Birth Injury Lawyer in Maryland

Birth injuries, sometimes called birth trauma, are physical injuries that occur during the delivery process. Birth injuries typically occur due to a multitude of reasons, including fetal health issues, maternal health issues, or external conditions such as medical malpractice or medical negligence. In some cases, people may confuse congenital disabilities, also known as birth defects, with birthing injuries. However similar a congenital disability and injury may seem, the main difference between the two conditions is how they develop.

According to the CDC, congenital disabilities typically develop within the first three months of pregnancy due to factors such as maternal health conditions, smoking, alcohol, or drug use, while a birth injury occurs during the delivery process. If you believe your child has suffered a birth injury, we may be able to help you. Learn more today by connecting with a birth injury attorney.

During delivery, your doctor and medical staff should monitor and prevent any risks that may come to your child during their birth. However, due to miscommunication or lack of proper care, you and your child may suffer from severe or even life-threatening injuries. Some of the most common birth injuries your or your child may experience due to medical malpractice include the following:

Cephalohematoma: During difficult deliveries, your doctor may opt to use forceps or a vacuum to assist with the delivery. In some cases, forceps can leave temporary marks or bruises on the infant's face and head. The use of a vacuum to extract the infant may place excessive pressure on the infant's skull, causing bruising or lacerations on the scalp. While your infant may recover from the use of these tools, they are now also at risk of suffering from seizures, head swelling, and pain.

Cerebral Palsy (CP): CP is a congenital disorder of movement, muscle tone, or posture that may develop should the medical staff mismanage the umbilical cord, placenta or uterine rupture during delivery.

Brachial Plexus injury: The brachial plexus involves five nerves that run along the neck, chest, and armpit which controls the shoulders, arms and hands. During delivery, should the brachial plexus nerves stretch, pull or tear, it could result in weakness and in some cases lead to immobility.

Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE): Typically refers to brain dysfunction due to a lack of blood flow or oxygen. HIE may lead to developmental delays, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, or other cognitive injuries.

Periventricular Leukomalacia (PVL): PVL develops when the white matter of the brain is damaged during childbirth. The white matter of the brain controls the body's motor function. Thus, PVL could lead to issues like moment and vision.

If your child has suffered from any of the injuries listed above, you may be eligible to file a birth injury claim. For more information, contact a Morgan & Morgan birth injury attorney today.

Often, birth injuries occur during labor and delivery. While your medical team may be trained to follow specific procedures during delivery to ensure the health and safety of you and your child, often, due to poor communication, lack of readiness, or blatant negligence, your team will drop the ball, leaving your or your child to suffer injuries. Some of the most common errors that occur during labor and delivery that can cause a birth injury include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Failure to provide an accurate due date
• Failure to perform a necessary cesarean section (C-section)
• Misuse delivery instruments such as forceps or vacuum extractors
• Mismanagement of recognized complications such as fetal distress
• Inadequate maternal monitoring during labor
• Oxygen deprivation due to delayed action

While certain birth injuries cannot be avoided as they are the result of maternal or infant risk factors such as prolonged labor, maternal obesity, and cephalopelvic disproportion, if your doctor fails to warn you of the risks, you may be entitled to financial compensation. For more information about the cause of your child's birth injuries, consult with a medical professional, then contact an attorney.

Determining whether the cause of your birth injury was a result of malpractice is not always straightforward, as the labor and delivery teams are trained to handle a wide range of situations that may arise during childbirth. In some cases, even detecting a birth injury may be difficult as some injuries may not be evident for months or even years after birth. The best way to determine if your or your child's birth injuries were sustained due to medical malpractice would be to consult with a pediatrician and a birth injury attorney as soon as possible.

In Maryland, the statute of limitations for a personal injury case, depending on the date of its discovery, can range from three to five years. If you were immediately made aware of the injuries your child sustained at birth due to the actions of your doctor or someone else in the room, you have up to five years from that date to file a lawsuit. If you discover a birth injury after your child was born, parents have three years from the date to sue those liable for the injuries. 

• For children who were injured and are under the age of 11, the window for their parents to file a medical malpractice lawsuit opens at the age of 11.  
• For children who are under the age of 16 and have suffered a birth injury that has either impacted their reproductive system or caused a foreign object to be left in their body, the statute of limitations for submitting a claim opens at age 16. 

With the adjusted timeline, a child would then have the option to file a birth injury claim when they are an adult. For more information on Maryland's statute of limitations, contact a birth injury attorney today.

Should you discover you have suffered an injury at birth but find you have passed the original deadline, you may still be eligible to file a claim. If your doctor did not disclose the information regarding your birth injury, you may be able to claim fraudulent concealment, which could give you additional time to file a claim. However, if you are aware of the injury and you should choose not to file a claim before the deadline is passed, then you cannot file your lawsuit at a later time.

If you suspect you or your child has suffered a birth injury, don't wait to speak with a Maryland birth injury attorney.

If your child has suffered an injury during their delivery, you may be entitled to financial compensation. The best way to know if your child's injury claim may qualify for a birth injury lawsuit is to contact a birth injury attorney today. Speaking with an experienced attorney will give you a better understanding of your claim and if you may be eligible to recover compensation. To learn more about your birth injury claim, connect with Morgan & Morgan today by completing our free, no-obligation case evaluation form.

The answer is always yes. 

When working with a Morgan & Morgan birth injury attorney, you will always be able to have an attorney. At Morgan & Morgan, we believe everyone should have access to quality legal representation regardless of their financial status, which is why our attorneys work on what is known as a contingency. Under Morgan & Morgan's contingency fee arrangement, our clients do not pay any upfront fees for our legal assistance. Instead, we'll only collect a percentage of the court verdict or settlement if we win the case. 

If our attorneys prove unsuccessful in your case, you will not be charged for their time. To learn more information on how the contingency fee works, do not hesitate to contact a Morgan & Morgan birth injury attorney today.

Working with a legal professional can significantly increase your chances of recovering the compensation you and your loved ones deserve after your child suffered an injury at birth. At Morgan & Morgan, our law firm has over 35 years of experience handling birth injury claims. When you decide to work with one of our birth injury attorneys, they will thoroughly examine your case and determine whether your doctor took proper care during delivery and the amount you may be owed for your damages. You can learn more about how a Morgan & Morgan birth injury attorney can help you by completing our free, no-obligation case evaluation form.

When worrying about coming home with a newborn, you should never have to wonder if they have suffered an injury during birth. Unfortunately, in the United States, roughly 30,000 babies are born with some form of injury due to medical malpractice each year. If you suspect a medical error or negligence caused your or your child's birth injuries, we urge you to connect with an experienced birth injury attorney today.

For more information on how a Morgan & Morgan birth injury attorney may be able to help your case, contact us today by completing our free, no-obligation case evaluation form. See why millions trust Morgan & Morgan.