Tucson Birth Injury Lawyer
Having a child is a special moment for parents. While most infants are born with minimal to zero complications, some suffer severe injuries before or during birth. Unfortunately, these birth injuries can leave a child with a physical or a mental disability requiring costly life-long treatment. In some cases, mothers also sustain birth-related injuries.
While the birthing process can be hard for newborns and mothers, with the potential for injuries, some birth injuries are due to negligence and improper care by healthcare providers. Accordingly, the law entitles you to compensation for birth injuries due to medical malpractice or negligence. However, birth injury is a specialized medical malpractice, and damage recovery is often complex.
A skilled Tucson birth injury attorney can help you navigate the complex legal process and obtain the compensation you need and deserve.
Common Birth Injuries and Complications
Doctors, nurses, midwives, and other healthcare professionals in the delivery room must exercise reasonable care to avoid injuring mothers and infants before or during birth. Some of the most common birth injuries that can occur due to negligent actions during delivery include:
- Cerebral palsy
- Brachial palsy
- Congenital heart defects
- Permanent brain damage
- Spinal cord injuries
- Broken or fractured bones
Besides birth injuries to newborns, mothers may also sustain injuries during birth, including:
- Vaginal tears
- Uterine bleeding
- Preeclampsia or high blood pressure.
Causes of Birth Injuries
While birth injuries can happen in many ways, they often occur due to incompetence or medical negligence. Some of the negligent causes of birth injuries and defects include:
- Failure to monitor and recognize signs of fetal distress
- Failure to perform a necessary cesarean section
- Failure to recognize or treat fetal oxygen deprivation
- Improper use of delivery instruments like forceps and vacuum extractors
- Failure to recognize and treat maternal infections
- Improper use of labor-inducing drugs
- Use of excessive or unnecessary force on the child as they exit the birth canal
Recovering Damages in a Birth Injury Lawsuit
Birth injuries can leave newborns requiring expensive long-term treatment; hence birth injury malpractice cases can award millions of dollars to victims. Considering the lucrative nature of these cases, insurance companies may try to reduce the compensation due to victims. Families might also have to deal with intense pressure from healthcare providers to settle or dismiss the case.
Birth injury lawsuits also involve unique legal concepts like separate legal claims for parents and the injured child. Essentially, the parent and the child can recover separate and different damages from the same medical malpractice lawsuit. A parent can recover damages for the cost of raising the child, including future medical expenses, until the child is 18.
The injured child can recover damages for lost future earnings and medical expenses after turning 18. While a child may still be able to pursue a birth injury claim by filing a lawsuit within 2 years or their 18th birthday, a parent has a maximum of just two years after birth to pursue their legal claims as per Arizona’s statute of limitations.
Damage recovery may also involve multiple defendants where victims can recover damages from health care professionals and the hospital. Birth injury malpractice lawsuits are complex and often require specialized legal representation. A skilled birth injury lawyer will help you gather the necessary evidence for medical negligence, including working with required expert witnesses.
Contact a Tucson Birth Injury Lawyer
If you or a loved one is a victim of a birth-related injury in Tucson, AZ, you can contact Barry Bellovin of the Bellovin Law Firm, PLLC. Mr. Bellovin has experience dealing with medical malpractice cases and understands the impact such injuries can have on victims and their families. He is committed to offering the legal support you need while helping you get maximum compensation for your birth-related injuries. Contact him today to schedule a free consultation.
