Fort Lauderdale Birth Injury Attorney

Having a baby should be a joyous experience, unfortunately for thousands of families each year unexpected complications turn that joy into tragedy. As the CDC reported, the rate of serious complications during labor and delivery is on the rise and has increased as much as 75 percent over the past decade. In 2008 and 2009, there were 129 cases of severe injury or complications for every 10,000 women who gave birth in a hospital setting. These complications can cause devastation to mother and baby. When a mother or child is injured during childbirth, the doctor, hospital or healthcare provider may be held legally accountable for any mistakes that were made that caused the damage. A Fort Lauderdale birth injury attorney at Steinger, Greene & Feiner can provide guidance and advice to families affected by a birth injury and fight for their right to full and fair compensation for any losses incurred as a result of the injury.

How Do Birth Injuries Occur?

Doctors and other care providers must monitor both mother and baby carefully during pregnancy and after birth. Every care provider has an obligation to provide reasonably competent medical assistance to patients and when a doctor or hospital fails to do that, the outcome can be tragic. Unfortunately, there are many different types of mistakes that can be made both during the pregnancy process and during childbirth. Some of the common errors made by medical professionals caring for pregnant mothers that can lead to birth injuries include:

• Failure to diagnose problems during pregnancy that endanger mother or baby, such as preeclampsia or maternal infections like rubella or toxoplasmosis
• Failure to diagnose and respond promptly to signs of fetal distress such as a drop in the fetal heart rate during labor
• Failure to diagnose and respond promptly to problems with the mother’s health during labor, such as placental abruption
• Delay in ordering a necessary cesarean section
• Overuse or improper use of Pitocin, a drug designed to induce labor and help labor to progress
• Leaving jaundice untreated in an infant
• Aggressive use of the vacuum or forceps in extracting the baby

These are mistakes that no competent medical professionals should make. When one or more of these errors occur, the doctor or care provider can and should be held accountable for the consequences.

Relentless Legal Representation for Fort Lauderdale Injury Victims

A personal injury can occur in a variety of ways, but almost all have the same results in common. Suddenly, your life is disrupted and possibly jeopardized physically, emotionally, and financially by an accident or incident which could have been prevented.

Types of Birth Injuries

The consequences of a medical error can vary depending upon exactly what happened during the pregnancy and delivery. However, some of the most common birth injuries that result from medical negligence include:

• Cerebral palsy
• Erb’s palsy
• Shoulder dystocia
• Brain damage
• Bone and skull fractures
• Meconium aspiration
• Death

When a baby suffers a birth injury, it is often incurable and the child will be impaired for the rest of his or her life. Erb’s palsy, for example, can cause partial paralysis, muscle control problems and pain in the arm if the nerves of the brachial plexus are damaged. While there is surgical treatment to attempt to correct the problem, the child may never have full use of their arm.

Contact a Fort Lauderdale Birth Injury Lawyer

When a child suffers permanent impairment as a result of a birth injury, he or she may have a lifetime of medical bills and costs. The child deserves to be compensated for these expenses, as well as for lost income/wages, pain and suffering and emotional distress A Fort Lauderdale birth injury lawyer at Steinger, Greene & Feiner can help victims and families affected by birth injury to recover full compensation from the doctor or healthcare provider responsible. Give us a call or contact us online today to schedule your free consultation and learn how we can help you.

Proven Personal Injury Lawyers

A fair settlement is not what you can expect to receive from the insurance company. Their goal is to reduce payouts on claims so they can remain highly profitable. Our proven and committed legal team understands the tactics these companies regularly use to pay claimants as little as possible. We routinely battle their schemes in and out of court, and have developed effective methods for doing so.

With a legal team of more than 30 lawyers and more than 140 staff, including investigators and other assistants, we have the resources needed to get the job done efficiently. You can bring your personal injury case to us with confidence, knowing you will pay nothing until we recover the compensation you deserve. Throughout the entire case, we will be by your side, providing the guidance you need.