Connecticut Birth Injury Attorneys
We’ve made significant recoveries as a result of a health professional’s failure to recognize the signs of fetal distress.
The birth of a child should be one of the most joyous times a family experiences. But when birth comes with debilitating injuries—injuries that may impact the child’s entire lifetime—it can be devastating. If the injury is the result of negligence on the part of a doctor or other medical care provider, it makes the situation much, much worse.
A birth injury lawsuit cannot turn back time. However, a successful case can hold the responsible party accountable, and it can result in substantial damages that can help your family move on after this traumatic event. Our birth injury lawyers offer compassionate, skilled representation during this most difficult time. Contact us now so we can help you understand your legal options and represent the best interests of you and your family.
Filing a Medical Malpractice Claim
When you suspect that your child was injured due to negligence, it is normal to want to take legal action immediately. However, it is important to speak with a birth injury lawyer about your circumstances to verify that you have a strong case. Birth injuries are always upsetting, but a successful lawsuit requires more than just an injury. There also needs to be negligence on the part of a care provider that lead to the injury.
Do Not Accept a Settlement Without Talking to an Attorney
If your child was hurt due to negligence and the insurer of the doctor or hospital is aware of it, you may be approached with a settlement offer. We urge all medical malpractice victims to avoid accepting settlements without consulting a medical malpractice attorney beforehand. Most initial settlement offers are far lower than the offer you can get with attorney representation.
Our firm is interested in getting you the best possible results from your case. If we believe that a settlement is fair and will help you avoid a long, drawn-out court battle, then we will advise you to accept it. But we will only do so if the settlement offer is truly fair.
If a settlement is not sufficient, we will gladly pursue your case through the entire court process and fight passionately on your behalf.
Most Common Birth Injuries
While there are many different injuries that can occur during birth, the most common birth injury cases we see include:
Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy refers to a number of conditions that often result from a lack of oxygen to the brain during birth. The umbilical cord can become restricted during birth, or become wrapped around the neck of the newborn, leading to oxygen deprivation. The condition can cause issues with the movement of the body and stiffness of muscles. Cerebral palsy cannot be completely cured, but children can often experience improvement by going through physical therapy.
There are three main types of cerebral palsy:
- Spastic Cerebral Palsy: This type of cerebral palsy causes stiffness in the body and makes movement difficult.
- Athetoid Cerebral Palsy: In this type of cerebral palsy, the body moves involuntarily, leading to uncontrolled movements.
- Ataxic Cerebral Palsy: With this type of cerebral palsy, the depth perception is impaired and balance issues can be significant.
Our medical malpractice team is well-versed in cerebral palsy and is experienced in building compelling cerebral palsy cases. If you believe your child’s condition is the result of medical malpractice, please contact us right away.
Erbs Palsy
Sometimes large infants can become lodged behind the mother’s pubic bone, requiring careful extraction by the doctor. When too much force is applied, it can cause stretching or tearing of nerve fibers that help to control arm movement. Too much force can be applied using forceps, vacuum devices or other methods of delivering a baby with a larger than average birth weight.
Symptoms or Erb’s palsy can include weakness in the arm or an inability to move the arm, hands and fingers. The infant will often hold the arm close to the body so that it appears as if he or she cannot move the limb at all. The loss of function can range from mild to complete lack of control over the arm, hand, wrist and fingers.
Erb’s palsy is one of the most common conditions that result from a brachial plexus injury, but there can be others, like Klumpke’s palsy. These conditions are characterized by paralysis or limited function of shoulders, neck, arms, hands and fingers.
Our firm offers compassionate representation for children and their families who have Erb’s palsy as the result of medical malpractice. If you think that your child’s condition is the result of medical malpractice, contact us now and speak with an attorney. You may be able to pursue a successful medical malpractice case.
Other Birth Injuries
Fractured Clavicle
When the doctor dislodges a baby stuck behind the pubic bone, it can cause the clavicle, or collarbone, to fracture. The collarbone is the bone most often broken in delivery, but other bones can be broken.
Spinal Cord Damage
The various methods doctors use to get traction on the infant’s body, and the rotations the doctor performs in the birthing process can lead to spinal cord damage and a variety of injuries that result.
Cranial Nerve Damage
There are a number of nerves that can be damaged due to compression of the infant’s head during birth. Damage to cranial nerves can lead to loss of mobility, paralysis and sometimes disfigurement.
Brain Injuries
A lack of oxygen to the brain may cause a brain injury. As the infant develops signs may develop. Spasms, lack of control of the body, crying that doesn’t stop—the symptoms will vary depending on injury.
Contact Haymond Law Today
Our firm represents birth injury clients throughout Connecticut. If you or your baby was injured due to negligence, please contact us right away. You can speak to an attorney at no cost to you and determine what steps you should take to protect your rights.