The arrival of a new baby should mark the beginning of joyful memories, but when medical errors during labor and delivery cause preventable harm, families face a devastating reality that will reshape their entire future. Birth injuries can result in lifelong disabilities requiring extensive medical care, therapy, and support that most families are not financially prepared to provide.
Wagner Reese LLP represents families in Fishers and throughout Indiana whose children have suffered birth injuries due to medical negligence. Since 1997, our attorneys have helped parents navigate the complex intersection of medical malpractice law and the healthcare system while securing the compensation their children need for a lifetime of care. We understand the overwhelming emotions you’re experiencing right now, and we’re here to provide both legal expertise and compassionate support. Our free consultations give you the opportunity to understand your rights without any financial obligation.
Understanding Birth Injuries in Fishers
Birth injuries occur when medical providers fail to meet accepted standards of care during pregnancy, labor, or delivery, resulting in harm to the baby or mother. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, over 20,000 infant deaths occur annually in the United States, with complications during childbirth representing a significant contributing factor. These injuries differ from birth defects, which are genetic or developmental conditions that cannot be prevented through proper medical care.
Many birth injuries result from oxygen deprivation, excessive force during delivery, delayed emergency interventions, or failure to recognize fetal distress. When healthcare providers miss critical warning signs, fail to order necessary tests, improperly use delivery instruments, or delay performing emergency cesarean sections, babies can suffer catastrophic injuries that affect them for the rest of their lives. Understanding whether your child’s condition resulted from preventable medical errors requires careful investigation by attorneys experienced in both medical malpractice and birth injury cases.
Common Birth Injuries and Their Causes
Birth injuries occur more often than one may hope. Some of the common causes are as follows:
- Cerebral palsy: a group of disorders affecting movement, muscle tone, and posture, often resulting from brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation during labor and delivery.
- Erb’s palsy: a nerve injury affecting the shoulder, arm, and hand, typically caused by excessive pulling or stretching during difficult deliveries, particularly shoulder dystocia cases.
- Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy: brain injury resulting from inadequate oxygen and blood flow to the brain, often preventable with proper fetal monitoring and timely intervention.
- Fractures and physical trauma: broken bones, particularly clavicle fractures and skull fractures, often occurring when excessive force is applied during delivery or when instruments are used improperly.
These conditions share common causes rooted in medical negligence. Failure to monitor fetal heart rate patterns, delayed response to signs of distress, improper use of forceps or vacuum extractors, and failure to perform timely cesarean sections when complications arise all represent breaches of the standard of care that can result in permanent harm to newborns.
Legal Options for Families Affected by Birth Injuries
Indiana law provides families with the right to pursue medical malpractice claims when healthcare providers’ negligence causes birth injuries. These cases allow you to seek compensation for the substantial medical expenses, therapy costs, adaptive equipment, home modifications, lost wages from caring for your child, pain and suffering, and reduced quality of life that birth injuries create. The financial impact of raising a child with significant disabilities often extends into millions of dollars over a lifetime.
Medical malpractice cases involving birth injuries require proving that healthcare providers deviated from accepted standards of care and that this deviation directly caused your child’s injuries. This involves obtaining and reviewing extensive medical records, consulting with medical experts who can explain what should have happened, and demonstrating the link between the provider’s actions and your child’s condition. The complexity of these cases makes it essential to work with attorneys who have specific experience in birth injury litigation.
Indiana’s medical malpractice system includes unique procedural requirements, including filing claims with a medical review panel before proceeding to court. Navigating these requirements while caring for an injured child creates overwhelming challenges for families, which is why experienced legal representation becomes crucial. Our team handles every aspect of the legal process so you can focus on your child’s immediate medical needs.
How Wagner Reese LLP Supports Families in Birth Injury Cases
Our approach to birth injury cases begins with comprehensive investigation. We work with leading medical experts, including obstetricians, neonatologists, neurologists, and life care planners who can evaluate your child’s condition, review the circumstances surrounding the birth, and provide testimony about the standard of care. This expert analysis forms the foundation of strong cases that insurance companies and defendants take seriously.
We also recognize that every birth injury case represents a family in crisis. Beyond the legal work, we connect families with resources, support groups, and information about available services for children with disabilities. We understand the questions you’re asking about your child’s prognosis, treatment options, and long-term care needs. While we cannot provide medical advice, we can help you understand the legal implications of your situation and what compensation might be available to support your family.
Our Track Record in Birth Injury Litigation
Wagner Reese LLP has earned recognition from Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers for our work in medical malpractice and personal injury cases. Our attorneys have secured substantial settlements and verdicts for families dealing with birth injuries, providing the financial resources necessary for specialized medical care, therapy, adaptive equipment, and other needs. We’ve handled cases involving every type of birth injury, from minor nerve damage to severe brain injuries resulting in permanent disabilities.
Our reputation in the legal and medical communities often facilitates favorable settlement negotiations. Healthcare providers and their insurance companies know our willingness to take cases to trial when necessary, which motivates them to offer fair compensation earlier in the process. However, we always advise clients based on their best interests, never pressuring them to accept inadequate settlements just to resolve cases quickly.
Recognizing When Medical Care Falls Short
Many parents question whether their child’s condition could have been prevented. Some warning signs that may indicate medical negligence include failure to perform routine prenatal testing, ignoring maternal risk factors like gestational diabetes or high blood pressure, dismissing maternal complaints or concerns, failing to properly monitor fetal heart rate during labor, delaying emergency interventions when complications arise, and using excessive force or improper techniques during delivery. If you experienced any of these situations, consulting an attorney about your hospital and healthcare providers’ actions becomes important.
Not every birth injury results from negligence. Some complications occur despite excellent medical care. However, determining whether negligence played a role requires expert review of the medical records and circumstances. Our initial consultations help families understand whether their situations warrant further investigation, and we provide honest assessments even when cases do not meet the legal threshold for medical malpractice claims.
Taking Action to Protect Your Child’s Future
Indiana law imposes time limits for filing medical malpractice claims, making prompt action important. While these deadlines provide some flexibility for cases involving children, waiting too long can result in losing the right to pursue compensation entirely. Early consultation with a birth injury attorney ensures evidence is preserved, witnesses remain available, and your legal rights are protected.
We understand that focusing on legal matters feels overwhelming when you’re trying to understand your child’s diagnosis, arrange medical appointments, and adjust to your new reality. However, taking this step now can provide the financial security your family needs to afford the best possible care for your child throughout their lifetime. Our team handles the legal complexities while you focus on your child.
Contact Wagner Reese LLP for Birth Injury Representation
If your child suffered a birth injury in Fishers or anywhere in Indiana, Wagner Reese LLP can help you understand your legal options and pursue the compensation your family deserves. Our birth injury attorneys bring the experience, resources, and compassion necessary to handle these sensitive cases while fighting for maximum compensation.
Contact us today to schedule your free, confidential consultation. We’ll review your situation, answer your questions, and explain the process for pursuing a birth injury claim. We work on a contingency fee basis, meaning you pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation for your family. Your child’s future is too important to leave to chance, let us help you secure the resources they need to thrive.
