Fort Worth Lawyer Seeks Compensation for Birth Injury Victims
Accomplished Texas law firm advocates for injured infants and mothers
Welcoming your child into the world should be the most joyous occasion of your life. Unfortunately, a healthcare provider’s mistake during delivery can put a mother and her child in dire jeopardy. According to studies, more than six of every 1,000 children suffer some type of birth injury. These conditions may be apparent immediately or may take time to fully manifest. Healthcare providers might not give you full information about how a child has been injured, so parents need an effective advocate. At the Law Offices of J. Kent McAfee, P.C., we represent parents whose infants have been harmed due to medical negligence. We thoroughly investigate the circumstances of your child’s injury and fight to hold liable doctors and hospitals fully accountable.
What is a birth injury?
Labor is frequently a difficult experience for mother and child. An infant can easily suffer trauma during the birthing process. Some birth injuries are natural and unavoidable. However, medical science has advanced to the point where doctors often can anticipate labor complications and act to minimize their impact on the infant. Failure to act appropriately to signs of distress and to use accepted methods to relieve that distress is malpractice. Likewise, it is malpractice when a healthcare provider’s mistake creates the conditions that harm the child.
Types of infant birth injuries
Common types of birth injuries include:
- Cerebral palsy — This condition refers to various brain injuries that affect motor development. When birth trauma causes cerebral palsy, a child may require a lifetime of medical and personal care.
- Erb’s palsy — Improper obstetric procedure could lead to this weakness or paralysis of the arm caused by trauma to the brachial plexus. Erb’s palsy often occurs when an infant’s shoulder gets stuck inside the mother’s pelvic bone.
- Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy — A problem with the umbilical cord can prevent adequate blood flow to the infant’s brain, causing hypoxia or anoxia. In serious cases, a child might suffer serious brain damage or be stillborn.
- Facial paralysis — Damage to nerves can cause an infant’s face to droop.
- Broken bones — The clavicle is the bone most often fractured during a baby’s delivery, especially when a doctor attempts to move a child whose shoulder is stuck.
- Intracranial hemorrhage — A brain bleed that can occur due to oxygen deprivation or excessive force applied to the infant’s head.
If your infant has suffered a birth injury, we will consult with experts and review the facts in detail to determine if negligence contributed to your child’s medical problem.
Causes of birth injuries
Birth injuries can occur naturally, or can be the result of medical negligence. Frequent examples of obstetric negligence include:
- Failing to monitor the infant’s heartbeat and oxygen level
- Failure to diagnose a breech birth
- Failure to observe a problem with the positioning of the infant
- Waiting too long to induce labor
- Waiting too long to order a C-section
- Allowing labor to go on for too long
Families rely on receiving proper medical care throughout the labor and delivery process. When healthcare providers fail to perform at an acceptable standard, we fight to hold them accountable. A personal injury attorney at our firm can help you pursue compensation for the medical costs, pain and suffering and other damages associated with your child’s injuries.
Schedule a free birth injury consultation with a reputable Fort Worth attorney
The Law Offices of J. Kent McAfee, P.C. represents parents whose infants have suffered birth injuries due to medical negligence, as well as mothers harmed by obstetric malpractice. To meet with an accomplished personal injury lawyer free of charge, call us at 817-332-7676 or contact us online. Our office is in Fort Worth’s Hospital District, but we also meet with clients in their homes and hospital rooms.
