Childbirth injury due to negligent medical care is one of the most grievous types of medical malpractice. Parents should be aware of the legal rights they have to file a civil complaint against the treating hospital, nurses, doctor and/other other medical staff for compensatory damages.
What is a Child Birth Injury?
Birth injuries can occur in a wide variety of ways, and in cases where the injury was caused by negligent medical treatment, and should otherwise have been avoided, parents can file a civil lawsuit for damages. Some examples of common birth injuries include, but are not limited to:
Cerebral Palsy
This type of birth injury is often attributed to the medical staff depriving a fetus of oxygen for an extended time period, leading to the debilitating brain injury. Many times, the medical staff will be found liable for delaying a necessary c-section for too long.
Brachial Plexus Injury
This type of injury often occurs in a birth involving forced extraction. If the delivering doctor is not sufficiently careful, the baby’s nerves can be permanently damaged.
Broken Bones
Also occurring in cases of negligent forced extraction, broken bones often heal, but may leave the infant permanently disabled.
What Can Parents Do?
Parents who feel their child has suffered undue injury to medical negligence during birth have the right to file a legal complaint in order to be compensated for their child's injury, any medical expenses, future medical costs as well as pain and suffering.
What if the Hospital Offers to Pay Medical Costs?
Offering parents no-cost medical care for an injured child is one way a hospital will attempt to avoid complete legal responsibility for a mistake. Simply put, by admitting fault and offering free care, the hospital is hoping that the parents will not seek the full amount of compensation they deserve, which, in many cases of medical malpractice, is several hundred thousand dollars, or even millions of dollars.
Always Talk to a Medical Malpractice Lawyer Immediately
Parents who believe a child is the victim of negligent treatment should talk to a medical malpractice lawyer as soon as possible. There are short time limits to file these types of claims, and getting legal advice from an attorney experienced in these complex types of cases is absolutely critical.
The medical malpractice attorneys on this site will offer a free initial consultation where you can get legal advice regarding your rights, the strength of the your case, and the amount of compensation to which you are legally entitled.
