When the joy and expectation of welcoming a new baby to the family ends with a birth-injured child facing an uncertain future, it’s emotionally and financially devastating for the family. It may also mean a diminished quality of life for the child.
While no legal process erases the harm of a birth injury, an Addison birth injury lawyer helps families of birth-injured children to obtain financial compensation and a sense of justice. GreeningLaw P.C. provides experienced legal representation in Addison injury cases.
What Types of Birth Injuries Are Seen in Addison Birth Injury Claims?
According to a study on birth trauma, nearly one million infants suffered birth injuries in the U.S. during an eight-year period. The study reveals immediate financial consequences for the families of birth-injured children, with the length of hospital stay increased by 56% and doubled hospitalization charges.
The most common types of birth injuries include the following:
- Head, scalp, and facial injuries, including scalp injuries from forceps and vacuum extractor use
- Extracranial bleeding
- Intracranial bleeding or subdural hemorrhage
- Skull fractures
- Facial nerve injury
- Shoulder nerve (brachial plexus) injury
- Brain injuries, including Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
- Bone fractures, including clavicle fractures
- Spinal cord injuries
- Peripheral nerve injuries
Birth injuries that cause a lack of oxygen to the brain, such as HIE, often result in permanent disability, including cerebral palsy, cognitive impairment, epilepsy, and blindness. In the worst instances of birth injury, the result is stillbirth or death from birth injury complications after birth.
Understanding Liability In Addison, TX Birth Injury Claims
Birth injury cases are a category of medical malpractice claims, requiring the injury victims or their family to prove liability. The evidence in the case must meet the following standards of medical malpractice liability:
- A doctor/patient relationship was established at the time the birth injury occurred
- The medical provider owed a duty of care to treat the patient with the level of care accepted by the medical community
- They breached their duty of care through negligence
- The breach of duty directly caused the birth injury
- The injury caused economic and non-economic damages to the patient and/or their family
Common liable parties in birth injury claims include the doctor, one or more members of the care team, or the medical facility where the birth injury occurred.
Birth injuries are often the result of negligence, including inadequate patient and fetal monitoring, failure to alert the attending physician to a change in medical status, a doctor’s failure to identify a high-risk patient, or a doctor’s failure to perform a timely C-section or other medical intervention to prevent the injury.
What Damages Are Recoverable In Addison Birth Injury Cases?
Birth injury damages range from additional medical expenses for a minor scalp injury to lifelong disability, catastrophic injury, or wrongful death. Common damages recovered in Addison birth injury cases include the following:
- Reimbursement for medical expenses
- Total anticipated future medical expenses, including for therapies, adaptive equipment, and home health assistance
- Special education costs
- A parent’s lost income and diminished future earnings due to caring for a birth-injured child
- Compensation for the child’s pain and suffering and diminished quality of life
- Compensation for the parents’ emotional anguish
If a birth injury ends in the child’s stillbirth or neonatal death, the parents can recover compensation and a sense of justice through a Texas wrongful death claim.
How Can a Birth Injury Law Firm In Addison Help?
Proving liability and damages in a birth injury claim requires a thorough investigation, access to medical experts, and other resources. Your child and your family deserve experienced legal counsel to make a compelling claim to maximize the amount you recover, reducing the financial consequences of the injury so you can focus on your child and your family. Call or contact GreeningLaw P.C. online to learn more about your right to full and fair compensation after a birth injury.