Legal Remedies for Families Affected by Birth Injuries

A child’s birth should be a joyful experience. Unfortunately, birth injuries can occur. Depending on their severity, they could significantly influence the course of a child’s life. Some birth injuries occur due to the unreasonable negligence of doctors or other medical professionals. Families in Massachusetts and the surrounding states may have legal remedies in these circumstances.

You could file a medical malpractice claim or lawsuit if you believe your child sustained birth injuries due to a medical professional’s careless actions, or inactions falling below the applicable standard of care. If you have a meritorious case, you may be eligible to receive compensation for related expenses associated with your child’s injuries, such as the cost of ongoing medical care, as well as other economic and non-economic damages.

Common Birth Injuries

Birth injuries come in many forms. The following are merely some of the more common:

• Fractures
• Facial paralysis
• Bruising
• Broken blood vessels
• Brachial palsy
• Caput succedaneum
• Brain damage

This is by no means a complete list. Be aware that the consequences potentially resulting from birth injuries can vary in significance. For example, bruising may heal on its own in a few days.

Brachial palsy is a birth injury with the potential to cause more long-term issues. This birth injury involves harm to the cluster of nerves serving the arms and hands. A child who sustains this birth injury may be unable to rotate and/or flex the affected arm. Although a child will often gain control over the affected arm within a few weeks, there are cases in which permanent nerve damage occurs.

Always seek medical attention for your child if you suspect they may have sustained a birth injury. As with any type of injury or medical condition, early treatment can be key to maximize the outcome.

Potential Causes of Birth Injuries

Just as birth injuries come in several forms, they may also occur for numerous reasons. Examples include:

• Large size requiring monitoring and alternative delivery solutions
• Delayed birth
• Prolonged labor
• Improper use of forceps
• Lack of communication among medical staff
• Lack of proper attention or care during pregnancy
• Oxygen deprivation

Determining the cause of your child’s birth injury is imperative for many reasons. First, determining the cause may be necessary to determine the proper treatment method.

On top of that, determining the cause can help you better understand your potential legal options. Luckily, you don’t need to handle this task yourself. Attorneys qualified to handle a birth injury case may offer the experience and resources necessary to investigate the issue and gather evidence showing how a birth injury occurred.

Legal Options When a Child Sustains a Birth Injury

You may file a medical malpractice claim if the evidence supports the the following:

• A medical professional had a duty of care to you/your child
• A medical professional engaged in some form of negligence that another medical professional in their position would not have engaged in (i.e. breach of the standard of care)
• Their negligence caused your child’s birth injury
• Your child has incurred losses (such as past and future medical bills relating to a serious injury) for which they may receive financial compensation

There are rare instances in which you might file a claim or lawsuit against another party after a child sustains a birth injury. For example, maybe it’s determined that an injury resulted from a defective medical product. You may have a case against the designers or manufacturers of said product in these circumstances. A lawyer can review your case and help you better understand who may be liable.

Generally, though, filing a medical malpractice claim or lawsuit is your top option when seeking compensation for birth injuries. Along with seeking compensation for economic losses like medical bills, you might also pursue compensation for non-economic losses your child has sustained.

Non-economic losses consist of losses that don’t have an exact dollar value. For instance, your child may experience a significant degree of pain and suffering as a result of a birth injury. The law provides avenues for recovery of such losses.

There are many legal details you may be unfamiliar with when pursuing justice for your child and family. Fortunately, you don’t have to handle a case yourself. Nor should you. Building a medical malpractice case is often very challenging, as you have to show that a medical professional was negligent to an unreasonable degree. Experts must be retained to review the facts, apply medical knowledge and standards, and render opinions about the care.

It’s imperative to have professional legal assistance in these circumstances. At Swartz & Swartz, P.C., our Boston birth injury attorneys are on hand to offer the help you need right now. Learn more about what we can do for you by contacting us online or calling us at (617) 742-1900.

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If you or someone you know, needs help from a lawyer, contact the law offices of Swartz & Swartz, use our live chat, or send us a message using the form below and we’ll get in touch to assess your case and how we can help.