There is nothing more devastating than realizing your newborn has suffered a preventable birth injury. Aside from the stress of dealing with such an injury, you probably have a lot of questions. If your child has sustained a serious birth injury because of a medical professional’s neglect or mistake, you might be able to obtain compensation. Birth injury cases are among the most complex areas of medical malpractice law, but you can rest assured that our hard-working Baltimore birth injury lawyers know how to effectively advocate for your rights.
Recently, a Baltimore jury ruled in favor of the plaintiff in a medical malpractice case in which the defendant was accused of causing a severe birth injury in 2014. The lawsuit arose from allegations that medical professionals provided a 16-year-old mother with inaccurate dire predictions about the possible outcome of the birth after she began experiencing preeclampsia. Facing that prognosis, which the mother’s lawyers say was incorrect; the teen underwent an unmonitored vaginal delivery when she should have instead had a C-section. This led to the newborn daughter suffering long lasting brain injuries from a lack of oxygen. In fact, the baby was born with a hypoxic brain injury, which caused cerebral palsy. She cannot walk, must rely on a feeding tube, and requires round-the-clock care.
Birth injuries can happen for a variety of reasons, but when these injuries are caused by medical negligence or careless errors made by a medical professional, you have the legal right to hold that medical professional accountable through a medical malpractice claim. Medical malpractice happens when a medical professional injures a patient by failing to act in accordance with the standard of care. The standard of care denotes the level of care that a reasonably competent doctor would have used in the same situation. You should be aware that the standard of care differs in each situation based on a number of factors including the patient’s medical history, age, condition being treated and more.
Birth injuries often place severe financial burdens on families already struggling with the physical and emotional costs of the malpractice. Fortunately, Maryland law allows birth injury victims to recover compensation for things like past and future medical expenses, ongoing rehabilitation expenses, special educational costs and even expenses for accessibility modifications that may be needed for a home or vehicle. Victims of malpractice may also be able to recover compensation for intangible harms such as shortened life expectancy, pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment, disfigurement and more. You can rest assured that we will calculate the full and fair amount that should be sought in your case.
Birth injuries can lead to devastating and long-term harm for a child. If your child has suffered a birth injury due to a medical professional’s negligence, we can help. At Arfaa Law Group, our seasoned Baltimore medical malpractice attorneys are committed to helping malpractice victims across Maryland. The birth injury law firm that you choose can have an important impact on the outcome of your case, so it is vital to choose wisely. To consult a member of our team about your case, please call 410-889-1850 or contact us online.