Birth Injury Lawyer | #1 Birth Injury Law Firm

Contact a Birth Injury Lawyer from TorHoerman Law

The birth of a child is a major event.

For many people, their child’s birth is an exciting, joyful time spent with family and friends.

While successful childbirth is expected, incidences of birth injury can occur.

A birth injury is physical damage that a baby suffers before, during, or soon after the labor and delivery process.

Also referred to as birth trauma, birth injuries can occur naturally or in instances of medical malpractice.

Most birth injuries are minor and resolve over time, but some can be more serious and cause lifelong damage.

If your child suffered a birth injury, you may be entitled to compensation to offset the costs of the injury through a birth injury lawsuit.

Contact a birth injury lawyer at TorHoerman Law to discuss your options today.

What Is a Birth Injury Lawyer?  

Birth injury lawyers are a subgroup of personal injury lawyers that specifically work on obtaining justice for newborns affected by preventable injuries.

Birth injuries can have a significant and lasting impact on the lives of children and their families.

In many cases, victims of birth injuries may need long-term or lifelong care to manage their symptoms.

Covering the cost of this care is a serious problem for many families.

Caring for people with special needs can be expensive, and many families with special needs children identify the cost of care as a financial burden.

This is where birth injury lawyers come in.

Experienced attorneys can fight for compensation on behalf of injured newborns and their families and help ensure that any negligent healthcare workers are held accountable for their malpractice.

In many instances, birth injury lawyers can win substantial compensation for the families of injured newborns, which they can use to cover the cost of their child’s care and improve their lives.

What Types of Cases Do Birth Injury Lawyers Handle?

Birth injuries can take on many different forms and be caused by a variety of factors.

The following are among the most common birth injuries:

Brachial Palsy

Brachial palsy results from damage to a child’s brachial plexus, the network of nerves controlling the arms and hands.

The injury occurs when there are issues delivering the child’s shoulder through the birth canal.

Babies suffering from brachial palsy cannot flex or rotate the injured arm.

Brachial palsy is typically treatable within a few months of birth with special physical therapies and exercises.

In instances where the nerves are damaged, the injury can be permanent.

About 1 or 2 of every 1,000 babies has this condition.

Bruising and Forceps Marks

Skull and facial bruising can occur when the baby naturally passes through the birth canal or comes in contact with the mother’s tissues and pelvic bones.

Babies delivered with forceps or by vacuum extraction might also suffer from bruises, marks, or lacerations.

Caput Succedaneum

Caput succedaneum refers to the swelling of the scalp’s soft tissues.

Caput develops when the baby moves through the birth canal and is often combined with scalp bruising.

The swelling typically diminishes naturally within a few days.

Caput is more likely to occur during vacuum extraction.

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is a developmental disorder that can affect movement and muscular development.

It’s caused by damage to the motor cortex, the part of the brain responsible for muscle control and coordination.

Children with cerebral palsy often struggle with walking, balance, maintaining posture, and fine motor skills.

Cerebral palsy is the most common motor disability in young children.

Approximately 500,000 children and adults are affected by cerebral palsy with up to 8,000 babies and 1,500 young children diagnosed annually.

Certain children are at greater risk of developing cerebral palsy at birth, including those born prematurely, newborns with low birth weight, cases of extended or difficult labor, newborns with meningitis or another brain infection, or in cases of fetal distress.

Cephalohematoma

Cephalohematoma is bleeding between the skull bone and its fibrous outer layer.

The injury typically appears as a lump on the baby’s head within a few hours of birth.

Cephalohematoma usually goes away naturally when the body reabsorbs the blood, a process that can take up to three months.

In instances where the bleeding is severe, babies can develop jaundice while the red blood cells break down

Facial Paralysis

Pressure on the baby’s face during childbirth can damage the nerves and cause facial paralysis.

This can occur naturally or when forceps are used during delivery.

Paralysis from a bruised nerve typically heals itself within a few weeks.

In more severe cases where the facial nerve is torn, surgical intervention might be necessary.

Fractures

The clavicle and collarbone are the most common bones to fracture during childbirth.

The bones are susceptible to breaking during breech deliveries or when there are issues delivering the baby’s shoulder.

Newborns with fractured clavicles or collarbones typically heal quickly as new bone forms.

Subconjunctival Hemorrhaging

Subconjunctival hemorrhaging refers to bleeding from small blood vessels in the eye’s outer layer.

Babies with subconjunctival hemorrhaging often have a bright red band showing in the white section of one or both of their eyes.

The hemorrhaging typically does not cause eye damage and heals itself within seven to ten days.

Traumatic Birth

Traumatic birth refers to instances of labor that cause physical and psychological damage to the child or mother.

This encompasses deliveries involving complications, death, or the use of instruments in difficult labor.

Some studies have shown that up to one-third of women experience a traumatic birth of some sort.

Traumatic Birth PTSD

Mothers who endure complications during childbirth, whether from natural issues or improper medical care, can experience postnatal post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

PTSD is an anxiety disorder caused by stressful events that are often re-lived through flashbacks and nightmares.

Postnasal PTSD sufferers experience various symptoms such as feelings of fear and helplessness, overwhelming memories, depression, nightmares, mood swings, and even feelings of rejection towards their child.

Can Traumatic Birth Cause a Birth Injury?

Problems during labor and delivery can lead to numerous complications for the baby.

Natural complications and delivery malpractice can damage a newborn’s nervous system and physiological structure.

A traumatic birth can result in long and short-term complications and birth injuries.

Potential labor issues include:

• False labor prior to real labor
• Premature membrane ruptures or leakage
• Drastic reduction in child’s heartbeat
• Medication-accelerated labor
• Umbilical cord around the baby’s neck
• Very long or short delivery times
• Cesarean section
• Epidural anesthetics
• Vacuum or forceps extraction
• Severe slowing or stopping of contractions

Birth Trauma and Developmental Delays

Many children experiencing developmental delays such as autism and attention deficit disorder underwent a traumatic birth.

Damage to the brain and nervous system during birth can hinder the growth of cognitive and physiological functioning.

Traumatic birth and developmental delays manifest as many forms of cerebral dysfunction.

What Causes Cerebral Palsy at Birth?

Cerebral palsy occurs when the cells in the brain responsible for muscular control and movement fail to develop properly or are damaged through injury.

Certain children are at greater risk of developing cerebral palsy at birth, including those born prematurely, newborns with low birth weight, cases of extended or difficult labor, newborns with meningitis or another brain infection, or in cases of fetal distress.

There are four primary cases in which cerebral palsy occurs:

1. Prenatal Brain Cell Migration Disturbances

The cells of developing fetuses differentiate and move to form new cells.

If the process is disrupted, numerous neurological issues can develop.

2. Deficient Prenatal Nerve Cell Myelination

Myelin serves as protective insulation for the body’s nervous system cells.

If the body fails to produce adequate levels of myelin during fetal development, nerve cells remain unprotected and can become damaged.

3. Perinatal Brain Cell Death

A child’s brain cells can die off during labor as a result of blood loss or asphyxia (suffocation).

Brain cell death is most common in difficult deliveries, instances of late-pregnancy fetal distress, and emergency births.

4. Postnatal Synapse Dysfunction

Brain injury sustained soon after birth can hinder synaptic functioning.

Cases in which non-functional or inappropriate synapses occur include trauma, asphyxia, and brain infections.

Common Causes of Birth Injuries

A birth injury can occur due to natural labor processes or medical negligence.

Birth injuries occur most often during the child’s transit through the birth canal.

They are more common when labor is long or intensive, the birth happens prematurely, the baby is very large, or when devices such as a vacuum or forceps are used.

Natural Labor and Delivery

Newborns can suffer physical injuries during birth that are not due to medical malpractice.

This is often because of the size of the baby or its position during labor. Conditions that can make birth difficult and possibly cause birth injury include:

• Extended or difficult labor or childbirth;
• The disproportionate shape of the mother’s pelvis;
• The baby weighing over 8 pounds, 13 ounces;
• Premature birth, when babies are born before 37 weeks and have more fragile bodies;
• Breech presentation, when the baby is born buttocks first.

Medical Negligence

Some birth injuries occur due to improper delivery and medical malpractice.

When medical professionals fail to take proper caution, miss a diagnosis, or make mistakes during delivery, the child can suffer.

Medical negligence that can cause birth injuries includes:

• Improper prenatal care;
• Contagions in the birth room;
• Delayed treatment;
• Vital signs not being monitored;
• Improper use of pharmaceutical intervention;
• Negligent vacuum or forceps extraction.

Filing a Birth Injury Lawsuit

Before filing a birth injury lawsuit, you should familiarize yourself with the civil litigation process so that you know what to expect from your birth injury lawsuit.

You should also mitigate further injury by seeking additional medical attention for the child and following all orders from doctors and/or healthcare providers.

After finding an experienced birth injury lawyer, you will begin the process of filing a birth injury lawsuit.

Your lawyer will help you to collect evidence to support your claim.

The evidence will be used to determine damages that you are entitled to — you may decide to demand both compensatory damages and punitive damages, depending on the specifics of your child’s birth injury.

Determining Liability in a Birth Injury Lawsuit

To win a birth injury lawsuit, you will need to establish liability and determine who is at fault for your child’s injuries.

Liability in a birth injury lawsuit depends on the facts specific to each case.

The individual or party whose negligence either directly or indirectly caused your child’s injury will be held liable.

The organization and any medical professional on the delivery team can be held liable if it is found that they were negligent, including:

• Physicians;
• Hospitals;
• Nurses;
• Midwives;
• Anesthesiologists;
• Emergency medical team members.

If your case goes to trial, you and your attorney will need to prove negligence in order to establish liability.

To do this, you must show that the physician or other defendant deviated from the acceptable and expected standard of care.

This will often require careful research and the testimony of expert witnesses to explain the defendants’ misconduct to the jury.

Benefits of Hiring a Birth Injury Lawyer

A birth injury can cause lasting damage to a child and family’s life.

The experience can be emotionally distressing and financially taxing for the family while the child suffers permanent damage.

In many cases, healthcare providers will do what they can to defend themselves from liability, and obtaining compensation from the responsible party will require substantial time and effort.

Hiring an experienced birth injury lawyer can help you navigate the complexity of your case, hold negligent parties responsible for their actions, and ensure that you and your family are fairly compensated for your child’s healthcare costs.

Choosing a Birth Injury Lawyer

Handling a birth injury lawsuit can be difficult. At TorHoerman Law, we understand the emotional and financial toll it can have on you and your family.

Our team of experienced birth injury lawyers will work with you to help you navigate legal challenges and receive compensation for your suffering.

We are happy to discuss your potential birth injury lawsuit for free and with no obligation.

Contact us today to learn more about how a TorHoerman birth injury lawyer can help you.

Hiring a personal injury attorney to represent you in your birth injury lawsuit is the best way to ensure a positive outcome for you and your family.

Filing a Birth Injury Lawsuit

Before filing a birth injury lawsuit, you should familiarize yourself with the civil litigation process, so that you know what to expect for your birth injury lawsuit.

You should also mitigate further injury by seeking additional medical attention for the child and following all orders from doctors and/or healthcare providers.

After finding an experienced birth injury lawyer, you will begin the process of filing a birth injury lawsuit.

Your lawyer will help you to collect evidence to support your claim.

The evidence will be used to determine damages that you are entitled to – you may decide to demand both compensatory damages and punitive damages, depending on the specifics of your child’s birth injury.

Your birth injury lawyer will also help to determine the appropriate amount of compensation you should demand.

You will also need to establish liability, and determine who is at fault for your child’s injuries.

In many birth injury lawsuits, the hospital, the doctor, or other healthcare providers are liable. Sometimes, more than one party is held liable.

Your birth injury lawyer will also be able to help you determine the liable party.

Do not hesitate to contact a birth injury lawyer.

In many states, the statute of limitations for birth injury lawsuits is very strict. So, it is important to file as soon as possible.

TorHoerman Law - Your Birth Injury Law Firm

At TorHoerman Law, we have a team of experienced personal injury lawyers ready to handle any birth injury lawsuit.

We offer free, no-obligation birth injury lawsuit case consultations for all potential clients.

Contact a birth injury lawyer from TorHoerman Law to talk about your case.

You can also use the chatbot on this page to see if you qualify for a Birth Injury Lawsuit instantly. 

We also work on a contingency fee basis, so we are as committed as you are to seek the best possible outcome for your birth injury lawsuit.