Pasco County Birth Injury Lawyer
The birth of a child should be a happy time for everyone involved. However, all too often, health care providers are negligent in the delivery room, and catastrophic birth injuries result.
If you know or suspect that a birth injury occurred as a result of a health care provider’s negligence, it is essential that you contact an experienced medical malpractice attorney. The reality is that no amount of monetary damages can adequately compensate someone for a catastrophic birth injury.
However, an experienced Pasco County birth injury attorney will be able to examine all the facts and circumstances of your case with you and explore your legal options.
Common Causes
While some birth injuries occur naturally and involve pregnancy complications or a difficult labor, the majority of birth injuries occur when a health care provider acts in a negligent manner. The responsible health care providers are usually delivery room doctors (i.e. obstetricians) and/or delivery room nurses or other personnel.
Birth injuries usually occur as a result of one or more of the following:
- Delayed oxygen to the baby’s body
- Delayed C-section or other medical procedure
- Improper fetal heart monitoring
- Improper use of forceps or other delivery room tools and equipment
- Administering incorrect or improper delivery room drugs to the mother
- Use of improper delivery room techniques
- Inadequate attention paid by delivery room staff to patients
- Failing to follow proper delivery rooms procedure
Typical Injuries
The most common types of birth injuries include the following:
- Cerebral palsy
- Lack of oxygen to the baby’s brain (i.e. hypoxia)
- Skull injury
- Irreversible brain damage
- Wrongful death
Proving Birth Injuries
Pasco County birth injuries fall under the umbrella of medical malpractice or obstetrical malpractice. Malpractice occurs when a health care provider, such as an obstetrician or delivery room nurse, deviates from the applicable standard of care.
In a birth injury case – as with all other types of medical malpractice cases – the injured plaintiff (or the injured plaintiff’s representative) has the burden of proof.
In Pasco County birth injury cases, the standard of care applicable to health care providers is that of a reasonable physician/obstetrician under the same or similar circumstances.
If a delivery room doctor fails to act as a reasonable physician/obstetrician would have acted under the same or similar circumstances, then that health care provider likely breached the standard care.
Damages
The plaintiff must also prove that the health care provider’s breach of the standard of care proximately resulted in the plaintiff’s injuries and damages.
The most common types of damages a birth injury lawyer can help a family obtain include the following:
- Compensation for all relevant medical bills and treatment
- Compensation for a lifetime of pain, suffering, and inconvenience
- Compensation for future care
- Compensation for all other related monetary losses
How a Birth Injury Attorney Can Help
If you suspect that a birth injury occurred as a result of a health care provider’s carelessness or negligence, our experienced Pasco County birth injury lawyers are ready and willing to assist you. Time may be of the essence, and an experienced Pasco County birth injury lawyer can be of assistance.