Detroit Birth Injury Attorney
Giving birth to your newborn should be the most joyous occasion of your life. Sadly, however, thousands of Michigan babies incur serious injuries during the labor and delivery process, and these injuries can have a significant lifelong impact. Mothers can also sustain devastating or life-threatening injuries from inadequate medical care during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or post-delivery.
To make matters worse, too often, medical professionals could have prevented these injuries. When a baby or mother suffers a birth-related injury due to the negligence of medical personnel, the doctor and hospital should be financially responsible for damages. However, hospitals and other healthcare providers are not always forthcoming with the full details of a birth injury, and they will try to fight against liability.
If you feel a birth injury in your family is due to medical negligence, you should contact a Detroit birth injury attorney from Michigan Injury Lawyers. We have the experience and know-how to make sure you receive the financial compensation you deserve for your damages.
What Is a Birth Injury?
A birth injury occurs when a newborn or mother suffers harm, often due to an adverse event, during the birthing process. Most of the time, when a baby is born, neither the newborn nor the mother experience a significant injury. However, in many cases, harm or injury does happen and affects a family for years to come.
Birth injuries can occur due to natural causes, or they can result from the negligence of a healthcare professional or hospital. Doctors and nurses in the labor and delivery department at a hospital should have the training to carry out both normal deliveries and more complicated deliveries. These medical professionals have a legal duty to handle any situation that arises with appropriate medical care, which includes anticipating potential problems before they occur.
As a parent or guardian, if you feel a birth injury to your child was due to medical negligence or malpractice, you can file a birth injury lawsuit. The objective of a birth injury suit is to obtain financial compensation for the physical, mental, and emotional injuries sustained by a baby or a mother during childbirth.
What Causes a Birth Injury?
Here is a brief list of the most common causes of birth injuries:
- Delayed birth: Birth injuries commonly occur due to delayed birth, which is when a baby experiences brain pressure for a prolonged period of time. When labor lasts longer than 18 hours, the compression on the baby’s brain can be dangerous. Consequently, the baby may show signs of fetal distress and elevated blood pressure.
- Oxygen deprivation: Nearly all brain-related birth injuries to the brain happen because of oxygen deprivation, which happens for various reasons ranging from a twisted umbilical cord to underdeveloped lungs.
- Blunt force trauma: Trauma to the baby’s head during delivery often results from the misuse of forceps or a vacuum extractor.
- Medical malpractice: No matter how a birth injury occurs, it’s safe to say many of these injuries are due to medical malpractice by the medical staff caring for the mother and baby. While it is natural to make mistakes, these medical professionals should take every possible step to spot any warning signals of a potentially serious birth injury.
Sometimes, birth injuries are the result of reckless misconduct or carelessness. Other times, someone may commit a simple but harmful mistake by miscomprehending what is going on during labor.
What Are the Most Common Types of Birth Injuries?
There are dozens of different types of birth injuries, and the following gives you a quick overview of some common birth injuries:
- Cerebral palsy (CP): CP can result from birth asphyxia, birth trauma, and infection.
- Brachial plexus palsy: This is an injury to the nerves that control arm and hand movement.
- Head trauma: Many babies suffer bruising or lacerations during childbirth as they pass through the birth canal and experience powerful contractions.
- Clavicle/collarbone fractures: These fractures commonly occur when babies are born in the breech position or during deliveries involving shoulder dystocia.
- Facial nerve palsy: This condition may stem from temporary nerve bruising.
- Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). This form of brain damage is usually a consequence of birth asphyxia.
- Seizures or epilepsy: Often occur due to infection, birth trauma, or HIE.
What Is the Statute of Limitations to File a Birth Injury Lawsuit?
If you’re thinking about pursuing a birth injury claim, you should understand the statute of limitations in Michigan, which is essentially a time limit for you to file claims in court. Generally speaking, the statute of limitations for filing malpractice claims that result in child injuries is two years from the date of the incident. If a child is less than eight-years-old when malpractice occurs, the time limit would extend until the child’s tenth birthday. That means that filing a claim for damages must take place before the child’s tenth birthday, or else you may forfeit the right to pursue your case.
As you can see, the deadlines can be confusing. Get in touch with a skilled birth injury attorney who understands the statute of limitations without delay, as you don’t want to miss the case filing deadline.
How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Qualified Birth Injury Attorney?
We want to fight on your behalf so you can focus on your child. That’s why we offer our services at no risk to you. That means we won’t impose any charges or fees to pursue your case. We even pay the case-related costs and expenses up front to build and argue your case.
We only receive payment if we successfully win a settlement for your family. On the other hand, if we are unsuccessful in trying your case, you do not owe us anything. Put another way, you’re paying for performance, and if we don’t perform, you don’t pay.
Get Expert Help From Our Detroit Birth Injury Attorneys Now
If you suspect negligence is responsible for a birth injury, you will want to have an independent medical expert review your medical records. They will evaluate the records and determine the cause and extent of a birth injury.
A Detroit birth injury attorney from Michigan Injury Lawyers can obtain your medical records and refer to a medical expert to build your case. Our legal team has decades of experience successfully arguing personal injury cases, including birth injury claims. Let Michigan Injury Lawyers fight for the fair compensation you and your family deserve.
Do you still have questions? We want to help. Contact us today or dial (888) 454-0801 to schedule a free consultation, and we’ll make sure all of your important questions are answered.