There is nothing more devastating than realizing that your baby has suffered an injury before it even had a chance to take its first breath. After hours of agonizing contractions, sweat, and dedication to bringing your baby into the world, you may not even be able to process the information that your beautiful little infant was somehow mishandled and damaged by the medical staff. The feeling of betrayal and the awful realization that your baby might suffer for the rest of its life for this mistake can be overwhelming. You don't have to face this news alone.
If doctors or medical staff injured your child at birth, the Aventura birth injury attorneys of Dolman Law Group in Aventura can help you bring this issue to light and win the compensation you and your infant deserve.
Birth Injuries Caused by Malpractice
Babies are delicate little creatures and very easy to damage accidentally. In some situations, babies arrive in the world with birth injuries that are no one's fault. Tiny burst blood vessels and minor fractures may occur simply due to the natural risks of the birthing process and these injuries tend to heal very quickly after birth. However, sometimes the doctors really did do something wrong. Maybe they used too much force, pulled too hard, or used the wrong extraction methods and when this results in a birth injury, malpractice has occurred. Here are the most common malpractice related birth injuries and what to look for:
Brachial Palsy Injuries
- The brachial nerve cluster is what helps us control our shoulders and arms. During a birth, this nerve cluster is at risk of the baby's shoulders catch on the birthing canal, hindering progress. The doctor must gently release the baby's shoulders and ease their way out. However, if this is done incorrectly or with too much force, the nerves can be pinched, bruised, and even torn causing weakness and inability to move one or both arms. This may be temporary or permanent depending on the damage.
Facial Paralysis
- A baby's face can wind up pressed hard into the birthing canal on it's way out which can bruise or damage the facial nerves. This is most likely if the doctor uses forceps to pull the baby out and the forceps latch onto the infant's face. If temporary, this condition will heal after a few weeks, however, damage can be permanent.
Brain Injuries
- Even mild oxygen deprivation can lead to serious consequences and brain damage. Unfortunately, there are a variety of ways that a birth can go wrong that can temporarily block a baby's oxygen. Getting tangled in the umbilical cord, allowing the baby to remain too long in the birthing canal, and not monitoring the baby immediately after birth can all cause serious brain damage.
Clavicle Fractures
- Your baby's collarbone is very delicate and put under a lot of stress during the birthing process. When the shoulders have to compress in order to exit the birthing canal, it is possible that the clavicle will fracture due to pressure. However, clavicle fractures are also a common result of the doctor pulling too hard on the baby's shoulders to complete the extraction.
Cephalohematoma
- The use of birthing tools like vacuum and forceps can leave a distinct injury on your baby's head known as cephalohematoma. This is bleeding underneath the scalp that may mark more serious injuries below. This condition usually passes after a few months, but can cause jaundice, anemia, hypotension, and sometimes even meningitis before it goes.
Who Is At Fault for a Birthing Injury?
While determining that your baby has been injured is unpleasant but straight-forward, actually determining who can be held liable for a birthing injury is more complex than it seems. This is because there are several active medical professionals present to assist during the birthing procedure. Determining who is responsible for the injury of your baby is the first thing a malpractice attorney can help you do and is also the first step to holding them legally accountable for the harm they caused.
There are three potential possibilities for who is at fault in a birthing injury case.
Doctors and Nurses
It might be the doctors or nurses who delivered the baby if one of them used an incorrect technique or too much force when extracting the baby.
Medical Facility
It might also be the hospital or medical facility itself if it is found that they did not provide the appropriate supplies, knowingly understaffed your birthing team or the facility, or if they are the direct employers of a medical professional at fault.
Pharmaceutical Company
And finally, the responsible party might be a pharmaceutical company if an administered medicine resulted in the injury to your baby and a dangerous side-effect was omitted from the documentation.
Finding the party responsible for a birthing injury is often half the battle because medical facilities are a tangle of overlapping responsibilities and no one wants the hit on their malpractice insurance.
What Can Be Gained From a Birth Injury Malpractice Suit
Unlike other injury lawsuits, the damages awarded for birth injuries must take into account the long-term effects of the injury on the child's entire life. If you win the malpractice suit against your birthing team or facility, the damages will be calculated in three basic categories:
- Past Medical Costs
- Future Medical Costs
- Noneconomic Damages
Past medical costs are the easiest to calculate. Medical and child development experts will help you determine the approximate future medical costs of helping your child cope with and hopefully recover from their birthing injury. However, for permanent deformation or brain damage, future medical costs may be extensive to provide the child with ample care and a life plan for survival.
Noneconomic damages include pain and suffering, disfigurement, anguish, humiliation, and other issues related to the future emotional experiences of your child as a result of their birth injuries.
Why It's Difficult to Justice for Birth Injuries
The medical community is theoretically prepared for malpractice suits at any time, but it's nearly impossible to pin one responsible party down to be held accountable. There's always someone else who could be partially accountable or a mitigating circumstance that justifies the injury. By diffusing responsibility, doctors, nurses, and medical facilities do their best to keep the parents of an injured baby going around in circles while expressing their sympathy for the injury itself.
An experienced medical malpractice attorney can help you to get the justice you and your baby deserve. They can stop the passing of blame and defend your child's right to a happy full life with all the care they need as a result of the injury.
How Much Will a Birth Injury Lawyer Cost?
If your birthing team, medical facility, or pharmaceutical company has injured your child, our firm offers free consultations and legal representation on a contingency fee basis. This arrangement means that you won't have to pay anything up front and fees are covered out of the settlement.
When you're ready to start seeking justice and compensation for the damage done to your infant, contact us online or at (954) 302-7068. Our Aventura personal injury attorneys are ready to help your baby get a happy childhood it deserves.
Dolman Law Group Accident Injury Lawyers, PA
PERSONAL INJURY LAWYERS
20803 Biscayne Boulevard Suite 101,
Aventura, FL 33180
(954) 302-7068
What Our Clients Have to Say:
“So happy I chose Dolman Law Group!!! My experience with the law firm right from the start was fast, friendly and understanding. I started treatment for my injury right away, and while I was focusing on getting better the firm was fighting for me. Incredibly happy with the outcome, thank you to Brent and the team for all the hard work and updates.”
Rating: 5/5 ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Chelsey Lambert
January 2019
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