Your child’s birth injury may have been caused by medical negligence during pregnancy or labor. It is important to discuss the situation with a qualified attorney, because you may be eligible to pursue compensation for your child’s medical bills and other damages.
Phillips Law Group attorneys have nearly 30 years of experience in recovering hundreds of millions in compensation for injury victims. This includes $3 million in a medical negligence case. Jeff Phillips, the founding partner of the firm, is a member of the National Trial Lawyers Association Top 100.
Our Glendale birth injury lawyers offer a free initial consultation to discuss your claim. If you have a case, you decide whether you want to pursue it. We do not charge upfront fees ”“ our attorneys do not get paid unless you receive compensation from a settlement or courtroom decision.
Call anytime, 24/7: 602-222-222 orfill out a Free Case Evaluation form.
Can I File a Case?
There are many reasons why birth injury cases can be very complicated. Proving the injury was the result of medical malpractice can be particularly difficult. You need a qualified medical expert to explain how the medical professionals involved in the birth did not uphold relevant medical standards and how this could be linked to the injury.
We need to meet with you and discuss the specific details of your claim to determine if you may have a valid case. There are many factors we may review when we try to determine if there could be a case:
- When you discovered your child’s birth injury
- The severity of the injury
- If doctors told you there was a problem during pregnancy or labor
- Your damages
- How your injury may be connected to a doctor’s actions or failure to act
The initial consultation is 100 percent free of charge, and there is no obligation to take legal action, so there is no risk to you in discussing your situation.
Call today. There is limited time to take legal action.
What is the Value of My Birth Injury Case?
The value of a case is based on the damages the victim suffered. Our Glendale birth injury lawyers can discuss the damages that may be available in a birth injury claim during a free consultation.
There are two categories of compensation in a medical malpractice case:
Economic Damages
These are damages with a specific value that can be documented by things like receipts or bills you receive. For example, you can pursue compensation for your child’s current and future medical expenses for the treatment of his or her injury, which could include the cost of:
- Physical therapy
- Speech therapy
- Occupational therapy
- Medical equipment, such as crutches, walkers, splints, orthotic devices or wheelchairs
- Prescription medications
- Appointments with doctors
- Surgical procedures
- Medical testing
- Stays in the hospital
- Psychological counseling
You may also be able to pursue compensation for modifications you need to make to your home to accommodate your child’s disability. For instance, you may need to widen hallways or doorways to accommodate your child’s mobility issues. This could happen with a condition like cerebral palsy.
Another form of compensation could be the cost of special education your child needs due to cognitive difficulties from his or her birth injury.
Non-Economic Damages
Our Glendale birth injury lawyers may also be able to pursue compensation for the physical pain and emotional suffering your child experiences from his or her injury. You and your spouse may also be eligible for compensation for the mental anguish you experience over your child’s suffering.
These damages are more difficult to evaluate than economic damages because the level of pain and suffering from a birth injury is different for each child and his or her parents. This is another reason why we recommend seeking experienced legal assistance. Our attorneys know how to calculate the value of these kinds of damages and can explain how you can help us. For example, we may ask you to keep a pain journal.
Call us 602-222-222 for a free consultation.
How Can a Lawyer Assist Me?
There are many benefits to having qualified legal representation after your child suffers a birth injury. Not only can they determine if you may have a case and calculate the fair value of your claim, they can also handle the legal process on your behalf.
You should not be burdened with spending your time investigating, finding medical experts, negotiating for compensation, and filing legal documents. We want you to be able to focus on your child and helping him or her get the treatment and assistance he or she needs. You can leave the complicated legal process to our attorneys.
We are prepared to launch an in-depth investigation of your claim to determine how the doctors who treated you were negligent, and how this contributed to your child’s injuries. We know how to find a qualified medical expert for a birth injury case.
We understand how to determine the full value of future medical expenses for a life-changing birth injury, such as cerebral palsy or Erb’s palsy. We also have many years of combined experience calculating the value of pain and suffering.
We are prepared to go to court to recover maximum damages for your child’s birth injury. Sometimes the other side is unwilling to offer fair compensation in a settlement, so it becomes necessary to take them to court.
It is very important to have an attorney who is experienced at representing clients in a court case. Medical malpractice insurance companies and their legal team often know the birth injury attorneys who are not ready to deal with a trial. Insurance companies may not offer fair compensation to victims represented by these lawyers because they may think it is less likely the case will end up in court.
There are no guarantees in any legal process, but those who have knowledgeable and skilled representation often recover more compensation than those who do not. If we take your case, there will be no fees unless we are successful in recovering damages for you and your child.
What is the Deadline for Filing a Case?
Arizona’s standard deadline for medical malpractice cases, including birth injury cases, is two years. This means the case must be filed within two years of the date you knew, or should have known, about the incident of medical malpractice that resulted in your child’s birth injury or it will be barred. If you were to bring the case to court after those two years pass, it would likely get thrown out.
However, the two-year clock may not begin right when the injury occurs, because parents may not know about the injury right after birth. It may take a few weeks or months before the child shows symptoms and is diagnosed.
It is important to discuss your claim with a licensed attorney who can assess how much time is left to potentially take legal action. Our Glendale birth injury attorneys can determine when the clock runs out and if you may have a case.
Complete ourFree Case Evaluation formright now.
Who Could be Held Liable?
There are different parties who could potentially be held liable for a birth injury, including:
- Doctors
- Contractors of the hospital
- Nurses
- Physician assistants
- Anesthesiologists
- Hospitals (when the doctor was an employee of the hospital)
- Pharmaceutical companies, when a medication the mother took caused the child to suffer an injury)
Our Glendale birth injury lawyers can determine who may be liable through a detailed investigation, if you have a case and you hire us to represent you.
Determining who was responsible for an incident of medical malpractice resulting in a birth injury can be very complicated. One reason is the doctor who treated you during labor may not be an employee of the hospital. This is one of many issues you should leave to an experienced attorney to sort through.
What Should You Do After a Birth Injury?
If you notice any problems with your baby after he or she is born, you should immediately seek medical attention. Sometimes quick treatment can be the difference between a child having a lifelong injury and having a chance at making a full or at least partial recovery.
Depending on the injury, surgery may be an option to help your child. For example, surgery may be necessary to treat an infant hematoma or a spinal cord injury.
It is a good idea to keep a detailed and accurate record of when you noticed symptoms and when you sought medical help. You should also keep documentation of prescription medications and other medical interventions, such as the use of adaptive equipment. This information can be used to show the severity of your child’s condition, how it has progressed and that you are doing what you can to try to treat the injury. We may also recommend that you keep a detailed journal of the pain and suffering your child experiences.
Contacting a lawyer as soon as possible is also a good idea. Our Glendale birth injury lawyers can review your situation to determine if you have a case. The sooner you contact us, the more time we will have to review and file a potential case before the statute of limitations runs out.
Call Phillips Law Group today at 602-222-222 , or any time, day or night.
What is a Birth Injury?
A birth injury is one that happens to the baby while in the womb or during delivery. Some of the most common birth injuries include:
- Broken collarbone
- Swelling in the soft tissue of the scalp
- Damage to facial nerves
- Bleeding under cranial bones
- Bruising of the head
- Loss of oxygen
- Spinal cord damage
- Damage to the brachial plexus, a network of nerves controlling the arms and hands
How Quickly Can a Birth Injury Occur?
Birth injuries can happen very quickly. If doctors do not carefully monitor the mother during pregnancy or delivery, the baby can be without oxygen long enough to cause a permanent condition like cerebral palsy.
Doctors also need to make a relatively quick decision about performing a C-section if the birth could be excessively difficult or the baby is in distress. If doctors do not react quickly enough, the baby can potentially suffer a serious injury.
An infant can also suffer serious harm from tools used to aid in the delivery, such as forceps or a vacuum. All it takes is one careless move with a tool and the baby could be disabled for life.
Factors That Contribute to a Birth Injury
There are many factors involved in a birth injury. For example, unusually large infants can make the birth more difficult and create a higher risk of a loss of oxygen during delivery. A premature birth is another risk factor.
If the mother’s pelvis is a lot smaller than the baby’s head, that can lead to a prolonged labor. When there is a prolonged labor there is a greater chance of the baby suffering an injury. For example, the head can get compressed and the baby’s oxygen supply could be restricted.
If the baby is positioned feet-first, this can also increase the risk of injury. There is less chance of an injury if the baby is positioned head-first.
If the mother is taking anti-depressants or other medication it could increase the risk of the baby developing problems after birth, such as hypertension.
Types of Medical Malpractice That Can Lead to a Birth Injury
Unfortunately, a factor in many birth injuries is the negligence of doctors and other medical professionals during labor or pregnancy. Some common examples of medical malpractice that could lead to a birth injury include:
- Waiting too long to do a Cesarean section
- Pulling too hard on the baby during delivery, breaking bones or damaging nerves
- Failure to monitor the baby for signs of distress, such as a lack of oxygen
- Careless use of delivery tools
- Failure to notice or treat bleeding in the baby
- Failure to treat diabetes in the mother
- Failing to prepare for a difficult birth when there were risk factors making a difficult birth more likely
- Not treating infections in the mother
- Not diagnosing preeclampsia in the mother
It can be very difficult to prove medical malpractice, particularly if there were complications out of the doctor’s control. In these cases, your attorney must prove another doctor in a similar situation with similar training would have acted differently.
Building a strong case to prove this takes time and extensive legal knowledge. The Glendale birth injury lawyers at Phillips Law Group have an in-depth understanding about these kinds of cases, and Arizona laws that apply.
Call us today to learn more about how we may be able to help you. We can also answer your legal questions. 602-222-222
Medical Conditions Caused by Birth Injuries
Some of the most common disabilities and medical conditions that can result from birth injuries include:
- Brachial plexus injury
- Erb’s palsy
- Klumpke’s palsy
- Cerebral palsy
- Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn
- Seizures
A condition like cerebral palsy can result in lifelong challenges for a child, from cognitive and speech problems to mobility issues and seizures.
Brachial plexus injuries like Erb’s palsy or Klumpke’s palsy can result in the child never having full use of an arm or hand. Children with these kinds of injuries may need different types of disability accommodations throughout their lives.
Our attorneys may be able to pursue compensation for the damages caused by these conditions.
Contact Our Glendale Birth Injury Lawyers to Discuss Your Claim
Treating a birth injury can be very expensive as many of these injuries affect the child for the rest of his or her life. During this difficult time, it is important to discuss the situation with a trusted attorney who can determine if you may have legal options.
Call us for a free, confidential legal consultation to discuss your child’s injury and what may have caused it. If you have a case and want to pursue it, we are prepared to handle each step of the process for you. We want you to be able to focus on your child’s health.
Our firm operates on a contingency fee basis, which means there are no fees unless our clients receive compensation. Our Phoenix office is about a half-hour drive from the Glendale City Court, and there are multiple bus stops close by.
We are ready to assist you. Call 602-222-222 .