A birth injury can debilitating and costly for a mother and her child. Birth injuries can also be traumatic for the expectant mother and her family. With the help of a Morgan & Morgan attorney, you may be able to get compensation to not only cover your medical bills, but also to help with your pain and suffering.
If your child has sustained injuries during birth, an attorney may be able to file a lawsuit seeking compensation on your behalf. An experienced Jonesboro attorney will be able to review the specific facts and circumstances of your delivery and conclude whether medical negligence caused your child’s injury.
If medical negligence is suspected, an attorney might be able to help you seek compensation to ease the financial burden of a lifetime of care.
Has your child suffered a birth injury in the Jonesboro area? If so, our attorneys may be able to help you file a claim seeking compensation for damages including medical expenses, loss of future earning capacity and pain and suffering. To find out if you are eligible, please fill out our free case evaluation form today.
Do I Have a Jonesboro Birth Injury Claim?
For a claim to be valid in Arkansas, the birth injury must have been directly caused by the medical negligence. Medical negligence refers to care exercised by the attending physicians that falls beneath the proposed standard of care in the industry.
Medical teams assigned to a birth have a responsibility to monitor the health of the fetus, execute a predetermined plan and handle any complications which may arise in a timely and proper manner. If failure in these duties results in an injury, the family may have a viable birth injury claim.
Our Jonesboro attorneys handle birth injury lawsuits stemming from the following:
Forceps Delivery: In some cases, an infant has trouble passing through the birth canal. Doctors or other medical professionals may decide to use forceps to assist in the delivery of the child. Excessive force when using the forceps can lead to debilitating injuries such as Erb’s palsy, or even death.
Vacuum Extractions: Similar to forceps, vacuums are used when the baby has difficulty passing through the birth canal, according to Mayo Clinic. Vacuums can latch on to an infant’s skull or shoulder to help guide him or her through the birth canal. Improper use of a vacuum can lead to serious injury or death.
Delay in Ordering a Caesarian Section: Emergency C-sections may be required if the child is suffering from fetal distress. If the delivery team fails to recognize that a C-section is vital in preventing birthing problems and delays, they may be liable for any injuries resulting from difficult labor and delivery.
Hypoxia: Hypoxia occurs when the child’s brain does not receive enough oxygen. During childbirth a tangled umbilical cord can cause infection or damage to the placenta, which in turn results in hypoxia. Medical practitioners are trained to detect hypoxia well in advance and are required to take steps to eliminate the risk of further harm. If the doctor fails to notice that the child may suffer from hypoxia or doesn’t take quick action to avoid injury, the physician and/or the hospital can be held responsible for any resulting damages to the child. Birth injuries resulting from any of the following may also have been caused by medical negligence:
- Improper use of Pitocin, a labor-inducing drug;
- Failure to recognize and address changes in the fetus’ condition;
- Insufficient prenatal testing;
- Failure to diagnose and properly treat complications during birth, including infection, placenta abruption or previa, umbilical cord entrapment or premature rupture of the membranes;
- Failure to perform specialized tests during pregnancy;
- Neglecting to communicate problems to doctors; and
- Failure to refer high-risk patients to specialized physicians.
What Type of Birth Injuries Do Our Jonesboro Attorneys Investigate
At Morgan & Morgan, our attorneys look into medical malpractice claims involving the following birth injuries:
- Cerebral palsy;
- Brachial plexus injury (Erb’s palsy/Klumpke’s palsy);
- Shoulder dystocia;
- Soft tissue damage;
- Facial paralysis;
- Brain injury (from oxygen deprivation, blood flow problems, or otherwise);
- Drug-related injuries (such as SSRI-related injuries);
- Broken bones;
- Spinal cord damage;
- Umbilical cord strangulation or injuries;
- Internal bleeding; and
- Asphyxia.
How Can a Jonesboro Attorney Help?
Apart from the physical and emotional hardships, birth injuries can also place a significant financial strain on a family. Specialized schooling, physical therapy and lifelong medical bills are costly, and most families are unable to support their injured children without outside help.
While Social Security only provides limited medical assistance, an experienced Jonesboro birth injury attorney may be able to file a lawsuit seeking a full and fair reward for your child’s injury. If you suspect that medical negligence was the cause of your child’s birth injury, then you may qualify for monetary damages to compensate for expensive medical bills, the loss of earning capacity, and other non-economic damages such as physical and mental pain and suffering.
The attorneys at Morgan & Morgan can work with experts to determine your family’s cost of living with a birth injury and additional losses, and file a claim seeking that amount from the negligent party.
If your child was injured at birth, you should seek out the advice of a lawyer immediately. You may be able to file a lawsuit against the negligent parties to recoup damages for any medical bills or pain and suffering resulting from the birth injury.
Morgan & Morgan’s Jonesboro birth injury attorneys realize the time following a birth injury can be difficult and painful, and will work to ensure that your family is properly compensated for your losses. Complete our free case evaluation form today to see if you are eligible to file a claim.