Birth Injury Lawyers in Fort Wayne
Welcoming a child to your family is supposed to be a cause for celebration. While the vast majority of childbirths proceed without complication, when a birth injury occurs life’s most joyful occasion can quickly give rise to fearful emotions about the financial and emotional burden that must be shouldered due to a physician’s negligence.
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How Do Birth Injuries Occur?
Strides in technology, physician schooling, and parental education have greatly diminished the number of birth injuries occurring each year. However, America nearly leads the pack of birth injuries among developed nations.
The saddest aspect of a birth injury is that the majority could have been prevented if it were not for a physician failing to notice one of the following factors:
- Excessive baby weight – If a baby weighs over 8 pounds, 13 ounces they have an increased risk of sustaining a birth injury
- Dystocia or difficult/prolonged labor
- Premature birth – If a baby is born before developing for 40 weeks in the womb, their fragility can increase risk of birth injury
- Cephalopelvic disproportion – If a physician fails to perform a cesarean section even though a mother’s pelvis is too small for a successful vaginal delivery
What Are Some Types of Birth Injuries?
The type of birth injury sustained is dependent upon specific pregnancy and/or labor complications. The most frequent birth injuries are:
- Erb’s palsy – When a baby’s anterior shoulders become lodged behind the mother’s pubic bone and, rather than immediately performing a cesarean section, the physician employs excessive force and damages the baby’s brachial plexus
- Facial paralysis – By employing excessive pressure on the baby’s face and damaging facial nerves
- Collarbone fracture
- Cerebral palsy – When a physician’s negligence permanently damages the central nervous system and brain of a newborn
What Compensation is Available for Birth Injuries?
The lifelong financial and emotional burdens that new parents and a child must cope with are extensive. If a physician’s negligence during pregnancy and/or delivery directly resulted in a birth injury, families may be entitled to receive compensation for:
- Medications
- Long-term medical care and therapies
- Diminished quality of life
- Special education costs
Contact Fort Wayne Birth Injury Attorney
If your child has suffered a birth injury in the Fort Wayne or Huntington, Indiana areas, it is essential that you immediately consult with a personal injury attorney. Richard Truitt of Truitt Law Offices has over 40 years of experience representing catastrophically injured clients and will fight for the compensation you deserve. Contact our birth injury office online or call us at (888) 665-1972 to schedule your free interview. Make your first call, your only call.
