Has your child suffered a birth injury?

One of the most heartbreaking events that can occur in a parent’s life is delivering a child with a significant birth injury. Birth injuries can occur to the child or mother during pregnancy, labor and delivery.

Not all birth injuries are a result of medical malpractice by the doctor or hospital. There are some circumstances where birth injuries simply cannot be prevented. However, if the injury to a child during birth is the result of malpractice or medical negligence, legal action can be taken against the doctor or hospital involved.

Negligent birth trauma can by caused by a number of factors.

• Doctor error in predicting the due date of the baby -- if the pregnancy is more advanced than believed, the size of the baby’s body and head during delivery poses a risk of a birth injury; if the pregnancy is less advanced than believed, the baby can be born prematurely with significant medical problems.
• Doctor’s failure to take into account certain risk factors during pregnancy – Rh incompatibility, the mother’s use of drugs, alcohol or tobacco, or the general poor health of the mother. Doctor’s failure to properly use forceps or vacuum during delivery – birth injuries such as brachial plexus palsy, Erbs palsy, cerebral palsy, or shoulder dystocia can occur.
• Doctor error before, during and after childbirth – examples are failure to recognize an ectopic pregnancy, failure to diagnose and treat infections, failure to note fetal distress or anoxia, failure to note umbilical cord complications, failure to note the need for a caesarian section, and failure to respond to complications quickly and properly.

If you or your child suffered a birth injury due to negligence, medical error or malpractice, New Hampshire law does not limit the personal injury damages you can receive.

Birth injury claims against New Hampshire doctors or hospitals must be filed before the child’s tenth birthday.

New Hampshire law for a birth injury settlement places the burden of proof on the plaintiff. To comply with the law and have a successful outcome for your case you will need the following:

• Expert testimony by credible witnesses
• Proof that the standard of reasonable medical care was not practiced by the medical personnel involved
• Proof that if the medical personnel had acted properly the birth injury would never have occurred

If you or your child has suffered a birth injury, you will need an experienced birth injury attorney. Proving doctor error, medical negligence or birth injury malpractice can be difficult and such cases are time consuming and expensive. Expert birth injury malpractice lawyers will have the resources to do what’s required to prove your case and most often you will not have to pay anything unless he or she wins your case for you.

For a free birth injury consultation, contact New Hampshire’s Personal Injury Law Firm, Russman Law.