Few medical malpractice injuries are as devastating to families as serious birth injuries. Birth injuries can leave parents facing an uncertain future for their child or lifelong disability. Even mild birth injuries can leave families with expensive medical bills and anxiety over the possible future health or learning problems their child may experience. Adding to the mental anguish is the knowledge that their child’s serious injury could have been prevented if only the doctor, staff, or medical facility had followed the medical community’s approved standard of care.
If your child suffered a birth injury in Dallas or the surrounding Texas area, call the trial-ready attorneys at GreeningLaw for experienced, compassionate legal counsel from a Dallas birth injury attorney near you.
Why You Should Hire GreeningLaw for Your Birth Injury Claim In Dallas
Parents have an expectation of joy when they plan the delivery of a baby. When the birth experience results in injury to their precious infant, it’s devastating to the parents and may have lifelong adverse effects on the child. By hiring GreeningLaw for your Dallas birth injury claim, you can expect the following:
- A free confidential consultation so we can evaluate your case with sensitivity and compassion
- We use contingency-based payment, so we assume all financial risk and you only pay for our legal service after we recover your settlement or court award
- We are a law firm with a founding Dallas personal injury attorney who has earned a “preeminent” rating by Martindale-Hubbell and has dedicated his career to advocating for injury victims and justice
- You’ll have access to the best medical experts and other resources to make the most compelling case for the full and fair compensation your family deserves
Our history of exceptional results, large settlements, and favorable jury verdicts for our clients puts a powerful voice behind your birth injury claim.
What Is a Birth Injury?
A birth injury is not the same as a birth defect. A birth defect occurs in utero due to a genetic anomaly. The medical community defines birth injury as trauma that causes “an impairment of the neonate’s body function or structure due to an adverse event that occurred at birth.”
When an OBGYN or other medical provider during labor and delivery fails to treat the laboring mother and child at the medical community’s accepted standard of care, and the result is an injury to a child, it’s medical malpractice.
What Is the Process of Filing a Dallas Birth Injury Claim?
It’s difficult to consider taking on a complex legal process while dealing with the physical and emotional consequences of a birth injury. Fortunately, hiring an experienced Texas birth injury lawyer allows you to focus on your family while your attorney does the following:
- Evaluate your case to determine if it meets the requirements for a birth injury medical malpractice claim
- Investigate all aspects of the injury by examining the medical records, interviewing witnesses, and consulting with medical experts
- Determine one or more liable parties in the case—typically either the medical provider, the medical team, or the hospital, birthing center, or other medical facility
- Determine the best strategy to move forward
- Document substantial evidence and sends a compelling claim to the appropriate medical malpractice insurance company
- Carefully calculate the economic damages associated with your case and determine an amount for pain and suffering and other non-economic damages that apply in cases of catastrophic injury
- Negotiate with the insurance company to achieve the highest possible settlement
- Take the case to court within the statute of limitations if the insurance company does not offer an ample settlement
The statute of limitations for birth injury lawsuits in Texas is two years from the date of the injury or two years from the date the birth injury was discovered. The Texas Civil Practice & Remedies Code Section 74.251(a) states that a minor under the age of 12 years has until their 14th birthday to file a claim.
Common Causes of Birth Injuries In Dallas
The two main causes of birth injuries are physical trauma and oxygen deprivation. Birth injuries begin with complications during the labor and childbirth process that the medical staff and doctor fail to manage properly. Common causes of birth injuries in Dallas and elsewhere include the following:
- Premature birth
- Abnormal fetal position
- Preeclampsia
- Placental abruption
- Umbilical cord prolapse and other cord issues
- Undiagnosed maternal infection
- Improper or too forceful use of extraction equipment such as vacuum suction or forceps
- Premature rupture of the membranes
- Prolonged labor
- Maternal obesity
- Cephalopelvic disproportion (the mother’s pelvic capacity or shape does not accommodate the baby’s passage)
- Large baby
The medical providers tasked with caring for a laboring mother have a legal obligation to identify problems during labor and delivery and to alert the attending physician. The physician must then take the actions that another reasonable medical provider would under the same circumstances to prevent birth injury to the child or harm to the mother. If any of the medical team breaches this duty of care, they are liable for damages.
What Medical Conditions Do Birth Injuries Cause?
Birth injuries range from minor injuries like bruising to more serious injuries such as fractures and dislocations. In the most serious cases, birth injuries that cause a lack of oxygen to the baby cause serious adverse medical conditions or stillbirth.
Common birth injuries caused by physical trauma include the following:
- Bruises and lacerations
- Broken blood vessels
- Caput succedaneum (swelling of the scalp caused by vacuum suction)
- Brachial plexus injury (damage to the nerves that control the arm and hand)
- Erb’s palsy (nerve damage causing paralysis of the shoulder, arm, and hand)
- Clavicle fracture
- Facial nerve injury
- Spinal cord injury
Birth injuries caused by oxygen deprivation during the birthing process include:
- Cerebral palsy
- Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) (brain damage from lack of oxygen that affects the infant’s central nervous system)
- Stillbirth
While some birth injuries are fully recoverable and leave no long-term effects, other injuries—especially injuries to the brain or nervous system—cause lifelong impairment, disability, or stillbirth.
Recoverable Damages In Birth Injury Claims
A birth injury claim against the responsible provider or facility cannot erase the harm, but a successful claim provides compensation for damages such as:
- Past medical expenses
- All anticipated future medical costs
- Cost for special education, therapies, specialized care, and nursing
- Cost of adaptive equipment and mobility aids
- A parent’s lost earnings and diminished earning ability if a parent must leave their job or work fewer hours to care for a disabled child
Compensation for pain and suffering and the parent’s emotional anguish may also be available.
Call the Dallas Birth Injury Attorneys Who Can Help
It’s crucial to focus your time and energy on helping your birth-injured child reach their maximum medical improvement. Call the compassionate attorneys at GreeningLaw to navigate your claim to the best possible result while you spend time with your child and family (972) 934-8900.