When the joy of welcoming your new child into the world turns into the trauma of a birth-injured child, imagining their future becomes uncertain and overwhelming. Knowing that the catastrophic injury to your child could have been avoided if the doctor or other medical provider had upheld their legal duty of care makes it even more devastating.
Your family has the right to justice through financial compensation, but how do you build a strong medical malpractice claim in a catastrophic birth injury case?
An Arizona birth injury attorney can help by evaluating your case, investigating your claim, and proving medical malpractice occurred in your child’s case.
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Building a Catastrophic Birth Injury Medical Malpractice Case
What Causes Catastrophic Birth Injuries In Arizona?
The Cleveland Clinic describes birth injuries, or neonatal trauma, as any injury that occurs to a child during the labor and delivery process or immediately after the delivery. Birth injuries typically result from a complication during labor or delivery, such as an umbilical cord problem, shoulder dystocia (the infant becomes lodged below the mother’s pubic bone), or the use of vacuum extractors or forceps. Fortunately, most birth injuries are minor and fully recoverable; however, the following birth traumas can cause catastrophic injury:
- Hypoxia, or lack of oxygen to the brain, resulting in permanent brain damage
- Brachial plexus injury with paralysis of the arm, hand, and shoulder
- Facial nerve injury resulting in facial palsy
- Spinal cord injury with paralysis
- Skull fracture
During the first five minutes after birth, the medical providers assess the newborn by testing heart rate, breathing, skin color, and reflexes (APGAR). A low score often indicates catastrophic birth injury.
Proving Liability for a Birth Injury Claim
A preventable birth injury is medical malpractice. To build a strong case showing that the injury could have been prevented with appropriate care requires compelling evidence that meets the following legal standards of liability:
- A doctor-patient relationship was in place at the time the injury occurred (both mother and infant are the provider’s patients)
- The medical provider owed a legal duty to the patient, requiring them to treat the patient at the medical community’s accepted care standard
- They breached the duty of care through negligence
- The breach of duty directly caused the catastrophic injury
- The injury victim and/or their family suffered substantial economic and non-economic damages from the injury
Building a compelling claim requires evidence such as medical records, medical expert testimony, medical bills, and testimony from therapists and special education experts to assess the child’s future expenses.
How Can an Arizona Birth Injury Lawyer Help My Case?
A successful claim requires evidence of liability and a carefully calculated list of damages. An experienced Phoenix medical malpractice attorney investigates all aspects of the case, consults with key expert witnesses, and carefully calculates the total lifelong economic damages of the catastrophic birth injury. Then, an attorney assigns an appropriate amount of compensation for non-economic damages, such as the child’s pain, suffering, and diminished quality of life, as well as the parent’s emotional anguish.
If your child suffered a catastrophic injury, call or contact an Arizona birth injury lawyer from Knapp & Roberts for a well-executed legal strategy to maximize your financial recovery so you can focus on caring for your child.