The birth of a child and the time following the addition of a new baby is typically a joyous occasion. However, when a baby suffers a damaging birth injury, parents may be left to worry about their child’s health and future.
Speak to a passionate attorney who may be able to provide you with valuable assistance and insight about these types of cases. A Chesterton birth injury lawyer may be able to help families dealing with their child’s birth injury seek compensation from the responsible party, whether that is a hospital, medical practice group, or physician.
Birth injuries can include any injuries or complications that occur during labor and delivery. They can also include any injury that occurs before or after the actual birth, such as during pregnancy or during post-natal recovery. So long as the doctor or hospital caused the birth injury due to their negligence, a family may seek compensation for their child’s injuries. Before seeking compensation, speak with a Chesterton birth injury lawyer to learn more about filing a claim.
The type of birth injury that occurs usually stems from what went wrong during the labor and delivery. This may involve a doctor not making the call to perform a Caesarian section soon enough, not utilizing medically-assisted birth procedures when necessary, or improperly executing a child-birthing technique.
Some of the most common types of birth injuries include:
Each birth injury is unique to the child and their specific circumstances. However, there are certain signs and symptoms parents can look out for as the child grows, including not meeting milestones within a reasonable time, learning difficulties, seizures, neurological problems, and low muscle tone.
Immediately following birth, parents should also look for signs of excessive bruising to the face or skull, extreme lethargy, protruding or bulging portions of the skull, including the soft spot, and unusual muscle movements, especially in the face. Parents can consult their child’s pediatrician to make a make a medical record of the child’s health and symptoms, and receive referrals to medical specialists.
Families of injured babies may be eligible for compensation for expenses such as medical costs, therapies, medications, assistive devices. They can also recover compensation for other damages, such as the child’s loss of enjoyment in life, pain and suffering, and inability to pursue certain careers or activities. Consult with a Chesterton birth injury lawyer to learn more about what parents can recover for birth injuries.
In Chesterton, the typical statute of limitations, or time limit, for filing a personal injury case is two years from the date of the injury. For birth injury cases, the time limit may not start until the person discovered or reasonably should have discovered the injury.
For children under the age of six, including babies injured at birth, their family may have until the child turns eight years old to file a birth injury claim.
A birth injury could seriously limit a child’s future. Injuries such as cerebral palsy and brain damage may follow a child throughout their life. If these injuries were the result of a medical professional’s negligence, the family may be able to recover compensation.
A Chesterton birth injury lawyer could help families dealing with a possible birth injury and its effects. Even if you are not certain your child’s symptoms are the result of a birth injury, an experienced Chesterton birth injury attorney may be able to consider what happened during the mother’s pregnancy, delivery, and immediately following the baby’s birth to find a cause of the injury.