Some children with birth asphyxia make a full recovery, while others sustain life-long injuries. Birth asphyxia can cause long-term conditions, including seizures, cerebral palsy, paralysis, physical impairments, and impaired development. Severe cases of birth asphyxia can be fatal.
If your child was affected by birth asphyxia, our Texas birth asphyxia lawyer could help you file a legal case. Call the Birth Injury Lawyers Group today at (800) 222-9529.
Legal Liability in a Birth Asphyxia Case
In some cases, birth asphyxia is a tragic event that no one contributed to or could have prevented. In other cases, medical professionals may have failed to deliver appropriate medical care during the birth, contributing to your child’s birth asphyxia.
A birth asphyxia lawyer can take the details of your case and help you determine whether your child’s birth asphyxia could have been prevented by the medical professionals involved. If so, you may be entitled to financial compensation for your child’s injuries. This compensation is known as damages.
To make a legal case for damages, your lawyer must establish which parties had a legal duty of care during the birth, that these parties were negligent, and that this negligence caused your child’s birth asphyxia. Here are more details on those three components:
Duty of Care
Anyone providing medical care during your child’s birth has a legal duty of care. That means they have an obligation to provide medical care that meets accepted standards. Doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals involved in the birth have a duty of care.
Negligence
Negligence means that a health care provider failed to provide care that meets the accepted standards. In a birth setting, negligence could include failing to acknowledge risk factors or complications, failing to appropriately monitor the birth, failing to respond to indications of fetal distress, delaying a cesarean section, and failing to properly treat the injuries.
Causation
Causation means that the medical provider’s negligence caused your child’s birth asphyxia. Your lawyer must demonstrate a firm link between the negligence and the birth asphyxia that occurred. For example, if a doctor does not notice signs of fetal distress because they did not monitor the birth, their negligence could have caused the birth asphyxia.
"If your child was born with a birth injury, or cerebral palsy, we can help."
Establishing the Value of Damages in a Birth Asphyxia Case
A Garland birth asphyxia lawyer can help you establish the value of your damages after a case of birth asphyxia. You may be entitled to financial compensation for your child’s medical care, both now and in the future.
If you must take unpaid time off from work or stop working completely to care for your child, you may also be entitled to compensation for current and future lost wages. Depending on the severity of your child’s injuries, you may be able to make a financial claim for their pain and suffering.
Your lawyer can collect evidence to support the value of your current medical expenses, such as bills for hospital stays, surgeries, doctor’s appointments, rehabilitative therapies, prescription medications, and more.
They can also collect receipts for other medically related expenses you may have incurred, such as modifications to your home or the purchase of an accessible vehicle. For parents who have had to take unpaid time off from work, your lawyer can also calculate the value of the wages you have already lost and estimate your future lost earnings.
Garland Birth Asphyxia Lawyer Near Me (800) 222-9529
Time Limits in a Birth Asphyxia Case
If your child suffered from birth asphyxia, you have only a limited time to make a legal case for damages. Texas Civil Practice and Remedies Code §74.251 sets the statute of limitations for medical malpractice at two years.
Injuries involving a minor can affect this deadline—a lawyer can help you determine the exact amount of time you have left to file. If you wait too long, you forfeit your legal right to financial compensation.
"We know first-hand what you are going through."
How a Lawyer Can Help with a Birth Asphyxia Case
If we cannot agree on a settlement with the insurance provider, we can file a lawsuit on your behalf and represent you in court. If your child was affected by birth asphyxia, reach out to the Birth Injury Lawyers Group for a free consultation. Call (800) 222-9529 today to speak with a member of our team.
"We are committed to helping families who have suffered medical negligence."