Birth Injury

Birth Injuries (Obstetric Malpractice)

Has my child suffered a birth injury?

Many birth injuries are obvious. Parents are aware of swelling and bruises on their child’s head, face, shoulders, or torso soon after the birth of the child. When a baby has a paralyzed face, only part of the face will move and react to stimulus. Some injuries are not physically apparent until later in the child’s development.

Brain injuries, such as cerebral palsy, may not show signs or symptoms until nearly one year of age. Birth injuriescan be caused during fetal development, at or during the birthing process, or shortly after birth. There are many different causes of birth injuries, and most are not serious and heal within a few weeks.

Temporary loss of nerve or muscle function – caused by pressure, swelling, or bruising through the birthing process may resolve itself within a few weeks to months following birth. However, nerves may be irreparably harmed, and the resulting damage may be permanent.

Birth injuries can be physically apparent such as bruising and swelling on your baby’s head, face, shoulders, or torso. Often times, these are superficial injuries that are not permanent and heal within a few weeks. However, there are more serious birth injuries that can occur shortly before, during, or after delivery that can cause devastating neurological injury such as Cerebral Palsy and Erb’s Palsy.

Cerebral Palsy is an injury to the brain that can be caused from a multitude of conditions associated with a lack of oxygen to the baby’s brain. These conditions can occur before, during, or after delivery and can cause irreparable harm and permanent damage to the baby’s brain resulting in different degrees of cognitive, speech, and motor deficits. Some infants may be diagnosed shortly after birth, while other cases may not be apparent until the child is older and not reaching developmental milestones.

Erb’s Palsy is an injury to the upper nerves of the baby’s arm during delivery that can result in permanent paralysis of the arm or difficulty with hand movement. Erb’s Palsy can be caused by shoulder dystocia where by the baby’s shoulder gets trapped under the mother’s pubic bone during the birthing process resulting in nerve injury of the baby’s arm and shoulder. Temporary loss of nerve or muscle function caused by pressure, swelling, or bruising through the birthing process may resolve itself within a few weeks to months following birth. However, in some cases of Erb’s Palsy caused by shoulder dystocia, nerves may be irreparably harmed, and the resulting damage may be permanent.

If the injury prognosis is long-term to permanent, parents must think about the long-term care of the child – from medical bills and physical therapy to assisted care and adaptive technologies, depending on the extent of injury or disability of the child.

Who is responsible for a birth injury?

The Rasansky Law Firm will review and evaluate your specific case to determine who is responsible for the birth injury. We have filed suit against doctors, nurses, midwives, pharmacists, hospitals, insurance companies, device manufacturers, distributors, drug companies, and many others directly involved in the pregnancy, birth, and infant care. Any one or combination of these roles may be involved in your case. Contact our birth injury attorneys for a complimentary review of your specific case.

What will happen during a birth injury lawsuit?

While actual procedure will vary state-to-state, the first step is to contact an experienced birth injury attorney. Once the attorney takes your case, the lawyer will notify and file suit against any and all parties who may have been responsible for your child’s birth injury. In some situations, mediation or other alternative dispute resolution tactics may be necessary.

Oftentimes, health care providers will alert their insurance companies of a potential lawsuit. At this point, the insurance companies bring their defense attorneys to represent their insured clients and will piece together a defense for their client’s possibly negligent actions. Once the required paperwork and procedures have been filed and followed, a date is set to meet in court. This is not the trial portion, but instead a meeting between the parties to discuss the rules and procedures regarding a process known as discovery. Discovery allows both sides to collect information. Medical records, depositions, interviews, independent medical examinations, medical consultations, and other information are exchanged and reviewed between the parties. The specific process of discovery varies from case to case.

Throughout the entire process, the insurance company may schedule a meeting with your attorney to discuss settlement options. Many cases are settled without stepping foot into a courtroom. Your attorney will communicate closely with you regarding settlement options; if you agree to a settlement, the lawsuit is over. If you do not agree to settlement, the case proceeds to trial.

Once reaching the trial phase, a jury will be chosen, evidence bolstering your case presented, and arguments made for your case. Both sides will have an opportunity to prove their case and attempt to disprove or discredit the other side. The case is then handed over to the jury for deliberations, and the jury will return a verdict. If a verdict places wrongdoing on the insurance companies, a monetary damage amount will need to be determined. Contrary to popular belief, juries tend to be conservative when awarding money. There is also an inherent risk that a jury will find no wrongdoing.

What kind of results should I expect from a birth injury lawsuit?

If an attorney takes your case – and all cases are different – there are several types of results that can come out of a birth injury case, including settlements, jury awards – or a flat-out rejection that someone was responsible for the harm inflicted. Most birth injury cases are settled for a monetary amount. After settlement, money is initially paid to doctors and medical professional who have treated the child, attorneys for their fees and expenses in taking a case, personal insurance companies for medical care of the child, and parents for any out-of-pocket expenses.

In some states, settlement money can be paid to parents with the direct purpose of caring for the child. More often, settlements are put into an annuity, limiting the parents from spending the money on things that do not directly benefit the child. This type of situation is known as a structured settlement. In some cases, parents can receive damages for their own personal claims unrelated to the child. Emotional and physical suffering and out-of-pocket expenses to raise the child may qualify for monetary compensation.

Rasansky Law Firm is proud to aggressively represent victims of birth injuries. Call 1-877-659-1620 for a complimentary review and evaluation of your case We demand strict professional standards. Our Dallas-based attorneys are among the best personal injury lawyers nationwide and have resolved many multi-million dollar personal injury cases. We are passionate about our role as advocates and treat our clients with complete respect and compassion. We are committed to utilizing all available legal advantages and tactic to successfully resolve your birth injury claim.