries?
Some birth injuries are medically necessary to avoid greater damage to the baby or mother during pregnancy, labor, and delivery. However, many birth injuries result from medical negligence by the health care professional entrusted with protecting the health of the mother and her baby.
A health care professional is liable for a birth injury if they act in a manner that qualifies as medical malpractice. Medical professionals must meet the expected standard of care. They must take all necessary actions to protect the patient’s best interests and refrain from causing avoidable harm to the patient.
When a medical provider does not meet the expected standard of care, they are considered liable. Birth injury cases generally focus on what the doctor should have done during pregnancy, labor, and delivery.
What Is the Statute of Limitations for Birth Injury Cases in Alabama?
Each state has a statute of limitations for medical malpractice cases, setting a deadline for filing a lawsuit. The clock starts ticking when the injury occurs or you should reasonably discover it.
Under § 6.5.482 of the Alabama State Code, the Alabama statute of limitations is two years from the injury or six months from discovering the injury if you couldn’t reasonably have known about the injury within the standard two-year time frame.
Alabama also has a statute of repose, which imposes a hard deadline for filing lawsuits in cases where the injuries are discovered after the statute of limitations has passed.
However, Alabama has extended the deadline for minors, giving children until their eighth birthday to file suit.
Alabama’s deadlines are much more restrictive than other states, and the statutes of limitations can be confusing. Consulting an attorney as early as possible is critical to ensure you don’t miss the deadline.
How To File a Birth Injury Lawsuit in Alabama
Birth injury lawsuits in Alabama are civil lawsuits. In these cases, you seek monetary compensation for the damages incurred by the family or take civil action against the medical professional’s license.
Meeting with an experienced birth injury attorney lawyer in Alabama is a critical first step when filing a birth injury lawsuit. An experienced and knowledgeable birth injury attorney understands the complexities and specific requirements of Alabama’s medical malpractice laws. They can assist you in navigating the process and getting maximum compensation.
A medical malpractice lawsuit is initiated by filing a complaint in court. The complaint typically includes the following:
- A description of each action that contributed to the injury
- A description of each time the doctor failed to act or exhibited negligence that led to the injury
- Date and time of the injury
- Location of the injury
You should also have a medical professional practicing in the same field as the defendant to review your case. Expert witness testimony from a “similarly situated health care provider” is typically necessary to establish that the defendant breached the appropriate standard of care.
You may also consider submitting a complaint with the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners, which receives and investigates complaints against doctors and nurse practitioners. Once they receive your complaint, the Board will investigate the case independently. The Board will then decide whether or not to discipline medical providers, and they may even suspend or revoke the provider’s license to practice medicine. You can download the Alabama Board of Medical Examiners complaint form online and submit it to the address listed.
It’s important to consult an attorney as soon as possible after a birth injury, as Alabama’s two-year statute of limitations can pose a substantial barrier to getting the justice your family deserves.
What Evidence Do I Need?
You must gather as much evidence as possible to build a strong case and maximize your chances of receiving justice and compensation. Some examples of evidence that would be useful for a medical malpractice lawsuit include:
- Lab test results
- Medical records and charts
- X-rays and ultrasound images
- Medical bills and receipts
- Results of the child's functional assessments
What Compensation Can I Receive From a Birth Injury Case in Alabama?
A birth injury case in Alabama is a civil case, meaning that the lawsuit’s settlement will seek to compensate you for the costs and suffering you experienced due to the injury. Potential damages you may be compensated for include but are not limited to:
- Medical bills
- Medical devices and equipment
- Projected expenses for ongoing care
- Travel expenses for medical care
- Lost wages from missing work
- Therapy and rehabilitation treatments
- Emotional distress
- Reduced quality of life
There is no limit to the compensation you can receive for a birth injury case in Alabama. Thus, gathering as much evidence as possible is important—the stronger your case is, the better your chances of getting a significant settlement amount.
Predicting Future Losses
When seeking compensation for a birth injury, you should also predict the losses the child and family may incur during and after the lawsuit. Future losses are the most important factor in valuing the compensation available in a birth injury lawsuit. To estimate them as accurately as possible, create a long-term life and care plan to account for the future costs of ongoing treatment.
There are many birth injury resources for families that you can include in your long-term care plan. The Alabama Department of Rehabilitation Services provides resources for children with special health care needs. The department also offers family-centered services statewide that may be helpful for your family following a birth injury, including physical therapy, speech therapy, dietitian services, and more.
Because many birth injuries cause lifelong consequences, speaking with an experienced attorney for assistance with calculating future losses can help you receive the settlement amount you deserve.
Get a Free Evaluation for Your Case
When birth injuries occur due to a medical professional’s negligence or malpractice, legal options are available to you and your family to get justice and compensation. This compensation can help you recover by covering your medical bills, therapy, and other costs. The compensation can also make you whole for the pain, suffering, and emotional toll caused by the birth injury.
If your family experienced a birth injury in Alabama due to someone else’s medical negligence, contact the Birth Injury Center today to request a free case evaluation with a skilled Alabama birth injury lawyer.
Written by:
Birth Injury Center Team
The Birth Injury Center aims to create informational web content and guides to help women and their families seeking support and guidance for birth injuries caused by medical negligence. All of the content published across The Birth Injury Center website has been thoroughly investigated and approved by medical expert Natalie Speer, RNC-OB, Attorney Ryan Mahoney, and Attorney Rick Meadows.
