Birth Injury Lawyer Pearland TX
A Pearland, TX birth injury lawyer knows that one of the most joyous times for a couple is when they welcome their new baby into the world. Unfortunately, there are almost 30,000 babies born each year in the United States who suffer birth injuries and for those parents, the joy can quickly turn into worry and stress, as well as anger, as they try to understand who is responsible for their child’s injuries. While there is always a risk in pregnancy and childbirth that some complication could occur, many of these birth injuries are the result of the negligence of medical professionals – the very people that parents depend on to ensure that their baby will be kept safe and healthy. Call Keith B. French Law, PLLC and we can help guide you through the next steps.
When birth injuries do occur due to the failure of the medical professionals responsible for monitoring and identifying any potential dangers for the baby, those medical professionals can be held legally liable for all the damages the injuries will cause, both present and future. Texas law allows the parents to pursue birth injury claims and lawsuits against those parties.
Types of Birth Injuries
There are many different types of birth injuries that a baby can suffer. Some injuries will eventually heal and will only affect the baby for a short period of time. Some injuries will take longer to heal and can result in a delay in the baby reaching those milestones that all parents eagerly await. Some birth injuries are very serious and can leave the baby permanently disabled, resulting in life-long medical expenses and special care needs. And some birth injuries are fatal, so significant that the baby is unable to survive.
Some of the most common types of birth injuries in the cases that a Pearland birth injury lawyer has handled include:
- Brachial Plexus Injury (BPI)
- Cerebral Palsy
- Erb’s Palsy
- Brain injuries
- Forceps injuries
- Fetal distress injury
- Lack of oxygen
- Hypoxia
- Spinal cord injuries
- Shoulder injuries
- Fractures
Many Birth Injuries Are Preventable
Birth defects and birth injuries are two separate issues. Birth defects are congenital, occurring as the infant is developing in the womb. Birth injuries are incidents that result from an action or lack of action. Most birth injuries are preventable and would never happen if a medical professional had done their job.
One of the most common reasons why birth injuries happen is because there is a failure to properly monitor the mother and baby during the labor and delivery to ensure that everything is proceeding the way it should be and no crisis is occurring, such as a drop in the baby’s heart rate.
Treatments For Your Baby’s Birth Injury
When you realize that your baby suffered from a birth injury, you are likely wondering what can be done. Is there any way to reverse this? What could have been done in the first place to prevent this? Depending on the nature and severity of your child’s birth injury, there may be specific treatments you can do to help lessen the severity of the birth injury, reverse some damage, or help them manage symptoms. There is no one treatment for birth injuries since there are many types. If you are ready to file a suit and want to know what kind of compensation may cover your child’s birth injury and treatment plan, reach out to our firm for more information.
Types of Treatment for Birth Injuries
Your child’s birth injury will be unique to them and what may be severe for one child may not be severe for your child, and vice versa. There are different treatments that may work best for your child and you may notice that multiple treatments help give your child the best quality of life.
- Medications. Your child’s doctor may recommend certain medications to help your child. For children who suffer from seizures, need help managing their pain, or have muscle impairments, medication may be what they need to have a better quality of life every day. Often, medication is coupled with another form of treatment to help.
- Therapy. When your child is older, therapy might be exactly what they need so that they can interact with other children and cope with what happened to them. Therapy can focus more specifically on your child’s physical needs but it can also help your child learn to make emotional connections when they are struggling with this after a birth injury.
Occupational therapy. Many children who suffer from birth injuries need special accommodations to help them get around. An occupational therapist can help ensure your child has what they need and can help the parents learn more about the education system and what would be the best fit for the child. An occupational therapist can go over different needs, such as wheelchairs, walkers, and other mobility devices to give your child the ability to be as independent as possible.
- Speech therapy. Many children are left with difficulty speaking due to problems with their throat, face, or brain as a result of the birth injury. A speech therapist can understand your child’s specific needs so that they can learn the best ways to communicate with your child and teach you and your child how to communicate with one another. His may come in the form of learning sign language or learning to use communication devices.
- Surgeries. While it is not the case for all birth injuries, many children will need surgery–or a series of surgeries–to help them adjust. Surgeries can help with bone and muscle problems that are causing your child pain or your child may need plastic surgery to help with a physical birth injury.
Your child may need a combination of treatments to help them live a better life with a birth injury and you should speak with your lawyer about the types of compensation you can get to help cover the costs of these treatments.
When Should I Speak with an Attorney?
If you aren’t sure of whether you have a viable case to file against a physician, a facility, or another healthcare provider, that’s okay. An experienced Pearland, TX birth injury lawyer at Keith B. French Law, PLLC can evaluate your unique circumstances and advise you of your rights and options accordingly. Similarly, if you have no doubts as to the viability of your case, the time to speak with an attorney is now.
Far too often, the parents of infants who suffered injurious physical trauma during the birthing process fail to speak with an attorney until it is too late. It is very understandable that overwhelmed parents of an injured infant would be too preoccupied with their new child’s care to think much about filing a legal case. However, as medical bills, bills for ongoing care, lost income due to care-related concerns, etc. pile up, they realize that they should at least explore the idea of taking action.
At that point, enough time has passed that the statute of limitations for personal injury lawsuits may have tolled. While the parents of an injured infant are granted more time than most to file action in civil court, that timeframe does expire eventually. As time passes, valuable evidence that could make or break a case may be lost or compromised. In short: you’ll want to connect with a Pearland birth injury lawyer as soon as you can.
How Do I Know if My Situation Is Legally Actionable?
Once the team at Keith B. French Law, PLLC understands the details of your situation, we may need to discreetly investigate the circumstances of your child’s injuries before we can give you a definitive answer as to whether or not your case is actionable.
If your child has suffered preventable harm at the hands of a medical provider due to a violation of their duty of care, this is called medical malpractice. Medical malpractice cases are generally actionable. The tough news is that medical malpractice cases are notoriously complex and may be difficult to prove. This is because every single medical malpractice case must be judged on its merits. Did the provider named as defendant in the case fail to exercise the level of care that a reasonably competent provider would have if faced with similar circumstances? To answer that question, expert witnesses must be consulted and significant evidence assessed. Only when it can be proven that a provider failed to honor a reasonable professional standard of care is an actionable case likely to succeed.
Once a skilled Pearland birth injury lawyer at our firm assesses your unique circumstances – and potentially does further discreet investigation into your situation – we’ll be able to advise you as to the actionability and value of your case. As most birth injuries are preventable, it is likely that you and your family are entitled to compensation, especially if your child is going to require ongoing care for the harm they’ve suffered.
Contact a Personal Injury Law Firm
If your baby has suffered a birth injury and you think it was caused by something your doctor or other medical staff did or failed to do, do not delay in contacting a Pearland birth injury lawyer to find out what legal recourse you may have. Call Keith B. French Law, PLLC to schedule a free consultation and find out how we can help.
