Having a baby should be one of the greatest moments of your life. However, injuries sustained during birth can be life-changing, not just for your newly arrived infant but also for you, the parents. It is your legal right to seek compensation for the injuries and suffering caused by medical mistakes.
The attorneys at Michigan Injury Lawyers are here to advise you when your child suffers injuries during birth. We have successfully helped many parents throughout Michigan file claims seeking compensation for medical malpractice during the birth of their child.
Recovering compensation may be the last thing on your mind, but you need to ensure that your child has the financial means to meet all of their ongoing medical and care costs for the rest of their lives. Our lawyers can help you take the first steps in evaluating your case and handle any claim on your behalf.
Please reach out to our Michigan Birth Injury Attorneys directly to discuss a possible claim for your child’s birth injury.
Hospitals Where Birth Injuries Might Happen
Expectant mothers in Michigan have many options for their maternal care, including labor and delivery. Even though someone chooses a top-rated hospital or birthing center, mistakes can happen, and serious injuries can result.
Some Michigan hospitals where your child might suffer a birth injury include:
- University of Michigan Health-Ann Arbor
- Beaumont Hospital
- McLaren Greater Lansing Hospital
- Family Birth Center at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital
- Ascension Providence Hospital
- Von Voigtlander Women’s Hospital
When you trust a facility for your care and devastating injuries result, you can hold the facility and its medical professionals liable for your losses.
The Extent of Birth Injuries in the United Status
About 3.6 million infants enter the world in the U.S. each year, and about seven out of every 1,000 infants suffer birth injuries. That means more than 25,000 birth injuries affect children and families each year.
Several factors can increase the risk of birth injuries and trauma, including large babies weighing over 9.9 pounds and assisted deliveries using instruments such as forceps or vacuums. Often, children overcome injuries and lead a normal happy life. However, some are not so lucky and will suffer long-lasting and sometimes severe cognitive health problems, requiring a lifetime of care and treatment.
Cases involving birth trauma can often be complex, covering numerous medical and legal issues. There can be many determining factors for compensation, such as whether doctors considered risk factors before and during the delivery. Always seek legal advice to ensure your child has proper representation and that your family receives full compensation for all injuries.
Birth-Related Injuries and Trauma
Problems during labor and delivery can result in a baby suffering trauma or experiencing oxygen deprivation (hypoxia). Oxygen deprivation can cause severe brain damage, while trauma can result in many other injuries and conditions. It is important to note that birth injuries are not the same as birth defects due to genetic faults during pregnancy or conditions the child inherited from the parents.
Injuries caused at birth often result from something going wrong during labor and delivery.
These injuries and traumas can include:
- Cerebral palsy
- Brachial plexus injuries which cause Erb’s Palsy or Klumpke’s Palsy
- Brain damage
- Broken bones
- Bleeding/hemorrhaging in the brain
- Spinal cord injuries
- Facial paralysis
- Perinatal asphyxia
Compensation is not only available for injuries to the baby but also for medical complications that affect the mother. These can include failure to diagnose the condition preeclampsia or to control excessive blood loss during delivery. There can also be many other red flags during labor and after birth, such as a low APGAR score, the infant needing intensive medical treatment, or failing to fulfill normal development milestones.
In such cases, always consult with a lawyer experienced in birth trauma cases in Michigan to determine if your doctor or hospital was negligent and caused your baby’s injuries.
How is Fault Determined in Birth Injury Cases?
Cases of birth injuries and trauma can occur when the doctor or care provider responsible for the care of the mother and baby fails to live up to their obligations. Doctors may be legally responsible if their actions were negligent, and families can prove the negligence was the direct cause of the baby’s injuries. You can hold hospitals and clinics liable if the actions of their staff or their policies relating to labor and delivery injured you or your baby.
Determining whether or not a doctor acted negligently during labor and delivery requires comparing their actions with what a reasonable physician with similar expertise should have done in the same situation. If their level of care fell short of what patients should reasonably expect, you may have the basis of a claim for medical negligence.
Possible negligence and mistakes on the physician’s behalf can include:
- Failing to monitor the mother and baby for signs of fetal distress, or failing to identify fetal distress.
- Failing to diagnose the symptoms of preeclampsia and maternal diabetes, which can affect the well-being of mother and baby before and during labor.
- Allowing labor to progress too slowly or letting it go on too long.
- Improperly administering labor-inducing drugs, such as Pitocin.
- Improper or aggressive use of forceps or vacuums
- Failing to respond quickly and correctly to the infant becoming stuck in the birth canal (shoulder dystocia).
If you suspect negligence occurred, you should have an independent medical expert evaluate your baby’s medical records to confirm your suspicions. An attorney from Michigan Injury Lawyers can help you obtain your medical records and find an expert to testify in a medical malpractice claim.
Speak With a Michigan Birth Injury Attorney Right Away
Your child’s health and future are your priorities, and you should always stand up for your rights following a preventable birth injury. Seek a case evaluation to know whether you have a possible medical malpractice claim for your infant’s injuries.
Our Michigan personal injury lawyers are experienced negotiators and litigators, so we can offer a strong chance of settling your claim or succeeding in court. We will work to ensure that you and your child receive fair compensation for all injuries and losses sustained, and we will stand up for your rights.
Contact Michigan Injury Lawyers for your free consultation at (888) 454-0801 and find out how we can help.
Michigan Birth Injury Lawyer