• Auto Accidents
• Truck Accidents
• Serious Injuries
• Wrongful Death
• Motorcycle Accidents

Blog

General

• OHIO TO JOIN 38 OTHER STATES THAT BAN TEXTING WHILE DRIVING
• APPLYING THE COMMON FUND DOCTRINE TO REDUCE MEDPAY LIENS HELD BY INSURERS
• INSURANCE BAD FAITH CLAIMS IN OHIO
• OHIO WRONGFUL DEATH CLAIMS REQUIRE SWIFT ACTION

View More

Library

General

• The Importance of Witnesses in an Ohio Personal Injury Case

View More

Your Rights and Birth Injury

After waiting nine months hoping that you will give birth to a healthy baby, the last thing you want to concern yourself with is whether your child will be hurt during the delivery process. For the most part, deliveries go off without a hitch but in a small percentage there will be complications. It has been estimated that around 7 out of 1000 babies born in the United States will experience some form of birth injury. Some birth injuries may be minor and can be corrected while others are devastating and remain for a lifetime. If you have had a child with a birth injury, contact the Chester Law Group to discuss your legal rights. An experienced Birth injury attorney can guide you through the steps necessary for a Personal injury settlement.

We need to make a distinction between birth injuries and birth defects. Birth injuries are defined as a complication of the birthing process such as a breech problem or a birth canal that is too small to allow passage of the fetus. On the other hand birth defects come from something that happened during pregnancy such as a genetic complication, alcohol use, smoking or prescription medication.

Birth injuries come in many forms. A number of birth injuries are common and will heal themselves early on not requiring any medication or surgery. However, in serious cases, your child can suffer permanent injury. Although many birth injuries result from birth canal problems some will result from negligence on behalf of the doctor, hospital or staff when they violate proper protocol. Listed below are examples of some birth injuries.

• Some babies are removed with the aid of forceps. This can generate a forcep birth injury leading to cuts, bruises and bone fracture especially around the head.

• Sometimes the babies shoulder gets behind the pelvis. This causes tearing of the nerves to the arm, hand and fingers on that side. This causes Erb's Palsy.

• Sometimes there is a lack of oxygen to areas of the brain that control motor movements. This causes some neurons to die generating Cerebral Palsy. This damaged motor system causes improper muscle movement involving standing, walking, posture and speech impairment.

If you believe you have a birth injury child, you will have to prove that the doctor was careless and this carelessness led to the injury to your child. In particular, what you will need to do is:

• You will need to demonstrate what the standard of care is for the same or similar circumstance.

• Provide evidence that your doctor failed to follow proper guidelines for standard care.

• Provide evidence that your child actually suffered a birth injury.

• Demonstrate that your child would not have been injured if the physician followed proper protocol.

It is possible that more than one party may share in responsibility for a birth injury to your child. The medical team including doctor, interns, technicians and nurses may all be responsible or any combination. On the other hand the hospital may be at fault. Also, if a prescription drug was prescribed by your doctor that was taken correctly by you led to a birth defect or birth injury, the pharmaceutical company may be responsible as well. You will need to contact a Birth injury attorney and they will be able to determine who, if anyone is legally responsible Your Birth injury attorney will guide you through this process letting you know what to do in your particular situation.

What Physicians will do to Fight Back

You can count on doctors fighting back. There are 3 common defenses they use when they are confronted with malpractice litigation that involves a birth injury. Read below.

• Watch out for the 'Good Samaritan Acts' that are found in some states. If your doctor wasn't present during delivery or is standing on the side lines and a different doctor delivered your baby you may have difficulty proving a doctor-patient relationship. Not being able to prove a doctor-patient relationship weakens your case or will disqualify you from a malpractice suit.
• It may be difficult for you to prove a deviation from accepted protocols simply because there are multiple standards accepted. When there are multiple accepted protocols, it is left up to the physician to choose the accepted protocol he/she wants to support. This is usually an issue for a jury to decide.
• Even if you have established an accepted protocol for delivery of your child and proved that the physician failed to follow proper protocol, your doctor may state that the negligence was not the source of the birth injury. In other words, your child would have suffered the injury even if the doctor was not careless. This is caused “proximate causation” in legal circles.
  

Your Birth injury attorney can help you with all these factual and legal complications. You should be entitled to compensation for pain and suffering, permanent physical damage, future medical expenses and special education your child may require if you prove your case. Remember, your child will have less opportunity to earn a good salary so your family should be compensated for lost future wages. What the injured child and the family can be compensated for depends on the specifics of your case, the state you are in, among other factors.

Not all birth injury cases come to trial but yours may. The Chester Law Group is a Personal injury law firm experienced in Birth injury cases. A Birth injury attorney can evaluate your claim and help you determine the best course of action. Call the attorneys at Chester Law Group today to get the help you want from people that you can trust at (800)218-4243.

--Susan Ardizzoni Ph.D.

In his new consumer handbook, The Insider's Guide to Handling Ohio Accident Claims, author and Ohio personal injury lawyer David M. Chester gives consumers a rare look at the injury claim process in Ohio. From his position as an experienced "insider,” Attorney Chester explains in simple, easy to understand language, what consumers must know to protect themselves while walking in the mine field of dealing with insurance companies.

Contact us today for a FREE, NO OBLIGATION consultation about your personal injury legal needs.

Videos

General:

• What Does a Personal Injury Attorney Do For You?
• Do You Really Need a Lawyer? - Ohio Personal Injury Attorney Answers
• Ohio Personal Injury Attorney Discusses How a Lawyer Protects You
• Legal Fees Explained by Ohio Personal Injury Attorney
• Can You File a Personal Injury Claim if You Caused the Accident? Ohio Attorney Says No

View More