Birth Injury

A birth injury is one of the most devastating types of personal injuries, and many parents are so devastated by the pain they see in their child, that they fail to seek medical attention. Seeking birth injury attorneys is important to secure the income necessary to pay for the medical expenses the child will face as they grow.

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How do Birth Injuries Occur?
A birth injury is any injury that occurs to the child during or immediately following the birth process. There are many problems that can cause a birth injury. Sometimes the injury is due to medical malpractice, and other times it is simply a matter of how the birth happened naturally. In the case of medical malpractice, the family might be able to receive monetary compensation for the damages their child faces.

Having a child who is the victim of a birth injury is difficult and life altering for many parents. Some of the medical reasons a child might be born with a birth injury are damage caused by delivery instruments, a doctor waiting to long to perform a c-section, and improper monitoring of the baby during delivery. Sometimes the doctor will not properly calculate the size of the baby, and if the baby is too big, he may become lodged in the birth canal. Giving the mother the wrong medications can cause a birth injury. Sometimes babies require oxygen after birth, and a failure to provide oxygen can result in a brain injury.

The good news about birth injuries is that many of them can be treated successfully if they are found early enough. However, there are some sad cases where the child faces a lifetime of disability due to the actions, or lack thereof, of medical personnel. In these cases, birth injury lawyers are the best course of action for the parents.

Common Birth Injuries
The most public types of birth injuries are brain injuries. Brain injuries that occur during the birth of a baby are usually caused by either a lack of oxygen or bleeding on the brain. One of the most widely publicized brain injuries that occur in babies is Cerebral Palsy. Cerebral Palsy is caused by damage to the cerebrum, an important part of the brain. The child will have less ability to control his movements, and may have limited mental capacity.

Another common birth injury is Brachial Plexus. This is another brain injury, which is caused by Shoulder Dystocia, a condition where the baby’s shoulders are stuck in the mother’s pelvis. The strain on the baby’s neck can damage the nerves between the neck and shoulder. These injuries are treatable.

While these two are the most common and widely publicized birth injuries, there are other problems that can occur during birth. If forceps are used to help the delivery, the child could have bruising on his scalp or brain, bleeding inside his skull or underneath the scalp. Some babies who have a difficult time passing through the birth canal experience clavicle fractures. Type B Strep is a virus that can be passed to the baby from the mother. Harmless to the mother, this virus is incredibly dangerous for a newborn. If detected, it can be treated through high doses of antibiotics given to the mother before and during delivery.

Liability for the Doctor in a Brain Injury Lawsuit
Parents of a child who suffers a birth injury often wonder if they are candidates for birth injury lawsuits. They want to figure out if they have a case before shopping for birth injury attorneys. Not all injuries are the fault of the doctor or hospital. If a birth injury occurs due to the natural course of labor, there is little a birth injury lawyer can do. The case will not hold up in court.

Physicians are held liable for a birth injury under a certain set of rules. First, the doctor involved has to have a duty to the child. This basically means that the doctor had to be part of the delivery. Any doctor participating in the delivery of a child has an ethical duty to protect the child and the mother.

Once duty is established, the birth injury attorney’s job is to determine if the doctor failed to perform this duty. If the doctor failed to provide standard care for the child, they are considered to be in breach of duty. If this breach caused the birth injury, they are liable for damages. However, if the child’s injury could not be prevented, or of the negligence is not what caused the injury, the case becomes much more complicated.

Liability for the Hospital in a Birth Injury Case
The doctor is not the only one who can be held liable in birth injury lawsuits. Birth injury attorneys can sometimes prove that blame lies with the hospital for the trauma and pain caused to the newborn baby and his family. If the hospital is negligent in their hiring practices, hiring doctors and nurses who are not qualified to deliver babies, they can be held liable for birth injuries.

Another reason that a hospital may be held liable for a birth injury is in cases where the nursing staff is not adequate. Overworked, tired nurses make mistakes. The hospital has a duty to their patients to provide quality nursing staff who has enough help to do their job correctly. Also, if the members of the nursing staff feel the doctor is not doing his or her job properly, they have the responsibility to report the problem to their superiors. If they do not, the hospital is liable if damage occurs.

Not only that, but if a member of the hospital’s staff does not do his job properly, and a birth injury results, birth injury lawyers can usually make a case against the hospital. This is because the hospital is the superior of all of the people on its staff. The hospital is responsible for the actions of its staff. The exception would be an attending physician who is not on staff at the hospital.

Acting Quickly is Important with Birth Injuries
If you think your new baby has a birth injury, you need to act quickly. You will need to seek medical treatment as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the more likelihood there is that your baby is going to have life-long consequences from the birth injury.

Birth injuries can be hard for parents to detect, particularly in newborns. This is why it is crucial for new parents to take their babies to all of the well baby visits. Doctors are trained at identifying signs of a birth injury. If a birth injury is suspected, seek help from birth injury lawyers immediately.

Why is speed so important? The sooner your baby gets the care he needs, the happier and healthier the entire family will be. Remember that many conditions are treatable if caught early enough. Also, the treatments for many serious brain injuries are quite expensive. The job of birth injury attorneys is to make sure the family does not have to pay for the treatment their baby needs. Legal help is crucial to make sure your family is compensated as much as possible for the injury to the infant. Also, many states put time limits on the family, limiting how long they have before they cannot file birth injury lawsuits.

Benefits of Using a Birth Injury Lawyer
Birth injury lawyers have many benefits for the parents of a child with a serious birth injury. The diagnosis of a birth injury is traumatic and devastating for the family. The last thing on their minds after receiving this diagnosis is the law surrounding the situation. The birth injury lawyer will be able to work with them to ensure they are compensated for all damages surrounding their child.

Many parents turn to personal injury attorneys for their birth injury lawsuits. Finding a lawyer who specializes in birth injury cases is best, if possible. The specialist will be able to advise the family as to how likely it is that their case will hold water in court. Not only that, but a specialized birth injury attorney will have a better understanding of the laws surrounding serious birth injuries, in contrast to simply the laws about personal injuries. Many personal injury law offices have a lawyer on staff who is a specialist in birth injury lawsuits.

Even if you are offered a settlement by the doctor or hospital that is responsible for your baby’s birth injury, you still need to seek the counsel of birth injury lawyers. Likely, the hospital wants to settle with you out of court to avoid negative press. Another reason to settle is to save money, but what ends up happening when the patient settles is they do not receive as much money as they are really entitled to. The lawyer will help you ensure you get what is due you.

Choosing a Birth Injury Lawyer
Choosing birth injury lawyers follows the same procedure as choosing any other educated professional. First, look for a lawyer who is specializing in birth injuries. Once you have located some, preferably in your area, schedule some interviews. You want to make this as easy on yourself as possible, because you are going to be emotionally drained from finding out about your child’s injury. You can interview potential birth injury attorneys over the phone. Find out their fee structure, and what they plan to do to get you your compensation. If you do not want to go to court, they should respect that.

If the fees and qualifications of all of your potential birth injury lawyers are the same, you should choose the one you feel the most comfortable talking to. You are going to spend much time with this individual or his firm in the coming months, so you should feel comfortable with his personality and the firm’s way of conducting business. Once you have made your choice, schedule a face-to-face interview to set out the details of your case. Take your medical records with you to this meeting to ensure that your new lawyer has all of the facts about your case.

Should You Use The Internet to Find Birth Injury Lawyers?
The Internet is an excellent tool to help you find your legal representative in your birth injury case. To search for birth injury lawyers, all you need to do is head to your favorite search engine and do a search for “birth injury attorneys” and your state. Chances are you will find several sites with information that is pertinent to you and your case.

Not only will you find law firms with birth injury attorneys on staff, but you will also likely find a wide range of informative articles on the topic. These articles are helpful, as they help you to understand what is ahead of you as you head to court. Read as much of this birth injury information as you can, and once you find your attorney, ask him about what you have learned, and any questions you have about the process that is ahead of you.

If you cannot find birth injury attorneys in your area, the Internet can help you find some that work nation wide. This is not the ideal situation, as you will have a difficult time arranging face-to-face discussions. If your child’s injuries are severe enough, however, the case might be worth working with a national law firm.

How Much Will a Birth Injury Lawyer Cost?
A specialized birth injury lawyer may cost more than a traditional personal injury lawyer, due to the level of expertise they offer you in birth injury lawsuits. Many parents balk at the idea of hiring a lawyer because of the high cost. This should not stop you, however, because birth injury lawyers typically work on a contingency basis. This means that the lawyers charge nothing up front for their services. The only way the patient’s family pays the lawyer is if the case is won.

In a contingency payment structure, the lawyer will charge a percentage as their commission should their firm and their clients win the trail. While parents often think the lawyers charge too much, in the long run they receive more money with a lawyer than they ever would without one. The expertise of birth injury lawyers is worth its weight in gold, so the fee is well worth it!

If you suspect that your child may suffer from a birth injury, take action immediately. Start shopping for birth injury lawyers who can represent you and your child. With the help of a lawyer, your child’s medical needs will be paid for by the doctor or hospital that caused his condition!


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