The birth of a child is one of life’s most joyful experiences. However, when your child suffers severe injuries during childbirth, your experience can be devastating.
Babies can suffer severe injuries during childbirth that change the way they will live their lives. Many birth injury victims will need expensive long-term medical treatment and may require lifelong care.
Parents of children who experience childbirth injuries caused by medical negligence have the right to recover compensation for damages. Birth injury claims can be complex, and the claims process is often emotionally draining for parents.
If your child suffered a birth injury, you need the assistance of an experienced Seattle birth injury attorney with a proven record of recovering maximum client compensation. At Seattle Injury Law, our compassionate personal injury attorneys will walk with you through the difficult process of seeking justice for your child.
While no amount of money can compensate for the injuries suffered by your child, financial compensation can help ease some of the burdens you will face due to the injury. Let us help you get the justice you are entitled to.
Call us at (800) 928-5486 or complete the short form on our contact page to schedule a free consultation to discuss your claim.
Reasons Clients Trust Seattle Injury Law
When families face the devastating impact of a birth injury, they need a legal team they can rely on.
Here’s why so many clients choose Seattle Injury Law to guide them through this difficult time and fight for the compensation they deserve:
- Our compassionate birth injury attorneys are committed to helping parents recover maximum compensation to support their child’s needs now and in the future.
- We are connected to top medical experts who will help establish acts of medical malpractice and support the accurate valuation of damages.
- We have recovered over $300 million for our clients.
- We understand that no two birth injury cases are alike. We customize a legal strategy based on the specific facts of your birth injury case.
Types of Seattle Birth Injuries
Babies can suffer many types of birth injuries due to medical negligence. Some of the most common Seattle birth injuries include:
Cerebral Palsy (CP)
According to the Mayo Clinic, cerebral palsy is a group of conditions that affect movement and posture. It is caused by damage to the developing brain.
Cerebral palsy (CP) may cause a person’s limbs and body to appear limp or floppy or cause spasticity. Some people with CP can walk independently, while others require assistance. CP can affect a person’s intellectual abilities and may cause blindness, deafness, and epilepsy. It can also cause eye muscle problems that prevent the person’s eyes from being able to focus on the same object.
Common medical malpractices that can cause Cerebral palsy include:
- Ignoring signs of fetal distress.
- Delaying an emergency cesarean section.
- Failing to monitor oxygen levels during labor.
- Failing to treat infections during pregnancy.
Our Seattle cerebral palsy lawyers have extensive experience with these cases.
Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
This is brain damage that occurs from a lack of oxygen and blood flow to the baby during labor. The Cleveland Clinic explains that HIE can permanently change how the brain functions. HIE may also be referred to as birth asphyxia, neonatal encephalopathy, or prenatal hypoxia.
Medical negligence that may cause HIE includes:
- Negligent monitoring of maternal health conditions, such as high blood pressure.
- Lack of response to fetal distress.
- Delaying a cesarean section.
- Negligent use of labor-inducing drugs.
Periventricular Leukomalacia (PVL)
This brain injury causes white matter surrounding the brain’s fluid-filled ventricles to die. A lack of sufficient blood or oxygen to the brain usually causes it. According to the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, PVL can affect fetuses or newborns, but premature babies are at greater risk. It can result in motor disorders, coordination problems, vision and hearing problems, and delayed cognitive development.
Medical errors that may result in PVL include:
- Delaying an emergency C-section when the baby is in distress.
- Neglecting to detect low oxygen in the baby.
- Not recognizing and treating maternal complications, such as placental insufficiency.
- Failing to monitor signs of premature labor.
Kernicterus/Bilirubin Encephalopathy (BE)
This form of brain damage is caused by severe jaundice in newborns. Mount Sinai’s website explains that BE is caused by very high bilirubin levels, a yellow pigment created as the body removes old red blood cells. If high levels of bilirubin move out of the blood and collect in the brain, it can cause brain damage and hearing loss.
Medical negligence that may cause BE includes:
- Failing to detect or monitor jaundice after birth.
- Failing to provide appropriate treatment for jaundice.
- Failing to monitor risk factors, such as premature birth or incompatible mother and child blood types.
These are only a few of the most common types of birth injuries caused by medical negligence. If you suspect your child may have a serious birth injury, you should promptly consult an experienced Seattle birth injury attorney.
Common Causes of Seattle Birth Injuries
The cause of many Seattle birth injuries is medical negligence. When medical professionals fail to provide the expected standard of care, families can be devastated.
When medical malpractice is the reason for injury to an innocent child, providers should be held accountable. No amount of money can truly compensate for the damages inflicted by birth injuries. However, recovering compensation can help address some of the financial burdens created by those injuries.
Liability in Seattle Birth Injury Cases
If your baby or you suffered a birth injury due to the negligence of a medical provider, you may have the right to recover compensation for damages. Liability for birth injuries varies from case to case.
Determining the cause of the birth injury is essential to proving your claim and holding the at-fault parties responsible. At Seattle Injury Law, our birth injury attorneys carefully investigate the medical records and the facts surrounding the birth of your child. We often consult childbirth injury medical experts to help establish and prove causation and liability.
Liable parties may include physicians, the hospital, or a healthcare organization whose negligence contributed to you or your child’s birth injury.
What is the Statute of Limitations in Washington Birth Injury Claims?
A statute of limitations sets the deadline for filing a claim to recover damages in a civil suit. If you miss your filing deadline, you cannot recover compensation.
The Revised Code of Washington §4.16.350 outlines the filing deadline for Washington medical malpractice claims. The deadline is three years from when the medical error happened. If the birth injury or its cause was not immediately known, you may have one year from the date you knew or should have known of its existence.
However, Washington also enforces a statute of repose in medical malpractice claims. A statute of repose bars legal claims after a specific deadline, protecting medical providers from long-term liability. Washington’s statute of repose for medical malpractice is eight years after the negligent action or inaction date.
You must consult an experienced Seattle birth injury attorney promptly to determine your filing deadline. You should act as quickly as possible to avoid missing your deadline and protect essential evidence before it is lost or destroyed.
How a Seattle Birth Injury Attorney Can Help You
Birth injury claims are challenging and often involve numerous parties, insurance companies, attorneys, and expert witnesses. You need the assistance of a Seattle birth injury attorney with a proven record of success handling birth injury claims.
Your chances of recovering maximum compensation are significantly greater if a skillful, experienced Seattle birth injury attorney represents you.
Let Seattle Injury Law Help You Recover The Compensation You Deserve
Birth injuries can devastate families. If your child suffered a birth injury due to medical negligence, you may be able to recover compensation for damages.
The Seattle birth injury attorneys at Seattle Injury Law have the experience, skills, and professional resources to help you recover maximum compensation. Let us help you.
Call (800) 928-5486 or visit our contact page today to schedule a free consultation to discuss your claim.