Birth Injury
Attorneys

Birth Injury Attorneys

Our birth injury attorneys understand the emotional, physical, and financial effects a birth injury may have to a victim. A victim may also have severe psychological trauma from enduring a birth injury. If the injury was preventable, contact our office today. Our experienced birth injury attorneys file suits against at-fault parties for their negligent or wrongful acts. We represent victims and their families in order for them to receive financial compensation for the damages they have gone through. We are here to help. We have offices located in California and Nevada, and are readily available to schedule a free no risk consultation to discuss your birth injury case.

Roughly 7 out of every 1,000 births in America are affected by some form of birth injury, leading to nearly 30,000 birth injuries occurring every year. According to the CDC, hospitalizations caused by these injuries cost the United States over $2.6 billion annually.

Victims may have to deal with added costs of future special education, ongoing physical therapy, and other costly care needed by many victims of birth injury. But when a newborn’s injuries are caused by negligence from the medical staff or healthcare providers, the family may be able to recover compensation for the damages they’ve suffered. By filing a birth injury lawsuit, victims may be able to receive compensation for losses such as physical damages, medical bills, emotional suffering, loss of income or employment opportunities, loss of affection, and possibly, punitive damages.

Birth Injury Causes

Birth injuries can be caused by a variety of different medical errors made during the birthing process, but not all errors lead to the opportunity for a medical malpractice lawsuit. In order for there to be a valid medical malpractice case, the victim’s legal representation has to be able to prove that the injuries were a direct result from a medical professional’s negligence or conduct that fell below the standard of care.

Some types of medical errors that can lead to birth injuries:

• Failure to respond to fetal distress
• Premature delivery
• Delay in performing the C-section delivery
• Failure to recognize the need for cesarean section
• Failure to identify a congenital issue in utero
• Head trauma during delivery
• Administering improper drugs or an unsuitable dosage of Pitocin
• Failure to recognize critical issues with the newborn such as jaundice
• Oxygen deprivation (hypoxia) suffered during birth
• Failure to properly monitor the heart rate of both the mother and child during pregnancy & birth
• Failure to deliver a child whose progress has stopped during labor
• Excessive force used during delivery
• Failure to recognize infection during the gestation period
• Unskilled use of the vacuum extractor or forceps
• Failure to identify and properly treat a harmful complication or condition such as premature rupture of the membranes, unexpected bleeding, umbilical cord entrapment, or placental abruption

Factors that Increase the Likelihood of Birth Injuries

Birth injuries become more common as the complexity of the procedure increases. These are factors that often lead to an increased risk of suffering a birth injury:

• Use of surgical instruments – While technology has helped make the birthing process easier over time, the improper usage of these devices can directly lead to serious birth injuries. While forceps have been shown to reduce the risk of a baby encountering oxygen deprivation or fetal distress when used properly, they can also cause extensive damage to a baby’s head, neck, or chest when used improperly. The vacuum extractor is a device that the medical team attaches onto the baby’s head or shoulder to help pull the baby through the birth canal. If this device is improperly attached, serious and even life-threatening injuries can occur to both the mother and the baby.
• Large baby size – The child’s head size is a major factor in how easy the baby is to deliver. The bigger the baby, the higher chance that an injury will occur because of the lack of space and extra force that may be needed.
• Breech (feet first) baby – If the baby is positioned in a way that the feet or buttocks will come out first, then this can create complications for the birth. The delivering doctor or medical professional may try to reposition the child or pull the baby with more force to try to ensure a proper delivery, but either of these solutions can create injury when implemented improperly.
• Mother with small pelvis – If the mother’s pelvic width and opening are too small, this can create difficulty for the doctor in guiding the baby out naturally.

Birth Injury Lawsuits

There are several different birth complications that could occur during the pregnancy and birthing process. Common birth injury lawsuits we have seen as a result of the health care providers’ negligence include:

• Brain damage: this occurs when there has been severe trauma to the baby’s head or there has been a lack of oxygen at the time of birth.
• Cerebral palsy: 20% of adults who have cerebral palsy have experienced it during birth. This is one of the most severe injuries that can impact the brain and create future balance problems.
• Incorrect dosage: this occurs when the doctor or healthcare provider fails to give the accurate dosage of medication. Too much medication could cause brain damage to the mother and the baby, too little medication can cause severe pain and physical discomfort.
• Vacuum injury: when a vacuum extractor method is used at birth incorrectly, the skin of the baby may stretch and get cut. This makes the baby’s skin vulnerable to future infections and brain hemorrhages.
• Shoulder dystocia: this occurs when the baby’s shoulders are stuck in the birth canal and force is used to pull the child during labor.
• Birth complications: this occurs when the baby is not in a safe position during the birthing process. This can cause several deficiencies to the baby.
• Brachial plexus: this is when the nerves for the arms are damaged.

Common Types of Birth Injuries

• Skull fractures
• Broken bones
• Brain or spinal cord injuries
• Skull malformation
• Brachial plexus injuries
• Brain damage
• Stroke
• Cerebral Palsy
• Seizure
• Caput succedaneum
• Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE)

Why Do I Need a Birth Injury Lawyer?

A birth injury lawyer will be able to prove that because of the physician’s negligence, the mother and child now have the emotional, physical, and financial burden in the future. Our California birth injury lawyers will always represent your interests and rights to make sure you received maximum compensation for your injuries suffered.

When Should I File a Birth Injury Lawsuit in California?

California has a statute of limitations time window for filing a birth injury lawsuit. California courts consider several factors when determining the statute of limitations. For example, if there’s a government entity involved, such as a government-owned hospital, the statute of limitations time period could be much shorter. To learn more about the statute of limitations in your state, and the rights that you should expect when filing a birth injury lawsuit, contact our birth injury attorneys today.

Who Can Be Held Responsible for Causing the Birth Injury?

Many of the most common birth injuries are completely preventable and result from the inability of the medical staff to effectively recognize & resolve problems that occur during pregnancy or birth. Depending on the cause of the birth injury, a number of different parties may be able to be sued to compensate the family for their suffering.

In nearly all of the birth injury case we’ve handled, one of the following parties was able to be held responsible for causing the damage:

• Doctor, nurse, or other healthcare professionals who were directly involved in causing the injury
• Hospital where the injury occurred
• Pharmaceutical company
• Manufacturers of the medical device that malfunctioned & led to birth injury

Birth Injuries vs Birth Defects

One of the most common misconceptions is that birth injuries and birth defects are the same thing. There are several key differences between the two.

Birth defects most often occur during the first three months of pregnancy and can be caused by things such as genetics, infection encountered during pregnancy, fetal malnutrition, and exposure to harmful chemicals or medications. This does not include negligence on behalf of the healthcare provider.

On the other hand, birth injuries are mostly avoidable and are typically caused by negligence from a third party such as the medical staff, hospital, or medical manufacturer. You are more likely to be able to file a lawsuit for birth injuries rather than birth defects.