The birthing injury attorneys at the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine are committed to helping families who suffer birth injuries caused by someone else’s negligence. We have years of experience when it comes to navigating the Fort Lauderdale personal injury claim world, and we have recovered millions of dollars for our clients and their families.
The birth of a child should be a joyous occasion, but when medical negligence leads to a birth injury, it can have devastating consequences for both the child and their family. Birth injuries can result in lifelong physical, cognitive, or developmental challenges, requiring ongoing medical care and support. If your child has suffered a birth injury due to a doctor’s negligence, you may be feeling overwhelmed, frustrated, and unsure of where to turn for help. At Anidjar & Levine, we understand the emotional and financial burden birth injuries can cause, and we are here to help you seek justice. Our experienced Fort Lauderdale birth injury lawyers will fight for the compensation your family deserves to ensure your child receives the care they need.
Medical professionals have a duty to provide safe and competent care during pregnancy, labor, and delivery. When doctors, nurses, or other healthcare providers make preventable mistakes, the results can be catastrophic. At Anidjar & Levine, we are committed to holding negligent medical providers accountable. We will thoroughly investigate your case, consult with medical experts, and fight for the maximum compensation available to cover your child’s medical expenses, therapy, and future needs.
You can begin a free case review with our team today.
You can Recover the Cost of Your Birth Injury-Related Losses
Even the consequences of small mistakes during the birthing process are irreversible and can cause a lifetime of suffering. The medical expenses required to resuscitate the mother and save the baby can be exorbitant. The future medical costs to treat a child suffering from a birth defect are prohibitively expensive.
In addition to medical expenses, you could seek financial recovery for the following:
The Cost of Modifying Your Home
You may need to outfit your home with specialized equipment to accommodate your handicapped child. This could involve widening doorways, installing special flooring, and building accessible bathrooms.
Lost Income
Your child may need a full-time caretaker due to their birth injury. We can seek recovery for your lost income, as well as your diminished future earning capacity.
Pain and Suffering
Suffering complications during delivery and labor can be a traumatizing experience for both the mother and child. We can determine the value of your pain and suffering depending on the details of your case.
What goes into Building a Birth Injury Case in Fort Lauderdale?
In many cases, birthing injuries are a direct result of medical negligence. During birthing, negligence occurs when physicians or other healthcare providers breach their duty of care to a patient. Because obstetricians are considered specialists in their field, they are held to a high standard of care.
Even if the malpractice did not cause direct harm, it may exacerbate an injury or increase its severity. So how do you prove birth injury? What does it take to strategize a medical malpractice claim or lawsuit based on negligence evidence? To build your case, our team will secure the following pieces of information.
Our Lawyers Will Get an Affidavit of Merit
To file a successful medical malpractice claim or lawsuit, a third-party healthcare provider must write a statement declaring that you have a valid case. However, finding someone with that type of expertise can be difficult. Yet, we can look into our network of consultants to find a doctor who can attest that you and your child were subjected to malpractice.
When you work with a Fort Lauderdale children’s injury lawyer from our firm, you will benefit from all the resources we have to move forward with your case and help you and your child get the justice you need and deserve. Finding experts, having specialists testify on your behalf, or conducting deep-level investigations of the liable parties are just some of the things our lawyers can do for you.
Medical Treatment Records Are Essential for Birth Injury Cases
We will need to look at your medical records to prove various aspects of your case, such as:
- The error that led to your injuries
- Your state of health before the incident
- The date, time, and location of the error
- The details of any follow-up care you received
- Information about your patient/doctor relationship
We Will gather Testimony from Witnesses
We can interview others who were in the delivery room with you who can attest to what went wrong. We can get statements from family members, nurses, and other technicians.
We can use other types of evidence to prove your case. Be sure to keep all correspondence that pertains to your situation, as we can also use this information to back up your side of the story. Also, keep in mind that Florida Statutes §95.11(4)(b) may limit the amount of time you have to act, so consider your legal options today.
Healthcare Providers must Provide their Field’s Standard of Care
The periods before and during birth are critical for a mother and her child. Physicians must be extremely cautious in monitoring patients throughout the pregnancy and delivery. The slightest error can result in serious birthing injuries that permanently affect the baby and mother.
Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research says that to have a valid medical malpractice case, the following elements must exist:
- Your doctor had an obligation to render their field’s standard of care, meaning that you shared a patient/doctor relationship.
- Your doctor failed to uphold their field’s standard of care because of poor judgment, lack of skill, or negligence.
- You or your child suffered injuries as a result of the doctor’s inability to provide the necessary care.
- You have suffered losses that are financial, physical, or emotional in nature due to this error.
Common Types of Birth Injuries in Fort Lauderdale
Birth injuries can take many forms, ranging from mild to severe. Some injuries may heal over time with proper treatment, while others can result in permanent disabilities. Understanding the most common types of birth injuries can help you recognize when medical negligence may have been a factor.
Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy is a neurological disorder that affects movement, muscle tone, and coordination. It can be caused by brain damage that occurs during birth, often due to oxygen deprivation (birth asphyxia) or trauma during delivery. Babies with cerebral palsy may experience difficulty with motor skills, balance, and coordination, and the condition often requires lifelong physical therapy, medical care, and specialized equipment.
Brachial Plexus Injuries
Brachial plexus injuries, including Erb’s palsy, occur when the nerves in the upper arm are damaged during delivery. This can happen if the baby’s shoulder becomes stuck in the birth canal, a condition known as shoulder dystocia, and excessive force is used to deliver the baby. Babies with brachial plexus injuries may experience weakness, limited movement, or even paralysis in the affected arm.
Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a type of brain injury caused by oxygen deprivation during birth. When a baby’s brain is deprived of oxygen for too long, it can lead to developmental delays, cognitive impairments, and other long-term disabilities. HIE is often preventable if healthcare providers act quickly when complications arise during labor, such as umbilical cord compression or placental abruption.
Proving Medical Negligence in Birth Injury Cases
In birth injury cases, it’s not enough to simply show that an injury occurred. You must also prove that the healthcare provider’s negligence directly caused the injury. This can be a complex process that requires extensive legal and medical knowledge.
Establishing the Standard of Care
To prove negligence in a birth injury case, your attorney must first establish the standard of care that the medical professional was expected to follow. The standard of care refers to the level of competence and attention that a reasonably skilled healthcare provider would have provided under similar circumstances. If a doctor or nurse fails to meet this standard, they may be considered negligent.
Identifying Medical Errors
Birth injuries can occur due to a wide range of medical errors, including:
- Failure to monitor the baby’s vital signs: During labor, it is critical for medical professionals to closely monitor the baby’s heart rate and other vital signs. If signs of distress are missed or ignored, the baby may suffer serious complications, such as oxygen deprivation.
- Improper use of delivery tools: Forceps and vacuum extractors are sometimes used to assist in difficult deliveries. However, if these tools are used improperly, they can cause physical trauma to the baby, resulting in injuries like skull fractures or brachial plexus injuries.
- Delayed C-section: In some cases, an emergency C-section may be necessary to prevent harm to the baby or mother. If a doctor fails to recognize the need for a C-section or delays the procedure, it can lead to birth injuries, such as brain damage from lack of oxygen.
Gathering Expert Testimony
Medical expert testimony is often essential in birth injury cases. Your attorney will work with medical experts who can review your case and provide testimony on how the healthcare provider’s actions deviated from the standard of care. This testimony can be crucial in proving that negligence occurred and that it directly caused your child’s injury.
Pursuing Compensation for Birth Injuries in Fort Lauderdale
Birth injuries can lead to significant financial burdens for families, especially when long-term medical care and therapy are needed. Filing a birth injury claim can help you recover the compensation necessary to provide your child with the care they deserve.
Medical Expenses and Ongoing Care
One of the most significant costs associated with birth injuries is medical care. This includes immediate costs, such as hospital stays, surgeries, and medications, as well as long-term expenses, like physical therapy, occupational therapy, and specialized equipment. A birth injury claim can help ensure that all current and future medical expenses are covered.
Pain and Suffering
In addition to medical expenses, families of birth injury victims may be entitled to compensation for non-economic damages, such as pain and suffering. This compensation accounts for the emotional distress caused by the injury, as well as the impact it has on your child’s quality of life. A skilled birth injury attorney can help you calculate these damages and seek the compensation your family deserves.
Loss of Future Earning Capacity
If a birth injury results in a permanent disability, your child may be unable to work or earn a living in the future. A birth injury claim can include compensation for loss of future earning capacity, ensuring that your child has the financial resources they need to live as independently as possible.
Examples of Birth Injuries that Qualify for Compensation
Medical negligence can result in a wide range of birth injuries, including:
- Facial paralysis
- Skeletal fractures
- Spinal cord damage
- Cerebral dysfunction
- Intracranial swelling
- Bruising and forceps scars
- Excessive hematoma or bleeding
- Hemorrhage around the optic nerve
These conditions can be attributed to things like:
- Dilatory response to bleeding
- Negligence in remedying fetal distress
- Mistakes in identifying birth complications
- Delay in performing a cesarean section
- Improper use of forceps or vacuum extractor
- Incorrect administration of medicine to induce labor
We use cutting-edge technology and trusted medical experts to determine whether your child suffered a preventable injury caused by the negligence of others.
Cerebral Palsy and Erb’s Palsy Are Preventable Birth Injuries
Some conditions are easier to tie to negligence than others. Two examples of those conditions include cerebral palsy and Erb’s palsy. The former is a preventable injury caused by negligence. Failure to properly monitor the fetus during development and through delivery can severely damage the brain, resulting in permanent injuries that impair the child’s ability to move.
Erb’s palsy is another birth injury that impacts a critical network of nerves, the brachial plexus. Improper delivery of the baby can crush this fragile area, which is located between the neck and shoulder. Damaging this nerve center leads to permanent paralysis.
If your child suffered from any one of these conditions, they may have problems with their self-esteem, mobility, and education. Our team of birth injury lawyers in Fort Lauderdale has what it takes to prove your case and secure damages.
Find Out How Our Fort Lauderdale Birth Injury Lawyers Can Help
If you or your child has suffered a birthing injury and need a child injury lawyer in Fort Lauderdale or surrounding areas, the Law Offices of Anidjar & Levine can help. Our firm has successfully handled all types of medical malpractice claims, helping families across Florida get back on their feet.
We understand that living with a birthing injury is hard. That is why we are dedicated to helping you obtain the compensation you deserve. Call for a free consultation or contact us online.
We Can Help.
