Nothing is more heartbreaking than discovering your child has a birth injury, especially if it could have been prevented by your doctor and/or pharmaceutical company. Compensation for a birth injury can help pay for your child’s medical needs and even long-term care.
Continue reading to learn what legal steps you should take after learning your child has a birth injury. For more information, schedule a consultation with our Grand Rapids attorneys at Beurkens Law.
What Causes Birth Injury?
Birth injury typically happens during labor or delivery, but can also happen as the result of improper prenatal medical care. For example, a baby may be born with cerebral palsy if their brain didn’t get enough oxygen during delivery.
Birth injury often happens when a doctor fails to respond to complications the way another doctor with the same knowledge would. While some birth injuries are unavoidable, a medical malpractice lawyer can help you determine if a medical provider and/or pharmaceutical company was at fault.
One example of an is complications for delayed birth, which is when labor goes for longer than 18 hours. At this point there’s increased pressure on the infant’s brain. This can lead to high blood pressure and other complications.
How Are Birth Injuries and Defects Different?
In general, birth injuries happen during delivery while birth defects happen while the child is still in the womb.
Types of birth injuries (or defects) include:
- Forceps or bruising marks
- Brain damage from reduced blood flow
- Injuries from oxygen deprivation
- Cerebral palsy
- Fetal distress
- Umbilical cord compression
- Shoulder dystocia
How Are Medical Negligence and Malpractice Different?
A doctor is guilty of medical negligencewhen they deviate from the standard of care set by the profession. A lawyer can prove negligence by having medical experts with the same education and experience testify how they would have acted differently to avoid birth injury.
Medical malpractice is a type of negligence in that your doctor failed to provide adequate medical care despite knowing better. While there was no intent to cause harm, your doctor knew that their action (or inaction) carried the possibility of harm. However, other types of medical negligence happen when the doctor(s) are unaware of that possibility.
Do I Need a Birth Injury Lawyer?
It can be difficult proving your doctor and/or pharmaceutical company was at fault without the help of a medical malpractice attorney. Since there is a statute of limitations for when you can seek compensation for birth injury, we recommend contacting a malpractice lawyer as soon as possible.
An attorney will not only advocate for you and your child, but understand how to use medical documents as evidence. An attorney that handles cases will also make sure you know your rights as the parent of a child with birth injury.
If your child has sustained serious injury from malpractice, the compensation from your case will help pay for medical expenses, long-term care, and any other health services your child needs. An attorney will fight aggressively for you and your child’s rights so they can get the care they need to live their best life.
Schedule a Consultation
Attorney Jerry Beurkens of Beurkens Law is dedicated to helping parents get the compensation they need to take care of their children after birth injury. To schedule a consultation with our , call (616) 459-5344.
Related Blog Posts
Why You Need a Birth Injury Lawyer
How are Medical Negligence and Malpractice Different?
5 Types of Medical Negligence Claims
This blog post has been updated.
