Orlando Birth Injury Attorney

Filing a Birth Injury Lawsuit in Florida

The birth of a child should be one of the happiest days in a parent’s life, but when trusted medical professionals fail to provide mothers and newborns with an acceptable level of care, the consequences can be dire. While nothing can undo the devastation of knowing your child was injured or died due to a doctor’s error or negligence, a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit can allow you to recover the financial resources you need to heal.

If you believe you, your child, or the mother of your child suffered a birth injury, contact NeJame Law as soon as possible. With years of experience, our Orlando birth injury lawyers understand the challenges you and your family are facing—and we believe that you deserve justice. Filing a birth injury claim in Florida can be difficult without the right legal team by your side. When you turn to NeJame Law, we will handle every legal detail so that you can focus on getting your child the care he or she needs and moving forward with your lives.

For a no-cost, no-obligation consultation, fill out our online form, or call us at (407) 500-0000 today.

What Is a Birth Injury?

Birth injuries are injuries and related complications that arise from substandard medical care during pregnancy, labor, delivery, and immediately post-childbirth. They most commonly result from the negligent conduct of an attending doctor or medical error.

Birth injuries are different from birth defects in that they result from preventable errors, acts, and omissions. Birth defects, on the other hand, generally stem from unavoidable factors, such as genetics.

Common Birth Injuries

Some examples of common birth injuries include:

• Brachial Plexus Injury: The bundle of nerves located near the neck/shoulder is known as the brachial plexus. During childbirth, this area can be injured or damaged when doctors turn an infant’s head too far to the side or otherwise cause injury through tugging, twisting, or other forms of force. Brachial plexus injuries can lead to significant nerve damage, which may impair mobility and function of the affected arm, hand, and/or fingers.
• Broken Bones/Fractures: Broken bones, or fractures, are common birth-related injuries. When there are complications during labor or delivery, doctors may accidentally cause infant fractures when attempting to remove a child from the birth canal, whether with or without assistive devices, such as vacuums and forceps. One of the most common types of fractures during childbirth is a fractured collarbone.
• Cephalohematoma: Commonly (though not exclusively) associated with the use of forceps, cephalohematoma is a birth injury in which there is bleeding beneath a newborn’s cranial bone. This often leads to a raised area on the baby’s head. While cephalohematoma may heal on its own, it sometimes requires medical treatment. Additionally, cephalohematoma is associated with other risks, such as jaundice, meningitis, hypotension, and anemia.
• Cerebral Palsy: If an infant loses sufficient oxygen during labor or delivery, he or she is at risk of serious complications, including cerebral palsy (CP). CP is a neurological condition that affects mobility, posture, and motor skills/coordination. It can also lead to impaired speech, hearing, cognitive function, and more. There is no known cure for CP, and children who are diagnosed with it will likely require lifelong treatment, care, and therapy.
• Contusions: “Contusion” is the medical term for bruising; this is one of the most common types of birth injuries. While contusions are often considered mild injuries on their own, severe bruising could indicate other unseen injuries and damage. If your newborn has serious or significant bruises, make sure they are seen by a qualified medical provider to rule out or diagnose any underlying trauma.
• Erb’s Palsy: Erb’s palsy is a condition caused by damage to the upper brachial plexus nerves. It is often associated with the infant’s head by twisted or stretched to one side during birth, though other factors can lead to this injury, as well. Erb’s palsy symptoms include partial or complete paralysis of one arm, shoulder immobility, limited range of motion of the arm/shoulder, turned-in arm, favoring one arm over the other, and more.
• Facial Paralysis: Damage to the facial nerves during childbirth can lead to facial paralysis. In most cases, this is temporary, though the effects can occasionally be long-lasting. Infant facial paralysis is often caused by excessive pressure on the face, leading to nerve damage. It is more commonly associated with births involving assistive devices, such as forceps and/or vacuum extractors.
• Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy: Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is an infant brain injury caused by oxygen deprivation during labor and/or birth. HIE typically involves reduced or lost oxygen and/or blood flow, leading to a variety of injuries, complications, and damage. When a child suffers HIE, medical professionals should take immediate action to begin treatment, which may be effective in stopping or reducing brain damage.
• Oxygen Deprivation: Oxygen deprivation (birth asphyxia, anoxia, and hypoxia) is one of the most common—and most devastating—of all birth injuries. Loss of sufficient oxygen can lead to all types of complications and lasting damage, such as traumatic brain injuries, cerebral palsy, physical and cognitive impairments, and even death.

Infants are not the only ones who can suffer birth injuries; maternal birth injuries are those that affect the mother and include things like severe hemorrhaging, uterine rupture, vaginal tears, and pelvic organ prolapse. These types of injuries often constitute medical emergencies and, if not treated immediately, can lead to maternal death during childbirth.

How Do Birth Injuries Happen?

We expect obstetricians, midwives, doctors, and nurses to provide a high level of care throughout pregnancy, childbirth, and post-delivery. This can make it all the more devastating when these providers make mistakes or provide substandard care.

Unfortunately, medical professionals cause birth injuries in a variety of ways every year in the U.S., including but not limited to:

• Failing to diagnose/treat maternal complications, including infections
• Misdiagnosing maternal complications, such as preeclampsia
• Failing to monitor the infant/mother’s vital signs during labor and delivery
• Failing to properly respond to signs of fetal distress
• Failing to order timely cesarean sections (C-sections)
• Improperly using assistive birthing devices, such as forceps and vacuums
• Using excessive force when attempting to deliver an infant
• Failing to properly respond to an infant in breech position
• Misusing or improperly administering labor-inducing drugs, such as Pitocin
• Failing to properly address or treat injuries in an infant after birth

If your child was injured or has been diagnosed with a medical condition following a difficult pregnancy, labor, or delivery, he or she may have suffered a birth injury. Reach out to our Orlando birth injury lawyers at NeJame Law today to learn about your rights and how our legal team can advocate for you.

Help Is Here

At NeJame Law, we understand the immense physical, emotional, and financial impact birth injuries have on victims and their families. Your focus should be on getting your child the proper treatment and care he or she needs, but the cost of such treatment can be prohibitive. This can be made all the more difficult by the knowledge that your child’s life has been irrevocably changed. Although he or she may still be able to live a happy and meaningful life, your child will likely face various difficulties and barriers that would not exist had the negligent doctor or medical provider upheld the standard of acceptable care.

When you turn to our birth injury lawyers in Orlando, you choose a team that will fight for justice for you, your child, and your family. We work tirelessly to investigate claims, determine when negligence or wrongful conduct has occurred, and build powerful cases aimed at maximizing our clients’ recoveries. You should not have to worry about the current or future expenses associated with your child’s birth injuries, and our team can help you fight to hold the negligent party accountable.

Request a Free Consultation

At NeJame Law, we not only provide complimentary case evaluations to all potential personal injury clients, but we also offer our services on a contingency fee basis. This means that you do not owe any upfront or out-of-pocket expenses when you hire our firm. Instead, our attorneys collect fees as a percentage of your total recovery. In other words, if we do not secure a settlement or verdict on your behalf, you do not pay.

Get in touch with our legal team today to learn more during a complimentary consultation. Call (407) 500-0000 or submit an online contact form.