Your child’s birth should be one of the most thrilling times of your life. Sadly, for far too many parents, their children are injured during birth due to a healthcare professional’s negligence. At Wagner Reese, LLP, our Indiana attorneys for birth injuries are highly experienced in all kinds of birth injury claims. We aggressively pursue every avenue of recovery against the at-fault medical professional or healthcare facility.
Wagner Reese maintains an outstanding reputation in Indiana for holding negligent parties liable for causing birth injuries. Our attorneys are distinguished members of the Multi-Million Dollar Advocates Forum, an honor that just 1% of all US practicing attorneys enjoy. We also have been named to The Best Lawyers in America© by Best Lawyers® lists in 2022 and 2024.
Speak to a Wagner Reese birth injury attorney today to learn if your case could qualify for compensation.
What Are the Most Common Birth Injuries?
There are many types of birth injuries, and they range from mild to severe. Your baby could have a mild birth injury that heals in days. Or, they could suffer a severe injury that causes permanent damage or even death. The most frequent birth injuries are:
- Broken bones: One of the most common birth injuries is a broken collarbone or clavicle. These fractures often happen in long, complex deliveries, especially breech births. Fortunately, clavicle injuries are often relatively minor and heal quickly in most cases.
- Bruising injuries: It is common for babies to suffer bruises during birth. The face or head of the infant could be bruised from pushing against the pelvic bone of the mother.
- Cerebral palsy: This nervous disorder affects the baby’s balance, motor function, and posture. The infant may develop cerebral palsy from being deprived of oxygen or because of head trauma during birth.
- Subconjunctival hemorrhage: This injury happens when small blood vessels in the infant’s eyes break during delivery. You may see redness in the baby’s eyes, but vision is usually unaffected. The redness usually goes away in a few weeks.
- Cephalohematoma: This is a raised lump that may appear on the baby a few hours after birth. This injury is caused by bleeding under one of the cranial bones. Usually, the bump goes away after three months, but if it is large, some babies may develop jaundice or other health conditions.
- Spinal cord injuries: This is a relatively rare but severe injury that may happen if the doctor twists or pulls the baby’s neck too hard during delivery.
- Neonatal falls: Sometimes, babies fall during the birthing process or in the nursery. For instance, the infant could be dropped by the obstetrician, technician, or nurses who change and feed the baby. The injuries can be minor, such as bumps or bruises, or severe enough to cause a brain injury.
- Hypoxia: This injury is caused by a lack of oxygen in the baby’s brain. If the lack of oxygen is only resolved for a short period, the baby should recover. But if the problem lasts for several minutes, the baby could have permanent brain damage.
- Brachial palsy: The brachial plexus is the nerves communicating with the legs and arms. If a baby has brachial palsy, these nerves have been injured. This problem can occur if the infant’s shoulders are not properly delivered.
If you suspect that your baby has a birth injury, speak to your doctor immediately. You should also talk to a birth injury lawyer to determine if negligence caused the injury. You don’t need a diagnosis to speak to an attorney. If the medical provider or facility was at fault, you could receive compensation for current medical bills, future medical expenses, your lost earnings, and pain and suffering.
How Birth Injuries Could Be Prevented
Certain injuries occur during the birth process. However, there are things your medical provider should do during your pregnancy to reduce the chances of an injury:
- Prenatal care: Your physician should perform several prenatal tests to assess the health of the baby and mother. Prenatal tests can give insight into various conditions, such as infections, preeclampsia, and gestational diabetes.
- Detecting signs of fetal distress: Your doctor should monitor the fetus and look for fetal distress signs, such as reduced fetal movement, unusual amniotic fluid volume, and abnormal fetal heart rate.
- Preventing premature birth: Infants born too soon could have organ problems, compromised immune systems, and low birth weight. However, the doctor can often prevent premature birth with specific medical treatments, including progesterone, cervical cerclage, and magnesium sulfate.
Potential Compensation In an Indiana Birth Injury Case
If your attorney proves that the doctor’s or medical facility’s actions did not meet the medical standard of care and the baby was injured, you could be entitled to compensation. How much you can receive in a birth injury settlement depends on several factors:
- How severely the baby is injured
- The degree of negligence by the defendant
- The amount of your current medical bills
- Estimates for future medical bills
- What the lifelong care costs are if the baby is seriously disabled
- Lost earnings if you need to miss work to care for the child
- The degree of physical pain and suffering endured by the baby
Once a fair case value is determined, it’s time to start negotiating with the defendant’s insurance company. Wagner Reese has a strong success record in negotiating settlements in birth injury cases. You should not attempt to negotiate without an attorney’s assistance. The case may be worth more than you realize, so always have an aggressive, tenacious attorney negotiating on your behalf.
Contact Our Indiana Birth Injury Attorneys Now
If you think your baby was injured at birth, you should not suffer quietly. Talk to an experienced birth injury attorney about the situation. Wagner Reese, LLP is an experienced personal injury law firm that often handles complex personal injury claims.
Our birth injury lawyers are hard-working and compassionate and will fight tirelessly to obtain maximum compensation in your case. Contact our birth injury attorneys today at (866) 824-6380 for legal assistance. We can review your case and determine if a birth injury may have occurred due to medical negligence.
