Rochester Birth Injury Attorney

The birth of a child should be a wonderful event for parents and family members. However, there are times when the negligent or careless actions of a medical professional lead to a birth injury occurring. At Trial Lawyers for Justice, we understand the impact a birth injury can have on your family and your child’s health, and we want to help you today.

If the child of you or a loved one has suffered a birth injury due to medical negligence, please contact us immediately to discuss your case. You may be eligible for significant compensation on behalf of any negligent healthcare providers – and our Rochester, MN birth injury attorneys want to help you seek the recovery you deserve.

Why Choose Trial Lawyers for Justice for your case?

Trial Lawyers for Justice is a full-service personal injury law firm that provides exceptional representation for clients who have suffered birth injuries due to medical negligence.

• We are a compassionate, client-focused team that fully understands the seriousness of an injury to your child.
• We have a proven record for success, securing more than $1.5 billion in total verdicts and settlements on behalf of our clients. This includes a $75 million verdict of a birth injury case we represented.
• We are experienced trial lawyers that are not intimidated by the courtroom, bolstered by the experience of over 300 jury verdicts.
• We take all Rochester birth injury cases on a contingency fee basis, which means our clients will pay no legal fees until after we secure the compensation their child needs.

Why Do You Need a Rochester, MN Birth Injury Lawyer?

If you or your loved one’s baby has suffered a birth injury due to medical negligence, it is highly recommended to consult a birth injury lawyer before proceeding with a claim. Birth injury cases can be especially difficult to litigate due to the parties involved, in addition to your circumstances. Your priorities and efforts should be focused on your newborn child and your family’s safety and well being – not on the legal details of your case. An attorney can give you peace of mind by undertaking all of the legal work on your behalf while you focus on the well being and recovery of your family.

Additionally, medical malpractice and negligence cases can often become complicated very quickly due to the parties involved. You will likely be filing a claim against an insurance company that is representing the at-fault party – usually a healthcare provider or hospital. Insurance companies can be notoriously difficult to deal with, often offering settlements far lower than you what you need while also prioritizing their own bottom line. An attorney can negotiate with insurance providers on your behalf to ensure you are not receiving lowball offers or quick settlements.

In the event that a settlement is not reached, your claim may end up in the courtroom – a process that can be incredibly stressful. This is especially true in medical negligence cases, where healthcare providers and hospitals typically have large corporate legal teams who use aggressive tactics to win their case. Retaining an experienced trial attorney who has significant experience in the courtroom will ensure that your case will be competently argued to the presiding judge.

Regardless of your options for compensation, a birth injury attorney can give you all of the help and support necessary to secure the full and fair recovery you deserve in this difficult time.

What is a Birth Injury?

A birth injury is one that occurs during or when a baby is born. Most commonly, birth injuries occur during delivery, but they may also occur while the mother is in labor – or immediately after delivery as well, if proper precautions are not taken.

It is important to note that a birth injury is not the same as a birth defect. While the former happens during the birth of a baby, the latter occurs prior to the baby’s birth. Birth defects usually occur as the baby develops within the womb and are usually due to outside factors such as genetic mutation. However, like birth injuries, medical negligence may also result in birth defects in certain circumstances.

What Are Some Common Birth Injuries?

Some of the most common birth injuries that occur due to medical negligence include:

• Fractures. The most common fractures in newborn babies are at the collarbone – also known as the clavicle. This is often due to difficulties with delivery, or in cases of shoulder dystocia, a condition in which a baby’s shoulder gets caught behind the mother’s pubic bone.
• Facial paralysis. During delivery, excessive pressure may result in nerve damage to the facial area, causing paralysis on one of both sides of the face. If the nerve is bruised, paralysis is temporary. However, in cases where a nerve has been severed, the paralysis may be permanent.
• Brachial plexus injury. This occurs when the brachial plexus, a bundle of nerves in the arms and shoulder, are injured. When these nerves are injured, a baby may lose the ability to move and flex his or her arm. In extreme circumstances, Erb’s palsy can develop, a severe form of shoulder paralysis in which a baby physically cannot lift his or her arm.
• Hypoxia. Also known as severe deprivation of oxygen to the brain, this can occur if the baby receives inadequate oxygen at any point throughout delivery. Just a few seconds of hypoxia may result in permanent, profound brain damage in a baby.
• Cerebral palsy. Caused by prolonged hypoxia, cerebral palsy is a permanent brain disorder that affects cognitive and motor function. Most commonly characterized by impaired motor skill development and weak muscles, cerebral palsy can also lead to additional, worsening health issues such as learning disabilities, impairments to vision and hearing, and other symptoms that require intensive therapy.
• Cephalohematoma. This is a birth injury characterized by bleeding underneath a baby’s skull bone. It usually appears as a raised lump on the baby’s head, and typically goes away within a few months. However, if the area of bleeding is large, a baby may develop jaundice.
• Caput succedaneum. Swelling of the tissues comprising the scalp, this birth injury is usually caused by excessive pressure on the scalp during delivery – typically those in which vacuum extraction methods are used.

It is important to note that, even if some of these birth injuries are completely treatable and not permanent, they may still be grounds for a medical malpractice claim – and you are still entitled to pursue the at-fault parties for compensation.

How Do Birth Injuries Occur?

Birth injuries are often the result of the negligent or careless actions of any healthcare provider or medical professionals involved in the birthing process. This can include the obstetrician, who is the person responsible for the overall delivery of a child. Obstetricians are highly trained doctors that must maintain the same level of care for every situation that a similarly trained obstetrician would exercise in similar circumstances.

However, obstetricians are rarely the only person present assisting with the delivery of a child. It is important to consider that any of the other medical staff on duty may have been negligent in their duties – and their carelessness may have contributed to your child’s birth injury. This can include:

• Nurses
• Aides
• Those tasked with monitoring vital signs

Some of the most common causes that result in negligent birth injuries include:

• Failure to properly monitor a mother or fetus for signs of distress
• Failure to perform a C-section even though symptoms indicate one is necessary
• The misuse of delivery tools such as vacuum devices or forceps
• Failure to recognize or prevent a prolapsed umbilical cord or breech birth
• Improper care for mother or child immediately following delivery

In some circumstances, a birth injury can be prevented even before delivery by monitoring the baby prior to labor. A failure to recognize any red flags or signs of potential issues can lead to any of the aforementioned birth injuries.

How Do I Know My Baby’s Birth Injury was Caused by Medical Negligence?

In order to have legal recourse for a medical malpractice claim against any liable medical professionals, negligence and/or malpractice must be proven first. All healthcare providers and medical professionals must uphold a standard of care to their patients; a failure to uphold this standard can be defined as negligence.

In healthcare providers, negligence can be proven if you can show that any other medical professional or doctor in the same capacity would have competently handled the delivery of your child without issue or birth injury. This can usually be shown by consulting with other doctors or experts who can lend their insights in testimony on your behalf.

At Trial Lawyers for Justice, we consult with any relevant medical professionals and experienced healthcare providers to understand the circumstances that led to your child’s birth injury. We can then present their accounts and insights as expert witness testimony that can help substantiate your medical negligence claim.

What Compensation Is Available for My Child’s Birth Injury?

In a medical negligence claim against those who have contributed to your child’s birth injury, you may be eligible to recover the following compensation:

• Medical expenses. While this can include any of the immediate medical treatment your baby needs following their birth injury, it also includes any future treatment your child may need to function in life. For example, those who have suffered cerebral palsy may require a lifetime of physical therapy and care. In a birth injury case, you may be able to secure compensation to ensure your child receives the life care they deserve.
• Lost income if you cannot work while caring for your child. This may also include compensation for any wages lost while currently dealing with your child’s birth injury – and any future earning potential that you may have lost due to caring for your child full-time.

In addition, you may be able to pursue non-economic damages for your child – compensation that is not easily quantified by a precise dollar amount. In the case of a birth injury, this primarily entails pain and suffering and loss of enjoyment damages. Some children who suffer severe birth injuries will have a permanently decreased quality of life and an inability to fully enjoy life. While pain and suffering damages may not fully solve this issue, it can at least go toward making these children as comfortable as possible to enjoy their life in any way they can.

In cases of extreme carelessness or gross negligence, the courts may even award punitive damages. These serve as a monetary punishment to any negligent parties, intended to be a deterrent to ensure that they improve their practices and never engage in such irresponsible actions again.

How Can Trial Lawyers for Justice Help?

At Trial Lawyers for Justice, our experienced Rochester birth injury attorneys can provide all the support necessary throughout the duration of your claim. This includes:

• Obtaining all evidence related to the error(s), including medical records, statements from other witnesses, hospital personnel records, and more.
• Fully determine the value of your case to ensure you fight for the maximum possible compensation you deserve.
• Working with trusted healthcare professionals to evaluate the case to offer expert witness testimony.
• Negotiate with all parties involved in order to obtain a fair settlement for families in the aftermath of a birth injury.

In the event that an agreement cannot be made, we will not hesitate to take your case to trial – that is where we excel. In fact, all of our cases are prepared with the intent that they will go to trial. That way, we are comprehensively prepared for every step of your claim, and there are no surprises that we are not ready for.

Contact Us Today

If you or a loved one’s child has suffered a birth injury due to medical negligence, please contact us immediately to discuss your options for compensation. We understand the serious situation you may be in, and we want to give you our help and support in any way necessary to secure the compensation and justice you deserve.

Schedule a free consultation of your case by emailing us or calling 866-854-5529 and see how we can help you today.