When you hear a loved one or family member has given birth, you’ll undoubtedly have many questions. How is she doing? How is the baby doing? Most often, you will be relieved to hear that both mother and baby are doing well, and hopefully, the labor was mercifully short, like a sprint to the finish line, rather than long and exhausting, like an epic marathon.
Sometimes, however, there are unanticipated obstacles that affect the mother’s health or newborn, and we are shocked to know that not all is well. And often, these problems are due to prolonged, complicated, or otherwise traumatic labor. A birth injury can happen during pregnancy, childbirth, or immediately following delivery. Some injuries are unavoidable, while others are preventable and may be connected to a medical provider’s negligent action or inaction that violated the standard of care and resulted in serious harm.
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Many different sorts of birth injuries can occur during the delivery process if the labor is too long or poor technique or methods cause trauma. Shoulder dystocia, for example, happens when the baby’s shoulders become stuck behind the mother’s pelvic bone. Suppose medical practitioners do not act quickly to attempt a variety of techniques to facilitate the birth. In that case, a newborn’s brachial plexus (the network of nerves between the neck and shoulders) may become stretched and permanently damaged.
Personal Injury & Birth Injury Case Results
In exceptional cases, shoulder dystocia affects a newborn’s access to oxygen and causes brain damage. In different cases, as medical practitioners work to remove the baby with extraction tools, trauma may cause a spinal cord injury. A newborn who has sustained a severe birth injury begins life with much uncertainty. The extent of the damage may not immediately be visible, and as the child grows, she or her loved ones may face many challenges due to associated disabilities.
Reviews of Our Birth Injury Lawyers
It can be upsetting to learn that your child has been damaged due to improper medical care, and you may not know where to turn or what to do to get him the attention he requires. Our birth injury lawyers in Fort Myers are ready to assist you in seeking compensation and damages for the injuries caused. Our experienced birth injury attorneys will use their deep understanding of the medical system to advise you on your legal choices, facilitate the types of testing and assessments that can enhance your claim, and assist you in obtaining resources for rehabilitation and disability management.
If you or a loved one has gone through painful labor and you feel a medical professional’s negligence caused a birth injury, know that our legal team is on your side and by your side while you seek the compensation you deserve for your pain, suffering, and loss. For a free consultation, call us right now at (800)-560-5059. We’ll listen to your tale with empathy, kindness, and compassion and offer the kind of assistance that shows we realize how emotionally draining this journey can be.
Client Testimonials
9160 Forum Corporate Parkway #350, Fort Myers
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This was my first time in a car accident. Being hit by another motorist, I was completely lost as to what would be fair with regards to the insurance companies,so I contacted Steinger, Greene & Feiner. In short, they were incredible, … More and I am so glad that I made the call. They remained available with immediate answers to any questions throughout the process, provided fantastic direction with each step, and helped secure a resolution far beyond what I would have thought possible. I highly recommend them! -
Barry Chenman came very highly recommended, my first call to the Law Firm I immediately got a response through FaceTime, Barry took the time to listen to my concerns and questions he is a knowledgeable and professional individual I … More am very pleased and will recommend to friends and family.
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I only have positive things to say. They were so easy to work with. Resolved issue quickly. Gretchen Dore was great, as was everyone else. Gretchen responded rapidly to my questions and/or concerns. Thank you so much.
Steinger, Greene & Feiner’s Team of Birth Injury Lawyers
Our firm is a recognized injury law firm with experience in birth injury claims. Our birth injury lawyers have years of experience handling serious injury claims throughout Fort Myers. As of date, we have recovered more than $1 million for our clients. We understand that every birth injury case is unique, and that’s why we have the best lawyers to fight your case and guarantee the highest chance of your win. If your child sustained severe birth injuries because of a delivery room doctor or other health care provider’s negligence, you might be eligible for monetary compensation. Our firm’s experienced birth injury attorneys are ready and willing to litigate your case and represent your interests in court if required. If the case doesn’t reach court, our lawyers will try to get the maximum amount of settlement from the person liable for your child’s accident. For a free consultation with a birth injury attorney, please call us today at (800)-560-5059.
Most Common Questions Asked About Birth Injury Lawsuits
What Is a Birth Injury Lawyer?
Birth injury lawyers support parents who have been harmed by preventable birth injuries in obtaining legal justice. Birth injuries are regarded as a subcategory of personal injury law. Unlike other types of harm (such as vehicle accidents), birth injuries might take months or years to emerge. Furthermore, with proper medical care, many severe birth injuries could have been avoided. Parents never expect their children to be harmed during childbirth. And, while some birth injuries are minor, others can leave children permanently crippled. Attorneys for birth injury victims can file a lawsuit against the doctors or nurses who delivered the baby. Then you can file the case within the appropriate court of law. After filing the claim, the essential task is to collect Gather supporting evidence, including witness testimonies and medical records. The financial compensation you’ll get can cover medical costs for a child’s birth injury treatment. Many birth injury cases give millions of dollars to parents suffering from the effects of birth injuries.
Could You Have Prevented Your Child’s Birth Injury?
While each situation is different, proper medical care could have prevented some birth injuries. Medical personnel has years, if not decades, of expertise with childbirth. They should be aware of ways to avoid birth injuries and the possibly deadly conditions resulting from them. Unfortunately, healthcare personnel makes completely preventable errors that result in birth injuries. It could be considered medical malpractice if this occurs.
What is Medical Malpractice?
A little medication error is not the same as medical malpractice. Doctors are educated to deliver the best possible care to their patients. Birth injuries are more likely when healthcare providers are irresponsible in their care. Families may face unexpected financial and emotional hardships as a result of birth injuries. Birth injury attorneys can assist families in seeking legal redress and monetary recompense through settlements.
How Can a Birth Injury Attorney Help?
Attorneys for birth injury victims file lawsuits against medical workers who were negligent in their treatment. Your lawyers will gather personal recollections, medical data, and other facts to build your birth injury claim. Lawyers will file a birth injury lawsuit on your behalf and work to win you and your family the financial recompense you deserve if you have a case.
Financial compensation may be used to cover the costs of in-home care, drugs, surgery, therapy and rehabilitation, and other expenses (such as emotional damages, pain, and suffering). Filing a lawsuit without the assistance of a lawyer is a time-consuming and challenging task. Receiving compensation becomes even harder, as simple mistakes may cause your case to be delayed or rejected. Working with our birth injury lawyer can make the legal process easier so you can focus on your child’s medical care.
When should I hire a lawyer?
Once a birth injury is diagnosed, and you believe that medical negligence could be to blame, you should contact our lawyer in Fort Myers. You may only have a limited time to file a medical malpractice case. Every state has regulations limiting how long a person has to file a claim. Statutes of limitations are what they’re called, and they differ from one state to the next. The majority of birth injury claims must be brought within a few years of discovering the injury. If you do not file within the statutes of limitations in your state, you will lose your opportunity to pursue a lawsuit permanently. The best way to learn about statutes of limitations in your state is by consulting with an experienced lawyer. Birth injury attorneys at our law firms know the statute of limitations of Fort Myers. It is essential to work with our experienced attorney to help you determine the best time to take legal action.
How long will a birth injury lawyer work on my claim?
Our Birth injury attorneys will work on your case from start to finish, and there is no time limit on their services. While one lawsuit could conclude after a few months, another could take several years. Our birth injury lawyer will try to resolve your case as quickly as possible and update you on the case progress.
What kind of compensation could I expect?
The amount of payment (compensation) you may be entitled to be determined by the nature of the case and the circumstances surrounding it. While the amounts vary by instance, some birth injury claims result in multimillion-dollar settlements. Although a birth injury lawyer from our business cannot guarantee a specific case value, they will do everything possible to maximize your compensation to cover medical costs.
Stages of Birth Injury Lawsuits
Proving a birth injury lawsuit can be an uphill battle in some circumstances. Therefore, if you pursue such a claim, get a knowledgeable and experienced birth injury attorney on your side every step of the way.
- In a birth injury claim, the person filing the lawsuit, otherwise known as the plaintiff, has the legal burden of proof. The defendant, the delivery room doctor, or another healthcare provider who assisted or performed the birth, is not required to prove anything. Instead, you bear the entire legal burden of proof. To meet the required burden of proof, your legal team must show that the delivery room healthcare providers (doctors and nurses who participated in or assisted with the child’s birth) breached—or violated—the doctor’s duty of care to the mother and her child.
- On a case-by-case basis, we must identify violations of the duty of care. A breach of this responsibility usually entails acting irrationally in the circumstances. For example, a delivery room healthcare provider may have made a mistake when using an instrument during the delivery process, or they may have waited too long to deliver the child, denying him the oxygen he required to breathe properly.
- In general, expert testimony will be necessary to prove that medical malpractice or carelessness happened. An impartial health care practitioner must typically analyze all relevant documentation and assess if malpractice or failure happened with a fair degree of medical certainty. To effectively prove their case in a birth injury trial, the plaintiff will need to present evidence in the form of doctor testimony.
- In addition to showing a breach of the standard of care, medical testimony must show that the violation caused the birth harm that the child is suffering from. The plaintiff may be able to get various harms as part of a birth injury claim or lawsuit. For example, if the family incurred medical expenses to repair or minimize the impacts of the birth damage, they may obtain compensation for those expenses. Furthermore, if the child born with birth damage will require lifelong medical care and other sorts of care, money may be available. In the end, the plaintiff might pursue and get compensation for the pain and suffering that his child suffered.
Our birth injury attorneys can help you retain an expert for your birth injury case and assemble all necessary documentation. Suppose the healthcare provider’s malpractice insurance carrier offers to settle the birth injury case. In that case, your lawyer can negotiate with the insurance company on your behalf and seek a fair settlement offer. Settlement negotiations can take a long time in many circumstances because insurance companies prefer to pay little money as possible for a birth injury lawsuit, even if it is serious. We can help you decide whether to accept or reject a particular settlement offer as your legal representative. Suppose you decline the insurance company’s top offer. In that case, your attorney could litigate your case in court, represent you in mediation, or arbitrate your claim before a neutral, third-party arbitrator to pursue the compensation that you and your child deserve.