Birth injuries aren’t something that any expecting parent thinks about. While everyone is aware that birth injuries can happen, many people don’t think it can happen to them. Parents generally do everything they can during pregnancy to ensure that their child is safe and healthy. Unfortunately, this isn’t always enough. Although you may have done everything right to protect your child, they could still be at risk of birth injuries from medical negligence.

Everyone should be able to trust medical professionals, especially during pregnancies and deliveries when the well being of a baby is largely in the hands of the doctors. Birth injuries are always heartbreaking ordeals to go through, especially when you learn that they were caused by someone who was supposed to keep your baby safe. When birth injuries occur, parents should seek the help of birth injury lawyers to get justice for their child’s injury and be entitled to receive financial compensation. 

How to Tell if Your Child Has a Birth Injury?

It can be difficult in some cases to tell what the cause of your child’s birth injury was. There are some occasions where there is no clear cause for a birth injury, so there’s little that can be done other than to provide additional care for the child. Some birth injuries are unavoidable and, while these are still difficult to deal with, there may have been nothing that medical professionals could have done to prevent it. This is sometimes true in difficult deliveries or complicated pregnancies. Birth can be traumatic for babies even when they have access to the best medical care. Traveling through the birth canal can be enough to cause injury to some babies and there is always the chance that unforeseen problems arise. When birth injuries are unavoidable and no one is at fault, blame may not need to fall to the doctor or hospital. However, a seasoned professional like a birth injury lawyer should be making that determination when a child’s safety is at risk and the cause is not absolutely clear.

Birth injuries that require you to get in contact with a birth injury lawyer are often the ones that could have been prevented. Medical professionals might not have delivered the proper standard of care to the mother and baby. These birth injuries never would have occurred had another similar medical professional assisted. Medical professionals sometimes make avoidable mistakes, such as using forceps and vacuums incorrectly or failing to monitor a newborn’s vital signs. It is important to hold these medical professionals accountable, not only to help your family, but to prevent this from happening again in the future. 

When Should You Contact a Birth Injury Lawyer?

Although parents might not know what caused their child’s birth injury, they should always contact a birth injury lawyer if they have any suspicions. Determining why a birth injury occurred can be incredibly complex, which is why a lawyer who specializes in birth injuries is so important. Birth injury lawyers know how medical negligence can lead to a birth injury and understand what to look for to help prove it. If you don’t know whether or not your baby was the victim of medical negligence, contacting a birth injury lawyer can help you determine what the true cause was. 

Some parents might not even realize that their child has a birth injury until their child is a few years old and symptoms start to show. Even if years have passed since the time of the child’s birth, parents can still speak to a birth injury lawyer. Once you know that your child has a birth injury and think that there could be a chance of medical negligence, you need to find a birth injury lawyer. Doing this as soon as you are able can give your birth injury lawyer the best chances of finding evidence and locating witnesses that can help show that negligence occurred. 

The statute of limitations is different in every state, so it is important for all parents to know what the rules are for them. For birth injuries, the statute of limitations begins from the moment parents realize that their child has a birth injury. No matter how much time has passed since the date of discovery, some states have limitations on what age a child can be when the lawsuit is filed. Acting as quickly as possible can help ensure that you comply with state laws.  

What to Look for in a Birth Injury Lawyer?

Having a baby who suffers from a birth injury is extremely difficult to endure for everyone involved. Because of this, it is important that you meet with a lawyer who you can rely on for help. When you are looking for a lawyer to fight for your family, you need to look for one who specializes in birth injuries. Cases involving medical negligence are especially difficult, as they not only require legal experts, but medical experts as well. These are skills you can trust that a birth injury lawyer has. 

For many families, it’s also important for your birth injury lawyer to work on a contingency fee. Lawyers with contingency fees won’t require you to pay for their services until after they have won your case. This prevents you from having to pay out of pocket, which many aren’t able to do, especially when dealing with your child’s expensive medical bills.

For more information or if you suspect that your child may have suffered a birth injury caused by a medical professional, please fill out the form below.