Delaware Birth Injury Lawyer

If you or your newborn have experienced a traumatic birth that resulted in serious injuries, you have the right to obtain compensation for the devastation you’ve suffered. Contact an experienced Delaware birth injury attorney for help bringing the liable party to justice.

When you go into labor and are preparing to give birth to your child, the last thing you expect is to experience a difficult birth that injures you or your child. Childbirth complications happen, but when the negligent actions of your healthcare provider cause harm to you or your newborn, the negligent medical professional should be required to cover the costs associated with the injuries.

At Barros, McNamara, Malkiewicz & Taylor, we are dedicated to securing the compensation you need to support a child born with a birth injury that could impact the child’s life for the foreseeable future. A compassionate Delaware birth injury lawyer from our firm will do whatever it takes to get you the compensation you deserve.

Identifying the Negligence of a Medical Professional

In the United States, complications during childbirth are relatively common. Recognizing medical negligence as it applies to birth injuries can be a challenge for those who don’t have in-depth knowledge about what their physicians should and shouldn’t be doing.

Negligence in the medical field occurs when a professional—such as an obstetrician, midwife, nurse, pediatrician, or other staff member—involved in your treatment and care makes a medical decision that another professional of similar experience and training would not have made.

For example, if during your pregnancy your blood is found to be Rh-, a nurse will likely need to give you the RhoGAM shot. If your healthcare team fails to do that and your blood mixes with your baby’s during birth, the child could suffer when the antibodies of your blood begin killing the red blood cells in your child’s body. That’s negligence that warrants compensation.

There are countless other ways the negligence of a medical professional can harm you or your baby during birth. A birth injury lawyer in Delaware can help you expose exactly what happened and who is responsible.

Common Birth Injuries

Some birth injuries in Delaware are minor, while others can have a lasting impact on the child’s life. We have outlined some of the most frequently seen birth injuries below:

Cerebral Palsy

This condition is caused by damage to the baby’s brain during pregnancy or delivery. If the person delivering the baby unnecessarily used forceps or otherwise damaged the baby’s brain in some way, he or she could be found negligent.

Caput Succedaneum

When babies are delivered head-first, they are at risk for swelling and edema in their heads. This usually occurs in difficult or prolonged labors. Although caput succedaneum itself resolves quickly and is harmless, if a medical professional attempts to drain the fluid, or if elevated bilirubin levels that cause jaundice go untreated, the baby can suffer from brain damage or even death.

Erb’s Palsy

Erb’s palsy is a brachial plexus injury in which the nerves of the shoulders are stretched or severed during childbirth. The newborn’s shoulders typically get stuck underneath the pelvic bone of the mother. Negligence can occur if the person delivering the baby fails to take proper steps to deliver the baby safely.

Get the Compensation You Deserve

Dealing with the effects of a birth injury is not only difficult, but emotionally draining for parents who never expected their child to be anything other than perfectly healthy. The medical expenses alone can be astronomical, with many birth injuries requiring extensive physical and occupational therapy for children to learn how to live life with their injuries.

Fortunately, those costs can be recovered in your Delaware birth injury claim against the person or people who are responsible for your baby’s injuries. You will also be able to recover damages for pain and suffering and emotional distress, as well as any wages you might have lost while unable to work when caring for your injured newborn.

In cases where the negligent actions of the medical professional who caused your infant’s birth injury were particularly egregious, a judge could award punitive damages. This will dramatically increase your final awarded amount. These damages are meant to make an example of the at-fault party in the hope of preventing similar mistakes from affecting other families.

Connect with a Delaware Birth Injury Attorney

At a time when your family should be rejoicing in the birth of a child, a birth injury can turn this joyous time into a traumatic one. If the medical negligence of your perinatal or neonatal professionals has caused you or your newborn to suffer, reach out to a knowledgeable lawyer at Barros, McNamara, Malkiewicz & Taylor for help holding those responsible accountable for their actions.

You can schedule your free consultation with a Delaware birth injury lawyer today by filling out the contact form below or calling our office at 302-734-8400.