A birth injury happens every 20 minutes throughout the United States.
Birth injuries bring devastating effects to families because they create emotional trauma and require ongoing medical attention. When medical negligence results in your child sustaining a birth injury, you possess legal rights that enable you to obtain necessary compensation for your child’s medical care.
Handling birth injury claims proves challenging because you must deal with the intricate legal system while managing the emotional and financial burdens of caring for your injured child.
This guide will walk you through everything you need to know about birth injury claims, from recognizing potential medical negligence to finding the right Pennsylvania Birth Injury Lawyer who can help you get the justice your family deserves.
What You’ll Discover:
- Understanding Birth Injuries: Types and Causes
- Recognizing Signs of Medical Negligence
- Your Legal Rights as a Parent
- The Birth Injury Claim Process
- How to Choose the Right Birth Injury Attorney
Understanding Birth Injuries: Types and Causes
Physical damages sustained by an infant during the labor and delivery process are referred to as birth injuries. Birth injuries vary from short-term mild conditions to serious permanent disabilities that demand continuous care throughout life.
Birth injuries affect nearly 30,000 newborns each year in the United States, meaning a baby suffers a birth injury every 20 minutes. This shocking statistic demonstrates how prevalent these tragic events occur.
The primary types of birth injuries that occur include a range of conditions which affect newborn babies.
- Cerebral Palsy: A neurological disorder affecting movement and muscle coordination
- Erb’s Palsy: Nerve damage causing weakness or paralysis in the arm
- Brachial Plexus Injuries: Damage to the network of nerves controlling the arms and hands
- Fractures: Most commonly of the clavicle (collarbone) during difficult deliveries
Approximately 6.6 birth injuries happen per 1,000 live births throughout the United States. Boys experience birth injuries more frequently than girls at 6.9 cases per 1,000 births compared to 5.1 cases per 1,000 births in females.
Birth injuries occur naturally in some cases but often stem from medical negligence including the following factors:
- Failure to monitor fetal distress
- Medical negligence can happen when delivery tools like forceps or vacuum extractors are used incorrectly.
- Delayed C-section when necessary
- Medication errors during labor and delivery
Recognizing Signs of Medical Negligence
Medical negligence causes many birth injuries even though it does not account for all cases. Identifying potential negligence signs allows you to determine if your legal claim stands up to scrutiny.
These warning signs could point to medical negligence during birth.
- Did the delivery have enough trained medical professionals to handle the situation?
- Inadequate communication from medical staff resulted in concerns being ignored or essential information being kept from patients?
- How long did it take to address the signs of fetal distress?
- Was there inappropriate application of forceps or vacuum extractors during the delivery process?
During 2023 the United States experienced a cesarean delivery rate of 32.4% while the rate for low-risk cesarean deliveries stood at 26.6%. This high rate suggests that many C-sections are being performed, but the question remains: Do healthcare providers perform these procedures at the required times when they become necessary?
Birth injury reports indicate that moderate to severe injuries make up over 80% of cases with broken bones, brain damage, and nerve damage among the most common types. This statistic demonstrates both the severity of birth injuries and the necessity of holding negligent healthcare providers responsible.
Your Legal Rights as a Parent
Parents whose children experience birth injuries from medical mistakes hold particular legal rights.
- Right to medical records: Parents have the right to request and obtain all medical documentation from the pregnancy through labor and delivery.
- Right to a second opinion: Parents can obtain further medical assessments regarding their child’s health status and future outlook.
- Right to legal representation: You may choose to hire a birth injury attorney to help you file a claim.
- Right to compensation: You can pursue compensation for your child’s injuries once medical negligence has been established.
The occurrence of birth injuries during vaginal deliveries stands at four per 10,000 spontaneous vaginal births. Although this rate appears minor in statistical terms it holds profound significance for those impacted families.
Birth injuries represent 20% of the approximately 20,000 infant deaths in the United States on a yearly basis while maintaining their position as the fourth-leading cause of infant mortality. These disturbing numbers reveal why birth injuries present such serious consequences for families and emphasize the necessity of seeking legal justice.
The Birth Injury Claim Process
The birth injury claim filing process is challenging yet gaining knowledge about it will enable you to better prepare for future steps.
1. Initial Consultation
Begin your legal journey by scheduling an appointment with a birth injury attorney who specializes in medical malpractice cases. The attorney will examine your case details during the consultation to determine the viability of your claim while explaining the legal steps and potential compensation options.
Most birth injury attorneys provide free initial consultations while operating on a contingency fee basis which means payment is required only if they win your case.
2. Medical Record Review
If your attorney thinks you have a valid case they will request and examine all necessary medical documentation including prenatal records, delivery documentation and your child’s present medical files.
3. Expert Consultation
Medical experts will collaborate with your attorney to establish whether medical negligence occurred while also identifying specific medical errors, connecting those errors to your child’s injuries and estimating future medical costs and needs.
4. Filing the Lawsuit
After collecting enough evidence your lawyer will submit an official complaint to court against those responsible including doctors, nurses, hospitals, medical facilities and insurance companies.
How to Choose the Right Birth Injury Attorney
Choosing the best lawyer for your birth injury case stands as the most critical decision you will face. You need to find an attorney who focuses solely on birth injury cases rather than general medical malpractice and who possesses extensive experience handling comparable cases and has achieved numerous successful verdicts and settlements.
Birth injury cases require significant resources. A capable attorney must be able to connect with leading medical experts and have a team of specialists ready to testify about your child’s health while also possessing sufficient financial resources to conduct thorough investigations and handle litigation for your case.
Compensation You May Be Entitled To
Birth injuries caused by medical negligence can make you eligible for different forms of compensation.
Medical Expenses
- Past and future medical treatments
- Surgeries and hospital stays
- Medications and medical equipment
- Therapy (physical, occupational, speech)
Non-Medical Expenses
- Home modifications to accommodate disabilities
- Special education costs
- Specialized transportation needs
- Parents who need to reduce working hours due to medical negligence may claim lost
- wages as part of their compensation.
Non-Economic Damages
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
Calculating the total lifetime care costs stands as one of the most difficult tasks in birth injury cases. Your attorney will collaborate with expert professionals to determine the complete financial repercussions of your child’s injury which frequently results in costs exceeding millions of dollars for severe injuries.
Final Thoughts
When a child suffers from birth injuries it creates a lasting impact on their future while their families endure extensive emotional and financial stress. Although compensation cannot reverse the damage from medical negligence it enables access to essential care resources for your child.
Understanding your legal rights paired with awareness of medical negligence signs and the aid of an experienced Pennsylvania birth injury attorney enables you to move decisively toward justice and an improved future for your child.
Seek legal support whenever you need it without delay. Your child’s future may depend on it.
