Injuries Suffered During Childbirth

Pittsburgh Birth Injury Attorneys

Injuries that occur during labor or childbirth are among the most tragic in all of medicine. When an infant is irreparably injured due to the negligence of a doctor or hospital staff, their life is forever changed. The child suffers the loss of their own potential. The family suffers the financial burden of caring for the child. Both child and family suffer the loss of a normal life.

The Pittsburgh attorneys of Meyers Evans & Associates have been helping victims of birth injuries and their families for over 30 years. We understand that injuries that occur during childbirth have a devastating effect, both financially and emotionally. Medical bills and the costs of caring for the child over the course of their life can be astronomical. Parents have a deep need to understand what has happened, and why. They need to know whether there was anything that could  have been done to prevent this injury from occurring.

We know you have many questions. We have compiled a list of commonly asked questions about birth injuries below. If your questions aren't answered here or if you believe your child suffered a serious injury during or shortly after childbirth, we invite you to contact us for a free consultation.

• What is your firm's experience handling birth injury claims?
• How do I know if I need to contact a birth injury attorney?
• How much will it cost to talk to an attorney in your law firm?
• How do you determine whether or not I have a valid birth injury claim?
• From the time that I first contact your office, how long will it take for you to get me the help that I need?
• Will we have to appear in court?
• How is a settlement amount determined?
• Is there a limit on the time I have in which to file a birth injury claim?
• Who can be held financially responsible and accountable in a birth injury claim?
• Do we need to provide medical records?
• Can my child be compensated for Pain & Suffering?
• Can you provide us with examples of birth injury cases you have handled?

 

Q. What is your firm's experience handling birth injury claims?

A. Jerry Meyers and Charles Evans have been helping victims of birth injury and their families for over 30 years. Our attorneys have successfully helped hundreds of victims of medical malpractice including many children that suffered injuries during or shortly after childbirth.

Birth injury cases we have handled include infant brain damage and cerebral palsy due to lack of oxygen, Erb's Palsy and brachial plexus injuries due to shoulder dystocia, respiratory insufficiency, heart, renal, and other injuries  caused by medical malpractice. 

Q. How do I know if I need to contact a birth injury attorney?

A. In many cases where an infant suffers an injury during childbirth, the magnitude of the injury might not be obvious.    On the other hand, you may be immediately aware that your child suffered an injury. However, over time, it may appear that your baby is not behaving normally.   If you suspect this problem is due to an incident that occurred during or shortly after childbirth, you should contact a law firm with experience handling birth injury claims.

Q. How much will it cost to talk to an attorney in your law firm?

A. Our legal consultations are always free unless we recover money for you. During the course of our investigation into your birth injury claim, we advance any costs that we deem necessary in the proper handling of your case. If we do not recover money for you, you do not have to return any of the costs incurred associated with your case. This is called the Contingent Fee. For more information on how the Contingent Fee works, click here.

Q. How do you determine whether or not I have a valid birth injury claim?

A. It is important to know that injuries suffered during childbirth are not always preventable. It is our job to ask the right questions and find the answers in each unique situation.

The process of determining whether you have a birth injury claim begins with an in-depth interview of the parents, family members, and any other persons with information concerning the medical or nursing care prior to or at the time of birth. Simultaneously or shortly thereafter, we perform intensive research both in our thousand+ volume medical library and on internet sites mostly subscribed to by physicians and hospitals. What we find during this stage determines whether or not we should pursue further investigation into your potential claim of birth injury due to medical malpractice.

The next stage includes retrieval of medical records, including X-Rays, CT Scans, ultrasounds or any MRIs

If at this point we have reason to believe standards of care have been violated and there has been medical malpractice, we consult with independent experts to confirm our beliefs.

Q. From the time that I first contact your office, how long will it take for you to get me the help that I need?

A. The time required both to investigate and if appropriate to litigate (pursue a lawsuit) a medical malpractice birth injury claim is extremely variable. It depends on factors such as the difficulty of recruiting experts in particular specialties, the volume of medical records to be analyzed, and the index of suspicion that our early investigation generates. In most cases, a year or two is required.

Q. Will we have appear in court?

A. Most cases of birth injury due to medical malpractice are settled outside of the courtroom. It is uncommon that a trial is required in a these types of cases. This is to your advantage because the settlement of a claim permits the victim or their family to have direct input into the solution that is crafted as opposed to awaiting the decision of twelve strangers (the jury.)

Q. How is a settlement amount determined?

A. The following factors are considered when determining and agreeing upon a settlement amount.

• Establish the full extent of the birth injury.
• Determine the future needs of the victim, including expected medical costs and cost associated with living with the injury, such as retrofitting of the home, devices and appliances that may be required, and long-term personal care.
• Calculate how much the victim would have reasonably made in wages over the course of their lifetime.
• The risks associated with trial for the victim and the defendant physician's nurses or hospital must be weighed and taken into account.

Q: Is there a limit on the time I have in which to file a birth injury claim?

A: In the state of Pennsylvania, The Minors Tolling Statute states that claims involving children may be filed up to two years after the child turns 18. Do not delay. If your child has suffered a birth injury, not only can an attorney help you recover financial damages, we can also help you to obtain the medical care and support you and your child need and deserve.

Q. Who can be held financially responsible and accountable in a birth injury claim?

A. Any medical professional that was responsible for some aspect of your child's birth and prenatal and neonatal care, and was negligent or made errors that led to a serious injury can be held responsible.

In addition, the hospital or facility in which the child was born may also be held financially responsible for the medical malpractice committed by their employees and the people they hold out as employees.

Q. Do we need to provide medical records?

A. Our attorneys and legal team will retrieve your medical records for you. Any documentation you have pertaining to the prenatal obstetrical and neonatal care should be considered important.

Q. Can my child be compensated for Pain & Suffering?

A. In most birth injury cases the victim can be compensated for pain and suffering based on the physical pain and emotional anguish they suffer as a result of their injury. Click here to read more about pain and suffering. 

Q. Can you provide us with examples of birth injury cases you have handled?
A. We can provide you with broad examples of the types of birth injury cases we have handled, but due to a Pennsylvania Law called MCARE we cannot legally provide you with specific details including names of victims, doctors, hospitals, and settlement amounts.

We have helped find solutions for many families that suffer the heartache of a birth injury. This includes children afflicted with Cerebral Palsy hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy and brain injury as a result of Medical malpractice, children who have sustained brachial plexus injuries and Erb’s Palsy during childbirth resulting from shoulder dystocia, And  brain or other injuries occurring in the first month of life because of improper management of what was or should have been done.

A sampling of cases by condition would include:

• A delay in recognizing and responding to fetal distress evidence on fetal monitor.
• As to the nurses and hospital the failure to have or employ policies insuring the proper recognition and management of fetal distress when it appears.
• As to obstetricians and their prenatal care, failure to recognize the presence and significance of hypertension in pregnancy. This concludes a delay in treatment of pre-eclampsia and its complications which can't affect the mother and child.
• An obstetrician who during a forceps assisted delivery rotated the baby's head 180° in the course of the baby's birth resulting in a useless and now miniature right arm.
• The failure by obstetrical staff to recognize signs and symptoms of placental abruption (separation of the placenta or a part prior to birth) resulting in a fatal hemorrhage in the mother and brain injury in the infant when delivered.
• The failure to recognize during artificial rupture of the membranes that placenta previa was present (placenta near or covering the cervical canal) resulting in hemorrhage in infants before birth of such magnitude as caused permanent bilateral kidney damage requiring kidney transplant.
• In failing after delivery of an infant where meconium was present at the time membranes were ruptured to remove by suction from the infants airway after birth meconium which had entered the lung, thereby resulting in respiratory insufficiency and meconium aspiration syndrome.
• In permitting a midwife to manage the labor and delivery in a hospital obstetrical unit of a patient this pregnancy was known to be at risk without requiring consultation by the midwife of the attending obstetrician where the mother was led to believe the midwife was a physician and where because of the midwife another hospital staff failing to properly respond to the evidence fetal distress a cesarean section was needlessly delay and the infant suffered ruinous brain injury.