The compensation received in a birth injury lawsuit can help pay for the cost of care. This money can significantly improve the quality of life for the injured child.
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Birth injuries like cerebral palsy can be the result of medical negligence. Unfortunately, doctors and other health care professionals sometimes make mistakes during childbirth, resulting in severe, even permanent injuries to the baby. The cost of lifelong care can be financially devastating to families. Thankfully, a birth injury lawyer may be able to help.
Why Take Legal Action?
By filing a birth injury lawsuit, you can seek financial compensation to provide your child with the care they need to live their best life.
Results Secured
Birth injuries can happen during the birthing process or immediately before or after birth.
It’s estimated that 7 out of 1,000 babies born in the United States will be injured during birth.
Babies sometimes suffer physical injuries simply by passing through the birth canal. These injuries are often minor and do not need to be treated.
In other cases, birth injuries can lead to more serious complications, sometimes even causing lifelong disability. Permanent injuries could affect physical, emotional, or cognitive development.
While many birth injury cases occur naturally, others result from medical mistakes hospitals and health care professionals make. When preventable birth injuries occur, it is often considered medical malpractice or negligence.
Birth injuries leave families unprepared to face the demanding emotional and financial challenges of lifelong care for a special needs child. A birth injury lawyer can help.
The compensation received in a birth injury lawsuit can help pay for the cost of care. This money can significantly improve the quality of life for the injured child.
Birth injuries differ from birth defects, which usually develop within the first trimester of pregnancy. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), birth defects likely have genetic, environmental, and behavioral causes.
On the other hand, birth injuries happen during the birthing process, whether before, during, or immediately after childbirth. Birth injuries can be the result of complications during labor or delivery.
Some common types of birth injuries are:
Birth injuries can be caused by doctors, obstetricians, and other health care professionals involved in labor or delivery. In some cases, this is the result of not correctly responding to the medical condition of the mother or baby.
Circumstances can vary significantly in each delivery, and they can change rapidly. When medical professionals fail to respond to these conditions promptly, the results can be catastrophic for innocent families.
The trauma of a difficult birth can leave families feeling devastated and exhausted. It is often not until some time has passed and reality has set in that parents begin to wonder what caused their child’s injury.
While the answer varies in each situation, birth injuries are commonly caused by the size of the baby or their position during labor and delivery.
Additional risk factors that can cause birth trauma include:
Although many serious birth injuries can not be prevented, others result from medical negligence.
Doctors can make mistakes such as improperly reading an ultrasound or failing to spot issues on a fetal heart monitor. Screening errors can lead to inappropriate medical advice and improper obstetric medical care.
Additional examples of medical mistakes that may cause birth injury include:
In medical malpractice cases, financial compensation may be available. A birth injury lawsuit can recover the money families rely on to care for their children.
Symptoms of a birth injury can be difficult to detect. While some birth injuries are evident upon birth, others may not be apparent for months or even years.
Warning signs that could indicate a birth injury include:
Routine pediatric appointments will likely uncover a birth injury over time. However, it is essential to monitor your child carefully, especially if your baby was born prematurely or had complications during labor or delivery.
If you believe your baby has a birth injury, you should bring your child to a doctor to discuss what type of injury they might have. Many birth injuries are temporary and may not require medical treatment. They may be soft tissue injuries that heal within a few weeks. However, there could be a fracture or damaged nerves that require special care in some cases.
Medical bills can be of great concern for families affected by birth injuries. The thought of unexpected lifelong care can be extremely worrisome and feel overwhelming. Additionally, families may feel confused or even angry if they suspect a medical mistake caused their baby’s suffering, but they don’t know how to prove it.
In these cases, families are encouraged to contact a birth injury lawyer. Experienced birth injury attorneys have handled many types of birth injury lawsuits and know what to look for. They also usually have registered nurses on staff who can help.
Parents of children with birth injuries may be able to file a claim against hospitals, doctors, and other medical professionals if malpractice or negligence caused their child’s injury. This is because lifelong care can far exceed the amount of money any family may have at their disposal.
Expenses involved in caring for a child injured at birth may include:
Parents may also find their work suffers due to taking time away to care for their child. This can result in lost wages or even termination. Additionally, many children with birth injuries may be unable to enter the workforce due to their disability.
When all the costs of a preventable birth injury are factored in, they can quickly become astronomical. In many cases, families have no choice but to pursue compensation through a birth injury lawsuit. A successful birth injury lawsuit could allow your family to receive the critical funds needed to care for your child.
Birth injury lawsuits are time-sensitive due to state laws called statutes of limitations. These statutes limit the time you have to take legal action — in some states, you have as little as one year from the date of the injury to file a lawsuit.
Thankfully, birth injury attorneys are well-versed in these laws and can ensure that your case is filed within the requisite time frame.
A birth injury lawyer and their dedicated legal team will work with you every step of the way, so you can focus on your family. They will help gather the evidence needed to prove that your child’s injury could have been prevented.
If you’re worried about a lengthy court battle, remember that most birth injury lawsuits are settled out of court. Hospitals and doctors generally prefer to settle cases quickly, avoiding the bad press and expensive court fees.
If you would like to speak with a birth injury lawyer, we can help. Contact us for a free, no-obligation legal consultation with a skilled, knowledgeable birth injury lawyer.
We can connect you with birth injury lawyers who have decades of experience, have nurses on staff, and do not charge upfront or out-of-pocket fees. They only accept a fee if and when your case successfully secures compensation.
Written by: LawFirm.com
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