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Birth Injuries Attorneys in Detroit, Michigan
Having a child should be a happy event in a parent’s life. However, pregnancy and birth are not without worry. A mother often spends time researching what could go wrong with the baby and herself, but she works with her doctor to reduce any risks so it’s an easy delivery of a healthy infant.
There are always things that could go wrong that are beyond the control of anyone, but what if something goes wrong that was preventable? In that case, parents may hold a negligent healthcare provider financially responsible for failing to observe the duty of care they owe to mothers and their children.
As former nurses and as parents, the attorneys at Ratton Law Group PC understand the challenges, joys, and risks of pregnancy and childbirth. When what should be the happiest time in a family’s life is darkened by negligence, we are here to help.
Proving malpractice resulting in birth injuries is not an easy task. That’s why we devote all the resources necessary, call on our medical backgrounds, and use our legal experience to seek justice for clients in Detroit, Michigan.
What Causes Negligent Birth Injuries?
You rely on healthcare professionals to guide you through a safe pregnancy and birthing process. There are many ways a provider can fail their duty of care, and those failures can cause birth injuries, such as the following.
The provider can fail to catch an infection that leads to preterm birth, low birth weight, birth defects, learning disabilities, and even termination of the pregnancy. Common infections include the flu, strep, vaginal yeast infections, bacterial vaginosis, uterine infections, and listeria. Many are preventable and all are treatable if caught early.
The provider may commit a surgical or procedural error, such as an error that affects the infant’s or the mother’s health during a Cesarean section or when tying off the umbilical cord.
The provider may administer improper drug dosages that affect the fetus.
The provider may lack the standard vigilance necessary to recognize issues with the fetus that may affect the mother’s decision regarding taking the fetus to term, or that result in being unprepared to address the issue during and immediately following birth.
The provider may use tools improperly, causing injury to the infant. Such tools include forceps, clamps, speculums, scissors, and needles.
The provider may also be negligent by not performing a Cesarean section when necessary for the health of the mother or the child.
What Types of Birth Injuries Occur?
Action or inaction that causes a lack of oxygen to the child is not only among the most common birth injuries but the most serious. Deprived of necessary oxygen, a child can suffer from cerebral palsy, incur damage to vital organs, or have cognitive issues, all of which will affect the child for the duration of their life.
Negligent deliveries can cause broken or displaced bones and permanent nerve damage. If the infant’s shoulders are trapped during birth and moved improperly to free them, the child could suffer from Erb’s palsy which affects the brain’s ability to communicate with the arm and hand.
A lack of blood and oxygen to the infant’s brain during birth, even for a moment, can cause permanent brain damage. Misapplied pressure to the child’s skull can cause permanent neurological issues.
How Do You Prove Negligence?
Proving negligence in a medical malpractice case requires the same process as, for example, proving negligence in an auto accident. However, meeting that burden of proof of medical negligence is usually much more difficult. It requires a considerable review of medical experts to form opinions and testify under oath.
Proving negligence requires that you provide evidence that:
The doctor owed a duty of care to you and your baby;
The doctor breached that duty of care by doing or not doing something that adheres to the recognized standard of medical care;
The breach of that duty caused damages to you and/or the child; and,
The injuries were the direct result of the doctor’s negligence.
How Your Personal Injury
Attorney Can Help
Not every personal injury attorney represents clients in medical malpractice cases resulting from birth injuries. That is because they are highly complex and it’s challenging to develop a case that meets the burden of proof of negligence.
Personal injury attorneys who do handle medical malpractice claims and lawsuits, like those of us at Ratton Law Group PC, have the necessary experience, knowledge, and contacts with expert witnesses. Your attorneys should be able to clearly prove fault and place the liability on the provider whose actions or inactions injured you or your child.
With most birth injuries, you and your child face a lifetime, sometimes a shorter one than anticipated, of medical bills and lost opportunity for a normal life. It doesn’t mean you will love your child any less, but life for your child and for you will be infinitely more difficult than it would have been, and it could have been avoided.
Birth Injuries Attorneys Serving Detroit, Michigan
If you need a medical malpractice attorney because you believe your provider’s negligence caused birth injuries to your child, count on the experience of Ratton Law Group PC. Our nursing background makes us uniquely suited to represent families like you. Our compassion for you and our tenacity toward those who commit negligent acts is unparalleled. Call Ratton Law Group PC in Detroit, Michigan, now to schedule a free case consultation.