Miami Birth Injury Attorney

Let Us Help You Fight Back Against Negligent Medical Providers

The term “birth injuries” encompasses a wide variety of injuries that happen during pregnancy, the delivery of a baby, or shortly after a baby’s birth.

Some of the injuries are relatively minor and can resolve on their own. Other birth injuries can cause a lifetime of physical, cognitive, or behavioral disabilities that require extensive and specialized medical care. In some cases, birth injuries can be fatal. Birth injuries of any severity occur in approximately 3% of births.

Unfortunately, birth injury cases are often poorly investigated by negligent health providers, which results in delayed treatment and increased risk to both mother and child.

If you believe your child has been injured due to poor prenatal care, inadequate labor management practices, or negligent post-birth care, the Miami birth injury lawyers at Kaire & Heffernan are here for you. Our attorneys can help you explore all avenues regarding seeking compensation for you or your child’s injuries stemming from birth trauma.

Birth Injury Causes

Birth injuries occur when medical professionals fail to recognize warning signs early enough or when they respond inadequately to those signs. Injuries can also occur when healthcare providers are negligent or make mistakes during or after the birthing process.

In some cases, preventable birth injuries may stem from a failure of hospitals to provide adequate staffing levels or an overabundance of midwives and physicians working against each other.

While parents sometimes blame themselves for birth injuries, many such injuries are the result of medical malpractice or medical negligence. Obstetricians, doctors in other medical specialties, and nurses are responsible for monitoring the  progress and health of pregnant women and their babies during pregnancy.

If a medical professional fails to provide this basic level of care, he or she may be guilty of medical negligence. That negligence during pregnancy or delivery can cause your baby and your family hardship throughout life.

If you suspect medical negligence caused your child’s injury, you may be entitled to receive compensation for medical expenses, pain and suffering, emotional distress, lost wages, future medical costs, and more.

Filing birth injury lawsuits can be complex so it is vital that you retain an experienced personal injury attorney who will fight for you and your family. 

Birth Injuries Symptoms

Many birth injuries do not present symptoms right away. In fact, some birth injuries only show up years later when they have already caused significant damage to brain development or other body systems.

Many children who suffer birth injuries have no outward signs whatsoever until they start to severely affect their lives. Some of the common symptoms of birth injuries include:

• Delayed motor development
• Lack of depth perception
• Muscle spasms
• Paralysis
• Poor balance
• Poor coordination

Common Birth Injuries

Brachial Plexus Injury

The brachial plexus is a bundle of nerves located between the shoulder and neck. These nerves control the arm, the hand, and the fingers. Brachial plexus injuries are caused when too much force is used during a vaginal delivery with shoulder dystocia (a condition in which the baby’s shoulder is wedged behind the mother’s pubic bone). A condition called Erb’s palsy is a common form of brachial plexus injury. Serious forms of Erb’s palsy can be permanent and can paralyze the upper body, inhibit arm movement, cause limpness, and cause a lack of muscle control.

Spinal Cord Injury

Excessive traction or excessive rotation of the baby during a vaginal delivery can injure the baby’s spinal cord. Babies in the breech position are especially at risk of spinal cord injuries; therefore, these babies are normally delivered by cesarean section for their safety. A spinal cord injury can result in stillbirth or death shortly after delivery due to respiratory failure. Survivors may suffer permanent and severe disabilities. Often, spasticity develops later and can be misdiagnosed as cerebral palsy.

Broken Bones

A broken collarbone is the most common type of fracture sustained during delivery. If your baby suffered a broken collarbone during delivery, he or she should also be checked for spinal cord and brachial plexus injuries.

Skull fractures can occur during delivery either by the misuse of forceps or a vacuum extractor, but can also result from dropping the baby immediately after delivery. Skull fractures are serious and can lead to other birth injuries, such as brain injuries.

Other Types of Birth Injuries

The following list indicates some of the other common types of birth injuries:

• Birth asphyxia
• Bleeding below the scalp
• Bleeding inside the skull
• Brain injuries
• Breech birth
• Bruising from forceps
• Cerebral palsy
• Excessive bleeding
• Facial nerve injuries
• Fetal stroke
• Hematomas
• Hypoxia
• Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy
• Infections
• Jaundice
• Meconium aspiration
• Muscle tears during delivery
• Neonatal hypoglycemia (low blood sugar)
• Neurological injuries
• Paralysis
• Prolapsed umbilical cord
• Seizures
• Skin irritation
• Soft tissue injury
• Spasticity
• Wrongful birth

File a Birth Injury Lawsuit

If you believe your child suffered birth injuries, you may be able to file a medical malpractice lawsuit against the hospital where your child was born or against the healthcare workers involved.

Your attorney will investigate whether your case has merit and help you decide if filing a suit is worth it. The more evidence you have about how your child was injured, the stronger your birth injury claim will be.

Contact Florida Birth Injury Lawyers

Please don’t wait until your child’s injuries get worse and become permanent. Contact an experienced birth injury lawyer from Kaire & Heffernan immediately to obtain compensation for your family’s suffering and get funding for any ongoing medical care. Call our office today at 866-769-0123 or contact us online to set up a free consultation.