Why Choose Cohen Injury Law Group, P.C. for Your Birth Injury Accident Claim?
If your child sustained a birth injury, it is important to consult a birth injury accident lawyer Los Angeles, CA residents rely on. The lawyer at Cohen Injury Law Group, understands just how devastating it is to find out your child suffered an injury during the labor and delivery process. That is why they work extra hard to help their clients obtain the compensation they deserve. These skilled and compassionate lawyers take the time to fully investigate your birth injury case and identify all of the liable parties, such as doctors and nurses. They will also negotiate with the insurance company and not allow them to take advantage of you.
Since the legal professionals at Cohen Injury Law Group devote so much time to your case, you barely have to lift a finger. This will give you time to take care of your child who needs you during this difficult time. A Los Angeles birth injury accident lawyer from our compassionate team will handle all the legwork and make the process as stress-free as possible for you. If they can’t obtain a fair settlement out of court, they are more than willing to take your case to trial and present a convincing argument in front of the judge and jury.
What Is a Birth Injury?
A birth injury refers to a physical injury an infant sustains before, during, or after delivery. While minor birth injuries may resolve themselves in time, others will affect a child permanently. They may require long-term medical care, such as rehabilitation therapy. Here are the most common types of birth injuries:
- Cerebral palsy. Typically caused by a brain injury during childbirth, cerebral palsy affects muscle control, speech, motor skills, vision, hearing, and coordination. While there is no cure for cerebral palsy, it is possible to manage it through various treatments.
- Brachial plexus injuries. The brachial plexus refers to the nerves located at the base of the neck that controls sensation and movement in the arms, hands, and shoulders. As a Los Angeles birth injury accident lawyer can attest, infants can suffer brachial plexus injuries during delivery if the nerves are stretched or compressed from the spinal cord. These injuries can cause paralysis in the hand, arm, or shoulder.
- Delayed diagnosis of heart defects. Sometimes infants are born with congenital heart defects, which can be structural or functional. With the advances in medical technology in recent years, it is entirely possible to diagnose these defects early on. However, some doctors miss signs of heart defects through ultrasounds. Unfortunately, the later heart defects are discovered, the more difficult they are to treat.
- Spinal cord injuries. The spinal cord is a collection of nerves that delivers messages to the brain to let it control the limbs. If a doctor pulls on an infant’s spine too hard during delivery, the infant can suffer spinal cord injuries, which can lead to paralysis. As a birth injury accident lawyer Los Angeles, CA residents trust can confirm, this can affect the child for the rest of his or her life.
- Hypoglycemia. Babies obtain glucose from their mothers during pregnancy and that glucose supply stops upon delivery. Newborn babies who lose too much glucose are at risk of suffering brain injuries.
- Intracranial damage. If an infant does not have enough blood or oxygen in the bloodstream, the infant can rupture a blood vessel in the brain, which can cause excessive bleeding. As a result, the child may sustain brain damage.
- Facial paralysis. If a doctor puts too much pressure on a baby’s face during delivery, it can damage the baby’s facial nerves. This injury is more likely to occur when forceps or a vacuum are used to pull a baby out and can cause a baby to lose the ability to move the affected side of the face.
- Broken bones. Going through the birth canal during delivery can put immense pressure on a baby’s body. As a result, some babies may suffer broken bones in their arms, legs, or collarbone. Babies can also sustain broken bones if they are not handled correctly after birth.
- Perinatal asphyxia. If a baby does not receive sufficient oxygen during delivery, he or she could suffer perinatal asphyxia. Symptoms of this condition include seizures, labored breathing, and shock. Common causes of perinatal asphyxia include obstruction of the umbilical cord, infection, maternal illnesses, and maternal hemorrhage.
- Caput succedaneum. A Los Angeles birth injury accident lawyer can confirm this condition causes swelling of the soft tissues of an infant’s scalp and can develop as the baby goes through the birth canal. Babies are more likely to suffer caput succedaneum if they are delivered by vacuum extraction.
Common Causes of Birth Injuries
Unfortunately, many birth injuries result from medical negligence. Medical professionals have to closely monitor both the mother and baby during the labor and delivery process. They must anticipate complications and take the necessary steps to reduce harm to the mother and baby. If they fail to do this, injuries can occur. Here are the most common causes of birth injuries:
- Failure to recognize and rectify issues with the umbilical cord
- Failure to diagnose maternal medical conditions
- Failure to perform a C-section when necessary
- Incorrect use of forceps
- Administering the wrong kind of medication
- Poor communication between doctors and nurses
Untreated maternal medical conditions may also result in birth injuries. Certain health conditions can make a pregnancy high-risk, including diabetes, anemia, high blood pressure, obesity, and blood clots. If a mother has any of these conditions, she and her baby need extra monitoring to avoid birth injuries.
If any of these incidents occurred before, during, or after the delivery of your baby, you may want to speak with a Los Angeles birth injury accident lawyer. Medical malpractice may have caused your child’s injury, and your family deserves to be fairly compensated for that. A birth injury accident lawyer Los Angeles, CA residents trust can help you pursue a medical malpractice claim against the negligent party and improve your chances of obtaining monetary compensation for medical bills and other expenses that resulted from the injury.
How to Identify a Birth Injury
While some birth injuries are immediately apparent, others are more difficult to recognize right away. That is why it is important to pay extra attention to how your baby acts after birth. Signs of a possible birth injury include muscle weakness, bruising, unusual eye movements, and seizures. If you notice any of these symptoms, you should take your child to a doctor for evaluation. The sooner a birth injury is addressed, the easier it is to treat. If you wait too long to seek medical care, your child may suffer further damage.
How to Know When a Birth Injury is Medical Malpractice
Sometimes a mother or baby can suffer injuries that are unavoidable during labor and delivery. Other times, however, these injuries could have been prevented if doctors and other healthcare professionals exercised proper care. In order to have a strong birth injury case, you must prove that a doctor-patient relationship existed. There must be proof of an agreement by the professional to treat the patient when the malpractice happened. The doctor-patient relationship ultimately requires the doctor to provide the patient with a certain standard of care.
Next, you must establish that the doctor breached the duty of care owed to you and your child. Examples may include using forceps and other tools incorrectly and failing to order a C-section.
The breach has to also result in a direct injury to the patient. Lastly, the patient is required to demonstrate he or she suffered damages, including medical expenses, pain and suffering, and decreased quality of life.
Proving all of these elements will require an investigation of what truly happened during the labor and delivery. For example, the doctor and other medical professionals may have miscommunicated or the doctor was too fatigued during the process. An experienced Los Angeles birth injury lawyer can help perform the investigation.
Statute of Limitations for Birth Injuries
The statute of limitations is the amount of time you have to pursue a lawsuit for a birth injury. In California, the statute of limitations is three years from the date the injury was discovered. Once that deadline has passed, you will no longer have the right to pursue compensation. That is why it is crucial to consult a Los Angeles birth injury accident lawyer about your case as soon as possible. You do not want to lose out on the compensation you deserve for your child’s medical bills and other losses that resulted from the birth injury. An experienced lawyer can help you file your claim in a timely fashion so that you do not miss out on your right to compensation.
Free Consultation with a Birth Injury Lawyer in Los Angeles
If your child suffered an injury during labor and delivery, it is in your best interest to talk to a Los Angeles birth injury accident lawyer. What happened to your child was not fair and your family deserves to be properly compensated for that. The lawyers at Cohen Injury Law Group provide free consultations for their clients, so you have nothing to lose by scheduling an appointment today.
