Birth Injury Lawyer in Philadelphia Pennsylvania
Are you looking for Birth Injury Lawyer in Philadelphia Pennsylvania, then this article will you to come out of this situation. It is always sad when a newborn baby suffers a life-changing injury, especially due to medical negligence.
You must contact a Philadelphia birth injury attorney immediately if your baby has been injured at birth.
The Villari firm has many medical malpractice attorneys who have successfully represented birth mothers who have gone through similar pains.
With the help of a medical injury attorney, you can get justice and compensation for your losses.
This can reduce your newborn baby’s medical expenses, prescriptions, and bills for necessary medical care.
Why Do You Need a Birth Injury Lawyer in Philadelphia?
It’s a classic David and Goliath story: parents and their injured children fighting against a powerful medical institution. Winning these cases requires the right team with the right skills and equipment.
Our medical malpractice attorneys at the Villari Firm are well-suited to help you get justice for your family.
There are many lawyers out there from many practice areas. However, our birth injury attorneys have dedicated their careers to personal injury, medical malpractice, and wrongful death actions. Our efforts have helped us recover more than $125 million for our clients and their families.
5 Benefits of Having an Injury Attorney
If you hire our Philadelphia birth injury attorney, here is what you can expect us to do for you:
Get vital records
Information is one of the most important tools for winning a case. Our skilled Philadelphia birth injury attorneys have the experience to gather relevant information efficiently.
We understand how to use insurance records, medical bills, and other data to demonstrate the extent of a child’s injuries and how the healthcare professional’s negligence affected them.
Serve as your legal representative
Hospitals and physicians usually have lawyers specializing in defending their interests in court.
With this type of conflict, you need someone with superior legal knowledge and trial experience to win your case.
Our experienced birth injury attorneys in Philadelphia can secure a judgment or settle a settlement to guarantee that injured babies receive the financial compensation they need to live the best life they can.
Work with medical professionals
One reason why you should work with our respected law firm for your birth injury claim is because of our access to an extensive network of medical professionals and experts.
An expert’s evidence is vital to proving a birth injury victim’s case at a trial. We will rely on a medical expert to define the relevant standard of care and demonstrate how a physician fell short of that standard.
Provide resources, sympathy, and empathy
After years of working for many families with injured children, we know how difficult it can be to find out that a doctor made a medical error that led to your child’s catastrophic injury.
We provide victims and their relatives with the information and resources they need to cope with this difficult time.
What is a birth injury?
A birth injury occurs during or shortly after delivery. Birth injuries range from mild, short-term injuries to chronic problems that require ongoing treatment.
Not all common birth injuries result from medical errors. Some babies are born with congenital conditions that can’t be blamed on doctors.
What could be the cause of birth injury?
- Medical personnel is not prepared for delivery.
- Medical providers ignore signs of distress or medical issues.
- A medical practitioner uses excessive force. For example, using forceps or other forceful instruments that could be harmful.
- Doctors, nurses, or midwives provide substandard treatment during labor and delivery.
- The baby’s brain does not get enough oxygen during labor and delivery.
- A larger-than-average baby is delivered vaginally.
- The head does not reach first.
What are the most common birth injuries in Philadelphia?
Birth injuries can cause permanent damage to the baby and the mother. These are some of the most common types of birth injuries:
Cerebral palsy
The most common effect of cerebral palsy is difficulty with movement and coordination. Care and treatment for the long-term effects of this condition can cost thousands of dollars.
Rh factor incompatibility
Rh factor incompatibility indicates that the mother’s and fetus’ blood types differ.
If the father is Rh-positive and the mother is Rh-negative, there is a chance that the fetus will inherit the father’s blood type rather than the mother’s.
The type of blood in the mother’s system will cause antibodies to attack the fetus’s red blood cells, causing various complications and possibly death.
Erb’s palsy
Erb’s palsy produces varying degrees of weakness in the shoulder, arm, and hand.
This results from putting too much stress on the baby’s head while pushing it out of the birth canal. Paralysis or weakness results from nerve injury in the “brachial plexus.”
The brachial plexus is a collection of nerve fibers between the shoulder and neck.
Pulling too hard on the baby’s head during birth can strain these nerves and, in extreme cases, separate them from the spine.
Shoulder dystocia
Shoulder dystocia occurs when one or both of the baby’s shoulders become trapped against the mother’s pubic bone, preventing normal delivery from progressing.
Even though there are many warning indicators, there is no way to predict whether a child is at risk for shoulder dystocia.
Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy
Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) can be devastating to newborns. The condition has three components: hypoxia, ischemia, and encephalopathy.
This means that the supply of oxygen and blood to the brain is limited (hypoxia and ischemia), leading to brain damage (encephalopathy).
Kernicterus
Kernicterus is a severe neonatal brain injury caused by excessive jaundice or high bilirubin levels. Kernicterus can result in brainstem lesions that impair the child’s hearing, eye movements, and balance.
Jaundice is not dangerous to infants, but if doctors allow bilirubin levels to rise excessively and do not provide treatment, newborns can develop kernicterus.
Placental abruption
This often happens in the third trimester. If a mother experiences placental abruption that is not promptly detected and treated, she may deprive the baby’s brain of oxygen.
Group B Strep (GBS)
Group B strep (GBS) is a fatal bacterial illness. Typically, GBS bacteria live in the intestines, rectum, and vagina. During childbirth, the mother can transmit the bacteria to the baby.
Facial paralysis
Excessive pressure on the baby’s face during childbirth can damage the facial nerve, resulting in paralysis. (Birth Injury Lawyer in Philadelphia Pennsylvania)
Dissolve
Your baby’s collarbone may be broken during birth. The fracture can be painful, and your child may need to wear a soft splint to restrict arm and shoulder movement.
Fortunately, the healing period is only two weeks because new bone begins to grow relatively quickly. (Birth Injury Lawyer in Philadelphia Pennsylvania)
Hypoxia or anoxia
Anoxia and hypoxia are conditions in which the supply of oxygen to the tissues of an organ is either reduced or absent.
This usually happens when the blood supply is interrupted, such as when there is a problem with the umbilical cord.
Lack of oxygen can lead to cerebral palsy, seizure disorders, developmental problems, and loss of hearing or vision. (Birth Injury Lawyer in Philadelphia Pennsylvania)
How do I know if my baby has a birth injury?
Some birth injuries, such as cerebral palsy, may not be detected until weeks or months after birth. Others have clear warning signs. Here are some common signs of a birth injury:
- the baby’s skin is blue
- the child has a fracture in an arm or leg
- baby has a heart attack
- The baby needs to be admitted to the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit
- the child is unusually lethargic
- objection
- baby looks swollen
- wheezing
Our competent birth injury attorneys in Philadelphia from the Villari Firm handle cases involving these and other birth-related diseases, including preeclampsia, a type of high blood pressure that develops during pregnancy. (Birth Injury Lawyer in Philadelphia Pennsylvania)
What are the long-term effects of birth injuries?
Birth injuries in infants can manifest as physical, cognitive, or emotional issues. Some complications include decreased oxygen or blood flow to the brain, which leads to brain damage and developmental delay. They can also affect physical and mental processes.
Psychological conditions can arise from traumatic childbirth. These developmental difficulties include:
- Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- autism
- Asperger syndrome
- behavioral issues
- delayed language development
- Deafness
- speech problems
Your child deserves the best treatment. These medical issues require comprehensive treatment so your child can lead a happy life.
However, it seems unfair for your child to suffer and for you to bear the burden of huge medical bills because of a doctor’s mistake.
Our Philadelphia personal injury attorney can help you recover compensation, so your child can receive the best care possible. Call us today to discuss your case. (Birth Injury Lawyer in Philadelphia Pennsylvania)
How Much Can I Recover From a Philadelphia Birth Injury Claim?
Pennsylvania does not limit the damages you can receive when you win your claim. The limitation exists only for punitive damages ordered to punish the defendant.
Please speak with our knowledgeable Pennsylvania personal injury attorney to determine how a claim may help your child. (Birth Injury Lawyer in Philadelphia Pennsylvania)
What should I do if my baby has a birth injury?
If you suspect that your baby has suffered a birth injury, the first thing you should do is seek medical attention.
Once your baby is out of harm’s way, it is best to call an experienced birth injury attorney. We can investigate your case and determine whether medical malpractice or negligence occurred.
Although the damage may be irreversible, collecting the compensation you are entitled to can reduce the financial burden of the accident.
Our Philadelphia birth injury attorney is familiar with all the damages you can claim in a birth injury lawsuit.
Who is responsible for birth injuries?
It can be challenging to determine who is at fault because many people are usually involved, from prenatal care to delivery.
A qualified legal team can work with medical experts to investigate a birth injury and identify those potentially responsibly. (Birth Injury Lawyer in Philadelphia Pennsylvania)
It is not only the doctor who can be held liable for a personal injury claim. You can also count:
- nurses
- convenience
- used equipment manufacturer
- any combination of these parties
Determining who is responsible for your child’s birth injury is important. This cannot be easy without years of experience handling medical malpractice cases.
Our dedicated Philadelphia birth injury attorney is needed to determine and demonstrate liability.
How can I win my medical malpractice claim in Philadelphia?
You have to show that the doctor’s negligence caused the injury to your baby at the time of birth. To do this, you need to install these elements:
There is a duty of care. You must show that the defendants had a legal duty to act reasonably. This may be sufficient to establish a doctor-patient relationship.
The doctor breached his duty of care. To prove that a violation occurred, you must show that another reasonably competent medical professional would not have made the same mistakes in similar circumstances.
Damage is a term that refers to both financial and other losses you suffer as a result of an injury.
The breach resulted in a loss that must be compensated. This includes hospital bills, lost income, disability, pain, and suffering, among many others.
Proving these elements is critical to winning your case. Not everyone can take a case to court and win the case.
If you want to win your case, call our law firm today! Our Philadelphia birth injury attorney is ready for trial. (Birth Injury Lawyer in Philadelphia Pennsylvania)
How Long Can I File a Claim for Birth Injuries in Philadelphia?
Each state has rules and statutes of limitations regarding birth injury claims. In Pennsylvania, the statute of limitations is two years from the date of the injury.
The clock does not start for minors until they are eighteen years old. Then they have to file a medical malpractice claim until they are twenty years old. However, the discovery rule may apply if you don’t discover the injury until later.
You must also file a certificate of merit within 60 days of filing the original claim. This affidavit should include the following:
- Signature of your attorney
- A written declaration from an expert supporting your allegation.
What can the law do if your baby is injured at birth in Philadelphia?
Parents go through a difficult and shocking experience when their child is born with a birth injury.
It can feel even more devastating if the injury resulted from a medical professional’s mistake, which could have been prevented if the professional had done their job properly.
The law provides ways to help children and parents harmed by medical errors. At the Philadelphia law firm of Raynes & Lawn, we are passionately dedicated to seeking justice when medical negligence causes birth injury. (Birth Injury Lawyer in Philadelphia Pennsylvania)
What happens if the birth injury was caused by improper medical care?
Medical professionals may be liable for medical malpractice if their negligence causes harm to a patient.
In Philadelphia, medical professionals have a legal obligation to perform their jobs in a way that measures up to certain specified standards of care. If their actions fall below that standard, they can be found negligent.
When medical professionals or institutions, such as hospitals, are negligent, they can be prosecuted and have to pay damages.
These damages may include payments to patients and their families to help offset current and future medical bills and other expenses that are necessary due to the birth injury, such as rehabilitation, therapy, attendants, and special equipment.
Compensation may also include payment for pain and suffering and lost future income. Cost of, for both. For now and for the future.
You must have expert testimony to prove that a medical professional was negligent. Hiring an experienced and dedicated birth injury attorney is the best way to ensure that you can get the right experts working on your behalf to present the strongest case possible.
What You Need to Know About Birth Injury Lawsuits in Philadelphia
Even if the injured child is now a teenager, it is still not too late to seek compensation. In Philadelphia and throughout Pennsylvania, you can usually file a lawsuit for birth injuries any time before the injured child turns 20 years old.
However, in other states, you may have a shorter period to file a birth injury lawsuit, so you should always consult with an experienced birth injury attorney to find out what the law applies to you.
Philadelphia birth injury attorneys will investigate what went wrong during the birth and hire experts to determine whether the medical personnel involved failed to meet applicable standards of care.
This area of law is highly technical and complex. It would help if you chose a birth injury lawyer with advanced knowledge and experience with cases similar to yours. (Birth Injury Lawyer in Philadelphia Pennsylvania)
Frequently Asked Questions about Birth Injuries
What are the common types of birth injuries?
Birth injuries can affect any part of the baby’s body or nervous system. These are some of the more common birth injuries:
- bone fracture, including collarbone
- head injury, including swelling and bruising
- nerve injury, including the nerves of the face, hands, and arms
- bleeding, including under the scalp
- cerebral palsy
- spinal cord injuries
- brain injuries
- bleeding in the scalp or under the scalp
- paralysis
- forceps injuries
- brachial plexus injuries
- clavicle fracture
- trauma to cranial nerves
- kernicterus
- sclerosis
- hypoxia
- infections
- meconium aspiration
- infant death
Some birth injuries are apparent right after the baby is born. Other times, you may not learn about a birth injury until later, sometimes years later. (Birth Injury Lawyer in Philadelphia Pennsylvania)
What are some lasting effects of birth injuries?
Unfortunately, birth injuries can lead to lifelong problems, including physical disabilities, psychological problems, cognitive impairment, and learning difficulties.
People who were injured at birth may require special care and therapy throughout their lives.(Birth Injury Lawyer in Philadelphia Pennsylvania)
What Kinds of Medical Negligence Can Cause Birth Injury?
Any mistakes made by medical personnel during labor and delivery can lead to injury at birth.
Failure to provide proper care by doctors, nurses, midwives, anesthesiologists, and other medical personnel involved in birth can result in harm.
Hospitals and birthing centers can also be negligent. In addition, equipment manufacturers may also be liable for damages if the equipment used during labor and delivery was dangerously defective.
Birth injuries are not always caused by negligence. Still, when they are, affected, children and their parents may be eligible for compensation to help them deal with the current and long-term consequences of the injuries.
We hope you like our article on Birth Injury Lawyer in Philadelphia Pennsylvania.
Thanks for visiting US Map Time Zones