Birth Injury Lawyer
Birth injuries due to medical malpractice are often catastrophic for families. Mothers or babies can suffer long-term effects and permanent disabilities when a medical professional fails to do their job. However, you have options to claim compensation that will help your child have the best life possible. If you or your baby suffered an injury during labor or delivery, a birth injury lawyer with Birth Injury Center can help you seek justice.
- Last Updated Date: October 6, 2023
Choosing the Right Birth Injury Lawyer
When Should You Contact a Birth Injury Lawyer?
How Long Will a Birth Injury Attorney Work On My Case?
How Much Compensation Could I Receive?
Birth Injuries and Medical Negligence
Are Birth Injuries Permanent?
What Are Common Birth Injuries?
Schedule a Consultation With a Birth Injury Lawyer
The birth of a child should be an exciting and joyous time for families. When a medical professional’s negligence leads to a serious birth injury for the baby or mother, that joy quickly turns to anguish and frustration. Parents face uncertainty about their child’s future and how to provide the best care possible. However, you can take legal action to claim compensation for your family’s losses from the medical malpractice.
Knowing how and when to file a birth injury lawsuit can give you peace of mind during this difficult time if you or your baby are victims of childbirth injuries. The Birth Injury Center helps families stand up for and afford their legal rights and seek the compensation they deserve. A birth injury lawyer at Birth Injury Center can help you pursue maximum compensation for your damages and seek justice for your family. Contact us now to schedule a free consultation with our team.
Choosing the Right Birth Injury Lawyer
Because a birth injury is a specialized area of medical malpractice, you need a skilled birth injury attorney with experience handling the nuances of these claims.
The Birth Injury Center has a network of knowledgeable and skilled birth injury attorneys who provide legal support to families in all 50 states. Here’s what sets our birth injury lawyers apart:
- Our attorneys have decades of experience handling birth injury cases and helping clients secure successful settlements and verdicts.
- We have a network of child development specialists, expert witnesses, and life care planners to build winning cases and provide significant leverage during settlement negotiations.
- Our experienced childbirth injury lawyers offer comprehensive legal representation and compassionate support for families.
When Should You Contact a Birth Injury Lawyer?
Birth injury claims are complex. It takes time to thoroughly investigate, collect evidence, and build your case. Because there is a deadline to bring a lawsuit for medical malpractice cases in every state, we recommend contacting a trusted birth injury attorney immediately. After the statute of limitations in your state expires, you may lose the chance to recover damages.
You have only a set time to sue, often within one to four years.
How Long Will a Birth Injury Attorney Work On My Case?
Our team of skilled lawyers will get to work immediately on your case. Depending on the details, some cases will take longer than others. We must gather crucial evidence to support your case, including medical records and expert witness testimony.
Your attorney will also need time to identify and fully value your damages. You may qualify to receive compensation for all future medical care for your child, so it’s vital that your lawyer accurately calculates how much you can claim. Because there are so many factors to consider in these cases, your birth injury lawsuit could take anywhere from a few months to a few years to resolve.
Statute of Limitations for Birth Injuries
Legal deadlines are probably the last thing on your mind if your baby has suffered a birth injury. As difficult as this time may be, knowing the statute of limitations for childbirth injuries in your jurisdiction is important. Otherwise, you risk losing the chance to file a lawsuit.
When you consult with an experienced birth injury malpractice lawyer, they will move fast to gather your evidence and file your claim within the statute of limitations.
Timeline of a Birth Injury Case
If your child has suffered a birth injury and you decide to proceed with a lawsuit, here is the process you can expect for your case:
- Your personal injury attorney will gather any documented evidence, such as medical records and reports.
- You and your lawyer will prepare supporting evidence, such as witness testimony.
- Your lawyer will file a lawsuit in the appropriate court.
- Your lawyer will attempt to negotiate a settlement with the opposing party.
A skilled lawyer can often obtain a strong settlement offer from the other party to compensate you fairly. If your attorney and the defendant cannot reach an agreement, the case will proceed to trial. After the trial, a judge or jury will decide whether you should receive damages.
It is not uncommon for birth injury cases to result in large verdicts or settlements, especially if your child’s injury will permanently alter their life.
How Much Compensation Could I Receive?
The amount victims can receive for a birth injury lawsuit will vary widely depending on the severity of the injury and how it impacts your child’s life. Our legal team will help you claim qualifying economic and non-economic damages, including the following:
Economic Damages
- Current medical bills
- Cost of future medical care
- Lost wages
- Cost of special education
- Physical and therapy
- Medical equipment
- Caregiving costs
Non-Economic Damages
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Mental anguish
- Loss of independence
- Loss of enjoyment of life
Because some states impose limits on certain types of damages, it’s important to consult with an experienced birth injury lawyer to see what your claim may be worth. Contact the Birth Injury Center to speak with an attorney in your state.
Birth Injuries and Medical Negligence
Medical professionals undergo rigorous training to safely care for their patients. When providers do not meet these standards during childbirth, a baby and mother can face serious consequences. Medical errors before, during, and after delivery may include:
- Failure to treat pre-existing conditions, such as diabetes and preeclampsia
- Failure to notice signs of fetal distress
- Failure to deliver the baby in an appropriate amount of time
- Improper use of forceps or vacuum extractors
- Improper use of surgical tools during a C-section
- Failure to diagnose and treat jaundice
Before you go to court, a birth injury lawyer will analyze all the evidence. They may also interview witnesses and depose third parties to strengthen your claim. Not all birth injuries happen as a result of negligence. Only injuries directly resulting from medical malpractice or negligence fall under medical malpractice laws.
Are Birth Injuries Permanent?
Some conditions, such as cerebral palsy, are permanent and will require lifelong medical care. Other injuries can be temporary and will heal, depending on the severity. For example, Stanford Medicine Children’s Health notes that forceps delivery can leave temporary marks on the baby’s face and head, and vacuum extraction can cause cuts or bruises that will fade on their own.
In other cases, medical intervention may be necessary. Facial paralysis caused by facial nerve bruising during delivery may heal on its own, but if the nerve is torn, the injury will likely require surgery.
Consulting with a medical professional who understands birth injuries will help determine the nature and severity of your child’s injury.
What Are Common Birth Injuries?
Birth injury lawyers fight for families whose infants have sustained various birth injuries, including jaundice, infection, and brain damage. Serious brain and spinal cord injuries can occur from lack of oxygen to the brain and excessive pressure to the head or neck, among other causes.
1. Spinal Cord Damage
Doctors can also be responsible for spinal cord complications by causing injury to the baby’s neck. Spinal cord injuries can lead to permanent mobility problems.
Brachial plexus injuries, including Erb’s palsy and Klumpke’s palsy, are caused by trauma to the nerves that run from the spinal cord to the arm and cause weakness in the shoulder, arm, and hands.
2. Erb’s Palsy
When a medical professional uses too much force while delivering a baby, they risk causing serious nerve damage to a baby’s upper brachial plexus, which can result in Erb’s Palsy. This condition affects the baby’s arms and hands.
According to the American Association of Neuromuscular & Electrodiagnostic Medicine, studies have reported significant later-life impairment for at least 20 to 25 percent of patients who did not have surgical intervention.
Some cases of Erb’s palsy can improve with treatment, but not every child recovers.
3. Brain Injuries and Cerebral Palsy
If a doctor mishandles a baby’s head or uses medical instruments the wrong way, they can cause a variety of internal and external injuries to the brain.
Medical staff must monitor and maintain a child’s oxygen levels during childbirth. Infant asphyxiation during birth causes a small number of cases of cerebral palsy. If this occurs, a cerebral palsy lawyer can help you understand your legal rights.
4. Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy
Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, also referred to as HIE, results from limited blood flow and oxygen to the brain at birth. Babies who suffer from this birth complication often have severe disabilities or do not live to adulthood.
5. Intrauterine Fetal Demise
Intrauterine fetal demise, or IUFD, occurs when a baby dies in the womb after the 20th week of gestation. While there are several risk factors and causes for IUFD, you may qualify to take legal action if a medical professional’s negligence contributed to the tragedy.
Schedule a Consultation With a Birth Injury Lawyer
While nothing can undo what happened to your baby, you can take steps to seek the financial support you need to care for your child.
Contact Birth Injury Center today to schedule a free case evaluation with a skilled birth injury malpractice lawyer in your state, including New York, Illinois and Michigan. We will answer your questions and provide counsel on how to move forward.
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.
