Georgia Birth Injury Attorney
Was your child injured at birth?
Whenever a baby is born with a handicap, it is a time for sorrow. Sometimes, it is also a warning sign that further investigation is necessary. When a birth injury occurs - such as Erb's palsy, cerebral palsy, or oxygen deprivation resulting in stillbirth - it is sometimes the result of negligence by the healthcare providers. Our Cumming personal injury attorney understands the need to pursue compensation for the injured child, as well as to help the parents who will care for the child. Pursuing these types of medical malpractice claims also helps to hold careless medical providers accountable for their actions, and will hopefully prevent similar injuries from happening to others in the future.
The Manton Law Firm, LLC offers personal service and attentive evaluation to the families of babies who have suffered a birth injury. Sometimes, doctors may recognize the injury at birth; in other cases, the parents are the first to notice signs and symptoms that point to an injury that occurred during labor or delivery. The symptoms may not manifest until days, weeks or months have passed. An experienced injury lawyer can help you discover the facts necessary to determine whether preventable medical negligence may be the reason for your child's birth injury.
Different Types of Birth Injuries
The severity of a birth injury should always be considered drastic but the symptoms can greatly differentiate. In many cases, the impact of the doctor's negligence is immediately known as the birth injury involves a physical deformity or harm. In others, it could take weeks, months, or even years before the harm becomes apparent, such as can be the case when the birth injury causes brain damage and prevents normal development, both mentally and emotionally.
The most common forms of birth injuries are:
- Brain injuries: The developing brain of an infant is incredibly fragile. Oxygen deprivation may occur in utero and requires adequate diagnoses from medical practitioners leading up to labor. Physical harm can occur during birth if the wrong birth-assisting equipment is used or the doctor is hasty.
- Physical injuries: Muscles, nerve bundles, and joints can easily be damaged permanently in a fast moment of carelessness at the hands of a doctor during labor and birth. Pulling or twisting a newborn in an attempt to complete the birth frequently causes brachial plexus or shoulder dystocia, which may lead to paralysis and fractures.
- Infections and illnesses: A mother who has an untreated infection or illness can pass the negative consequences of such ailments onto her child as it develops. It is up to doctors and nursing staff who diagnose the mother before birth to recognize how such complications could be affecting the developing fetus.
- Prescription side-effects: Just as how a mother's sickness can hurt her child in utero, so can the medications she takes to alleviate them. Doctors and pharmacists must not prescribe any drug or substance to a pregnant mother if it has a chance of hurting her child.
No matter what sort of injury your child has suffered, or when you were able to have it properly diagnosed, you should take legal action to do all you can to correct it. Medical attention and rehabilitation programs are likely to be costly and possibly require a lifetime of application. You should do all you can to ensure those expenses do not come from your own pocket when it was a medical practitioner's fault.
Find Out Whether You Have Grounds to Sue
Attorney Manton selects cases carefully to ensure that unique needs of each client are addressed. People who come to The Manton Law Firm, LLC for a free case evaluation can expect compassion, careful listening, honesty, and useful information. In the event that another attorney or law firm would best help serve the needs of a potential client of The Manton Law Firm, LLC, that advice will be clearly expressed as well.
Take the first step in your case by contacting us now.