What You Need to Know About Birth Injuries
From the Desk of Christopher Mellino:
Having a new baby is a happy time for most families, but this joyous occasion can quickly turn to tragedy when a birth injury occurs. Birth injuries can range from bruising and broken bones to death. They are also linked to serious life-long issues, such as cerebral palsy, that can cost families millions of dollars in treatment costs, daycare expenses, and lost wages. The March of Dimes has noted that “there are thousands of different birth defects” and about
120,000 babies are born with one each year in this country.
There are also approximately 5.82 infant deaths for every 1,000 live births in the United States.
The Mellino Law Firm is committed to providing legal support to families and children suffering the effects of a birth injury. The information in this eBook is intended to provide information about birth injuries and trauma, as well as next steps if legal action is sought. Read more to discover the different types of birth injuries and how to cope.
Please don’t hesitate to contact us at 855-301-3800 to learn more about potential legal action for birth-related injuries or trauma. We can help you get the justice you deserve.
Sincerely,
Christopher Mellino
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Table of Contents
Introduction.................................................................................................................................3
Birth Trauma Facts......................................................................................................................4 - 5
Signs of Birth Trauma..................................................................................................................6 - 8
Causes of Birth Injuries...............................................................................................................9 - 11
Types of Birth Injuries.................................................................................................................12 - 14
Birth Injuries and Their Effects on Mothers.................................................................................15 - 16
Birth Injury Care Plan..................................................................................................................17 - 18
What to Expect with a Birth Injury Lawsuit..................................................................................19 - 21
Conclusion...................................................................................................................................22
About...........................................................................................................................................23
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Introduction
Birth injuries can have a lot of different causes, and certain newborns are more likely to become victims of birth trauma than others. For example, prolonged birth, C-section deliveries, and medical tools, such as forceps or vacuums, have the potential to lead to birth trauma that may develop into long-lasting birth injuries.
Most parents enter the delivery room filled with hope and happiness; they do not expect to leave the delivery room with an injured infant. In fact, many birth injuries could be prevented and could be due to medical error or malpractice.
Continue reading to find out the facts about birth injuries, including signs that could appear years down the road in your child’s life. Learn more about the types of birth injuries, the causes of birth injuries, and even the cost of dealing with the aftermath of birth trauma. Additionally, find out how to develop a birth injury care plan.
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Birth Trauma Facts
As of 2018, there are approximately 6 to 8 birth injuries for every 1,000 live births. With approximately 4 million births per year, that translates to 24,000 to 32,000 birth traumas annually or 65 to 88 cases per day. In other words, every hour, three to four babies in the United States suffer from birth trauma. Here’s the facts.
Birth Trauma Leads to Death
Two percent of newborn deaths are related to birth trauma. Overall, there are 587 deaths for every 100,000 live births, and roughly 12 of these deaths are caused by birth trauma. However, many birth injuries don’t lead to death. Instead, they lead to serious injuries or debilitating life-long issues.
Shoulder Dystocia Links to a Range of Birth Traumas
Since the 1950s, shoulder dystocia (when the baby’s shoulders get stuck during delivery) has increased by 400% in the United States, and this often leads to issues such as brachial plexus injury. Marked by damage to the nerves in the shoulder, brachial plexus occurs in 0.5 to 2 of every 1,000 live births, and those infants face the following issues:
• 10% broken collarbones
• 10% broken humerus bone
• 5% spinal subluxation
• 5 to 10% spinal cord injuries in the neck region
Long-term side effects can include deformities, impaired growth, and loss of muscle tissue.
Birth Injuries Can Cause Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy occurs in 1.5 to 4 of every 1,000 live births, and it affects 1 in 323 children. In newborns weighing between 3.5 and 5.5 pounds, the incidence of cerebral palsy increases to 6.2 per 1,000 live birth, and in newborns weighing less than 3.5 pounds, the rate skyrockets to 59.5 per 1,000 live births. Nearly 10% of these cases are linked to the disruption of oxygen during delivery.
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3-4 babies are victims of birth trauma every hour in the U.S.
Birth Traumas Are Usually Avoidable
Unfortunately, some birth traumas, such as those related to genetic issues, are not avoidable, but approximately half of all birth trauma is. To avoid trauma and injury, medical professionals need to identify when patients have a heightened risk of birth trauma and take steps to prevent it in the delivery room.
Additionally, many birth injuries are caused by the mishandling of forceps, vacuums, and other unnecessary medical interventions, and medical care providers can reduce birth injuries by using these tools correctly and only when absolutely necessary.
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10% of cerebral palsy cases are due to oxygen deprivation during birth.
Signs of Birth Trauma
Birth trauma refers to physical injuries sustained during birth, leading to a number of different health issues. There are many different signs of birth trauma, and while some symptoms are evident immediately, others take days, weeks, or even years to surface. Here are some signs your child may have been exposed to a birth injury.
Immediate Signs of Birth Trauma
If your child is the victim of a birth trauma, you may notice some symptoms in the hours or days immediately after you child’s birth. Your infant may show the following physical signs:
• Low Apgar scores
• Inconsolable crying, as if in pain
• Arched back while crying
• Labored breathing
• Difficulty with latch reflex (baby can’t nurse or take a bottle)
• Unable to swallow
• Sensitive to light
• Vomiting
• Inability to move arm(s)
• Visible bruises or lacerations
• Spasms
• Seizures
Typically, newborns are examined in the hospital after birth, and they have another exam around two weeks of age. When the pediatrician or other healthcare provider examines your child, you should keep an eye out for the following issues:
• Fever
• High blood pressure
• Low heart rate
• Coughing
• Constipation
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• Low iron (anemia)
• Jaundice
• Inability to gain weight
Birth Trauma Symptoms After Birth and Up to Two Years
In some cases, birth trauma symptoms take longer to present. Between the ages of two weeks and two years, babies and young toddlers may show the following symptoms:
• Inability to gain weight
• Hearing loss
• Gross motor skill delays (for instance, difficulty with rolling, crawling, walking, climbing, etc.)
• Fine motor skill delays (for instance, inability to grasp a spoon)
• Cognitive delays
• Loss of bodily movements
• Lack of coordination
• Speech difficulties
• Unable to hit development milestones
Birth Trauma Symptoms in Toddlers to School Age Children
In rare situations, birth trauma symptoms don’t show up until the child becomes a toddler or starts school. For kids in these age groups, you may see the following signs:
• Emotional issues (inability to control temper, regulate moods, etc.)
• Intellectual disabilities
• Learning disorders
• Attention Deficit Disorder
• Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder
• Autism
• Asperger’s
ADD and ADHD have many symptoms which overlap with Autism spectrum disorders, and although there are conflicting reports on the underlying causes between these disorders, some research indicates that a number of people with ADD, ADHD, Autism, and Asperger’s have also suffered a birth trauma.
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In particular, premature birth, lack of oxygen, birth trauma, and infections contracted during delivery are all linked to a heightened risk of ADD and ADHD. Additionally, exposure to toxins and damage to the frontal lobe can also contribute to all of these conditions.
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Causes of Birth Injuries
When families have a baby, they want their child to be healthy and happy. However, injuries can happen in the delivery room that make this impossible. Tragically, injuries occur in 6 to 8 of every 1,000 live births, and these injuries can lead to life altering or costly conditions including broken bones, permanent nerve damage, emotional and cognitive impairment, and cerebral palsy. Even more tragically, 2% of all neonatal deaths are due to birth injuries.
Genetic Issues and Birth Injuries
All kinds of genetic issues, such as chromosomal abnormalities and single-gene defects, can cause birth defects and health issues with a newborn baby. However, in some cases, health care providers blame genetic issues for birth injuries that were actually caused by negligence during the pregnancy, labor, or delivery.
For instance, a multifactorial birth defect is due to both genetics and medications taken during pregnancy. In fact, 28% of babies whose mothers took the anti-seizure medication Depakote experienced birth defects and developmental delays.
Natural Risk Factors for Birth Injury
A range of natural factors can make an infant more likely to face birth trauma. The following conditions increase an infant’s chances of being injured during labor or delivery:
• Birth weight over 8 pounds 13 ounces
• Low birth weight
• Premature labor
• Birth after 40 weeks gestation
• Difficult or prolonged labor
• Breech presentation at the time of delivery
• Cephalopelvic distortion or abnormal uterine shape
Babies who weigh over 8 pounds 13 ounces have a higher risk of facing a birth injury related to shoulder dystocia. On the other side of the spectrum, low birth weight babies also have a heightened risk of facing certain health problems or of developing infections. In fact, babies who weigh less than 3.5 pounds are 14 to 39 times more likely to face cerebral palsy than average weight babies.
Babies who are born before 37 weeks gestation are more likely to suffer a birth injury than full-term
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Birth injuries occur in 6-8 of every 1,000 live births.
infants, but babies born after their due date also tend to face issues. This includes fetal macrosomia (overly large size), placental insufficiency (placenta fails to deliver adequate nutrients to the baby), or meconium aspiration (inhaling infant feces from the amniotic fluid).
Additionally, issues such as prolonged labor, breech presentation, and cephalopelvic disproportion (when the baby is too large for the mother’s pelvis) are also linked to birth injuries. A physician or nurse should discuss these risk factors, as well as what measures the hospital will take to compensate for them, prior to the labor and delivery.
Birth Injuries Related to Medical Intervention
In some cases, birth injuries are unavoidable, but in many cases, the tools obstetricians and midwives use leads to higher rates of injuries. In particular, birth by cesarean section or deliveries using forceps, vacuum extraction, or internal fetal monitoring all have an increased risk of injury.
When healthcare providers use forceps or a vacuum during delivery, the baby has a five to ten times higher rate of birth trauma than a baby born by cesarean section. Forceps are used in about 1 percent of all births, and of every 1,000 live births using forceps, 1.2 babies suffer seizures and 1.4 have subdural hemorrhages. In contrast, vacuum extractions are used in 2.8 to 6% of all births, and of every 1,000 live births involving vacuums, 3 babies have seizures and 1.9 have subdural hemorrhages.
Finally, roughly 29% of births involve cesarean sections and when delivered at 37 to 39 weeks gestation, these infants are two to four times more likely to have respiratory issues than usual. Additionally, of every 1,000 cesarean section deliveries, 10 to 20 infants face serious cuts and lacerations, three infants have seizures, and one suffers a subdural hemorrhage. Nearly half of all infants delivered by cesarean section have lower than usual APGAR scores.
Birth Injuries Related to Negligence
Beyond using medical intervention incorrectly, all of the following situations are examples of potential medical negligence that can lead to birth injuries:
• Poor Communication — Birth injuries can result from poor communication between the physician and the hospital staff. When accurate information is not given to everyone involved in the delivery, it is more likely that someone will fail to follow the established protocol for that case. The result can lead to complications, increasing the chance of oxygen deprivation or physical trauma.
• Improper Training — Lack of proper training in the use of medical equipment is another common cause of birth injury. Doctors and nurses need to be able to read fetal monitoring
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Babies birthed using forceps or vacuum extraction are five to ten times more likely to be injured.
equipment accurately in order to check small changes in the infant’s health during labor and delivery, and staff must have complete knowledge of the steps to follow in any given scenario.
• Failure to Administer Routine Monitoring — Some doctors and clinics fail to perform an ultrasound or other routine tests prior to delivery. In some cases, this oversight stems from poor communication; other times, the necessary equipment is simply not available. A failure to perform these tests can lead doctors and nurses to fail to recognize risk factors until it is too late, causing delays and increasing the chance of injury.
• Not Understanding Heart Rate Monitor — Doctors and nurses are responsible for understanding and interpreting what the heart tracings on the monitor are showing. Through lack of knowledge or training, sometimes warnings signs that the baby is not getting enough oxygen during labor or other warning signs are missed. When the monitoring is done correctly, it allows the caregivers to give treatment in time to prevent any long-term injuries.
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Types of Birth Injuries
Birth injuries occur in approximately 6 to 8 of every 1,000 live births, but the real numbers may actually be higher. In many cases, health care providers claim that certain conditions are due to genetic abnormalities when in fact they are related to injuries sustained during labor or delivery. Birth injuries can range from slight bruising to broken bones to serious, lifelong brain damage, or even death. In that vast spectrum, the following birth injuries tend to be the most common.
Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy is a neurological disorder caused by brain damage during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or early childhood. On average, 3.3 of every 1,000 live children have cerebral palsy, and it affects the use of the muscles related to movement, posture, and balance. This condition has a number of causes, but when cerebral palsy appears as the result of a birth injury, it’s usually due to lack of oxygen during labor or delivery, an intracranial hemorrhage, or damage to the white matter of the brain.
Erb’s Palsy
Erb’s palsy refers to damaged nerves in the baby’s upper arm or brachial plexus region. The effects range from slight discomfort to intense pain and inability to use the arm. In some cases, Erb’s palsy is self-correcting, but in other cases, it can require surgery and physical therapy. In fact, 10% of babies with Erb’s palsy face permanent nerve damage.
This condition occurs in 0.9 to 2.6 of every 1,000 live births, and although it has a number of causes, it often occurs due to shoulder dystocia.
Shoulder Dystocia
On average, some type of brachial palsy occurs in 10% of babies with shoulder dystocia. Erb’s palsy is when the injury only affects the shoulder and elbow, and total plexus palsy is when the arm, hand, and wrist muscles are all affected.
However, shoulder dystocia is not a birth injury. Rather, it refers to situations where the infant’s shoulders get stuck in the mother’s pelvis during delivery. Shoulder dystocia can be avoided if precautions are taken. Besides brachial palsy, this issue is linked to a number of birth injuries including collar and arm bone fractures, spinal subluxation, and spinal cord injuries.
The long-term effects of shoulder dystocia can include deformities, impaired growth, and muscle
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10% of babies with Erb’s Palsy have permanent nerve damage.
tissue loss. In 2008, a CDC study titled “Preventing Unintentional Mechanical Birth Injuries” reported that as many as 15% of vaginal deliveries in the United States resulted in shoulder dystocia. In fact, since the mid-20th century, there has been a four-fold increase in shoulder dystocia in the United States. When researchers reviewed the numbers for 11 other countries, they found no increase over the same time period.
Caput Succedaneum
Caput succedaneum is when fluid collects under the scalp of the infant and causes swelling. Generally, it occurs when the baby’s head presses against the cervical bones. This birth injury is linked to long and difficult births, and vacuum extraction increases the risk. Additionally, when babies are carried too long past the due date, there is often a drop in amniotic fluid levels, and that reduces cushioning to the head which can also lead to this injury.
Cephalohematoma
Cephalohematoma occurs when blood vessels are damaged during labor or delivery, and the blood pools and causes a lump between the baby’s skin and scalp. Often, the lump appears immediately, but in some cases, the lump doesn’t appear until a few days after birth.
Most common in vacuum-assisted births, cephalohematoma can also occur when the head bumps against the pelvic bone or any other hard surface during delivery or after birth. For instance, if the baby is dropped or bumped against a scale, this birth injury can occur. Infants with cephalohematoma often have anemia, jaundice, and infections.
Birth Injuries from Forceps
Babies often suffer bruising or marks as the result of using forceps in delivery. Doctors use forceps in roughly 1% of births, and of 1,000 live births involving forceps, 1.2 babies have seizures and 1.4 suffer subdural hemorrhages. Unfortunately, compared to cesarean sections, forceps are linked to 5 to 10 times increased rates of birth injuries.
Birth Injuries Due to Vacuums
Used in up to 6% of all births, vacuums increase the risk of traumatic intracranial hemorrhage by 1,000%. That’s 10 times the rate experienced in births that don’t involve vacuums. Additionally, of 1,000 live births using vacuum extraction, 3 seizures occur and 1.9 babies experience subdural hemorrhages.
Subconjunctival Hemorrhage
A subconjunctival hemorrhage can be caused by excess pressure from forceps or vacuums, but it can also occur due to contractions during a prolonged labor. In many cases, this issue heals itself within a few weeks, but these hemorrhages can lead to permanent eye damage and often present alongside other issues such as facial paralysis.
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Clavicle Fracture
Clavicle fractures are one of the most common birth injuries. Often, the bones heal on their own, but in one of every eleven cases, the newborns also suffer brachial plexus injuries, which as indicated above can be linked to temporary or permanent paralysis.
Perinatal Asphyxia
When the baby doesn’t get enough oxygen during delivery, perinatal asphyxia occurs. In a worst-case scenario, this can lead to seizures, coma, and permanent damage of the brain or other organs. Perinatal asphyxia occurs in four of every 1,000 live births. It can happen during long labors, when the mother’s blood doesn’t have enough oxygen, if the umbilical cord gets crimped or knotted, or if the baby’s airways are blocked.
Spinal Cord Injuries
Spinal cord injuries can occur due to breech presentation, but they can also happen when extraction tools such as forceps are used incorrectly. Generally, spinal cord injuries result in life-long issues, and the side effects may include intellectual disabilities, heart and lung problems, paralysis, and death.
Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy
Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy is a serious birth injury that occurs when the infant’s brain does not get enough oxygen. This can lead to life-long disabilities and health issues including epilepsy and cerebral palsy. Unfortunately, 40-60% of children with this condition die by the age of two or suffer from serious lifelong issues. During labor and delivery, lack of oxygen can occur for a number of different reasons including umbilical cord damage, misuse of forceps, neonatal stroke, or other birth traumas.
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40-60% of children with Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy die by age two.
Birth Injuries and Their Effect on Mothers
When babies suffer from birth injuries, their mothers are also affected. While the potential effects vary widely, some of the most common side effects that mothers experience when their children are injured at birth include the following.
Financial Issues
When babies have birth injuries, they often need medical treatment, which can include diagnostic testing, surgery, and physical or occupational therapy. Children with birth injuries leading to physical or cognitive delays may need expensive therapies throughout their entire lives.
Mothers have to absorb a lot of medical expenses related to their children’s birth injuries, but they also have to worry about the long-term financial effects on their child, especially if their child is unable to work.
Parental Challenges
Often, children who have suffered birth injuries have emotional or cognitive disorders that persist for years. In addition to being expensive, these issues can make parenting challenging. In this situation, mothers may not have the same parenting experience they would have had if their child hadn’t suffered a birth injury.
Emotional Complications
Additionally, mothers often internalize trauma to their infants. They feel like they should have prevented the injury, and although the situation was out of their control, they become wracked with guilt. This often leads to depression, anxiety, or post-traumatic stress disorder. Mothers may need expensive therapy or medication for these issues, and beyond that, they may not be able to work or complete daily tasks.
Psychological Birth Trauma
In many cases, when babies suffer birth injuries, their mothers report psychological birth trauma (PBT). According to some studies, PBT occurs in 20-30% of births, including in situations where the infant or mother is injured but also when the birth is emotionally traumatic for other reasons.
When women suffer from PBT, they often have difficulty bonding with their babies, and they tend to develop either overprotective, anxious bonds or rejecting type bonds. Their lactation periods also tend to be shorter. In some cases, women even develop a fear of childbirth.
Psychological trauma also tends to hurt family relationships. In particular, many women report avoiding intimacy with their husbands.
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Maternal Injuries
Sometimes, birth injuries affect the mother physically. Mothers may face any of the following issues:
• Bruises
• Lacerations
• Uterine bleeding
• Vaginal tears
• Broken bones
• Infections
• Other physical injuries
• Preeclampsia (high blood pressure during pregnancy)
• Eclampsia (the onset of seizures in a woman who has pre-eclampsia)
Birth injuries are extremely common among women. In fact, according to one study, 50-80% of women tear their pelvic skin or muscles during delivery and 10% of those women suffer from urinary or fecal incontinence. One-third of all mothers encounter pelvic floor disorders in delivery, and 10% of these women need surgery.
Although the high numbers suggest that these issues are common and unavoidable, these side effects are often related to medical malpractice. That includes failure to tell mothers about the risks of cesarean sections or other procedures, allowing mothers to schedule elective cesarean sections before 37 weeks, and failure to identify potential complications before the mother goes into labor. Additionally, many maternal birth injuries are related to the misuse of tools such as vacuums or forceps during the delivery.
Approximately, 1 in 4,000 women die in childbirth, and in the United States, this number has risen significantly over the last 25 years. At the same time, maternal mortality rates have fallen in the rest of the world, making the United States, the most dangerous place to give birth in the industrialized world.
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1 in 4,000 women die during childbirth in the U.S.
Birth Injury Care Plan
If your child has a birth injury, a care plan helps you assess what you need to take care of them. Additionally, if you’re bringing forward a birth injury lawsuit, a care plan helps your attorney determine the total cost of medical care, special products, and services your child is going to need throughout their lifetime. Ultimately, the specifics of the care plan vary depending on the type of birth injury, but most plans share the following features.
Medical Care
This part of the care plan details the type of medical care your child is going to need throughout their life. Initially, it can be hard to pin down your child’s exact needs, but once you have a clear diagnosis and understand the scope of the injury, a medical professional can help you estimate your child’s future needs. In addition to medical care, this part of the care plan can also detail projections related to tutors and other professionals who are going to assist in your child’s care.
For instance, if your child has lost use of their arm due to nerve damage related to a brachial plexus injury, they are going to need medical care, occupational therapy, and medication. However, they are going to have very different needs than a child who has suffered debilitating brain damage due to lack of oxygen during delivery.
Home Care Plan
Depending on the extent of your child’s injuries, you may need to make modifications to your home. That can include adding ramps, putting in elevators, changing lighting to help with visual issues, or making a range of other modifications. You may also need to invest in a new vehicle or make changes to your existing vehicle. Your care plan should also take into account those projected costs.
Life Care Plan
In addition to planning for your child’s medical and current needs, you also have to think about their needs throughout the rest of their life. Will they be able to perform a job? Will they need special vocational training? When making a birth injury care plan, it’s essential to consider how the injury affects your child’s life-long earning potential and their future quality of life in general.
In that vein, think about your child’s future home life. Will they need a long-term caregiver? Will they need a special vehicle or modifications for their own home? All of those elements need to be included as you draft a care plan for your child.
Parental Support
You also need to ensure that you get the support you need. In this section of the care plan, include costs for respite support or special caretakers, but also, remember to include lost wages for taking care of your child or attending support meetings with other parents.
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Beyond all of these elements, many parents include a number of small details in their care plans. This includes small purchases such as padding for crutches or special eating utensils. However, it can also include extra costs related to taking vacations or doing other activities that become more expensive when you include someone with a birth injury.
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What to Expect with a Birth Injury Lawsuit
When your child suffers from a birth injury, you have to embrace a different parenting journey than the one you probably envisioned while you were pregnant or dreaming about your child. In addition to adjusting to your new reality, you also have to deal with a lot of medical bills and other expenses. To manage these challenges, many parents file a birth injury lawsuit.
The specifics vary from case to case, but here’s an overview of the process and a few tips to help you along the way.
Consider Rejecting the First Offer
If the hospital or medical team knows they caused your child’s injury, their insurer may offer you a payout. Often, these payments sound generous, but when you compare them to a lifetime of medical bills and birth injury expenses, these offers are often quite small.
If an insurance company is offering to make a payment that usually means that someone knows they are guilty of negligence. To protect yourself financially, never accept one of these offers without consulting an attorney first.
Communicate Cautiously
When talking with medical professionals, be careful about what you say. You don’t want to inadvertently imply that the birth injury was your fault. In particular, consider suspending all communication between yourself and the medical team who was involved with your pregnancy, labor, and delivery.
Consult with an Attorney
If you’re thinking about filing a birth injury lawsuit, you should always consult with a professional. Personal injury lawyers, and in particular medical malpractice attorneys, understand the laws related to these specific types of cases. They know how to negotiate settlements with insurance companies, and they can help to ensure that you get the best settlement for your and your child’s needs.
Typically, the initial consultation is like an interview. The lawyer asks you a lot of questions about your pregnancy, labor, and delivery as well as about your child’s condition. That helps the lawyer to understand the merits of your case. Remember, you can also ask questions during this meeting. In fact, you may want to jot down a few questions before your meeting to ensure you’re prepared.
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Never accept the first settlement offer. It’s almost always too low.
Gather Information for Your Birth Injury Lawsuit
To fully assess the merits of your birth injury lawsuit, your lawyer will usually spend some time gathering documents, and you may also be involved in this process. Basically, you need documents that show how the injury happened and who may be at fault. That includes medical records and statements from witnesses.
Send a Demand Letter
Before filing a formal birth injury lawsuit, your lawyer will usually start by sending a demand letter. This letter explains your child’s birth injury and details why the hospital or medical team was responsible for the injury. Then, it demands a monetary payout.
In some cases, your birth injury attorney may wait a bit before sending the demand letter. Some attorneys delay the process until your child reaches maximum medical improvement. That helps the attorney create a realistic idea of how much funding you need to cover your child’s medical bills and other expenses.
Prepare for the Discovery Process
In a birth injury lawsuit or any other type of lawsuit, there is a discovery period. During this process, the lawyers on both sides have to share information with each other. This includes depositions, documents, and information from expert witnesses. The discovery process can take several months or even over a year.
Based on the information that surfaces during the discovery period, your lawyer may urge you to accept a settlement, or they may encourage you to move forward with a trial. If you accept the settlement, the process is more or less complete.
Explore Options for Trial
If the case goes to trial, you may have to testify. Your lawyer will also present information, but your expert witness will be one of the most important players. They explain the accepted standard of care to the court, and they show how your medical team failed to meet that standard. That difference is critical in medical malpractice cases.
After all the information has been presented, the jury decides the outcome of your case, and the judge enters a judgment based on the jury’s verdict. If you don’t agree with the outcome of the case, you have the right to appeal. However, appeals can be a long and grueling process. That’s why it’s critical to have a skilled attorney in your corner from the beginning.
Accept the Settlement
If you receive a settlement from a birth injury lawsuit, you usually get to choose between a lump sum or a structured settlement. The lump sum comes to you all at once, while the structured settlement consists of several payments made over time. Generally, the lump sum is less than the total of the structured payments, but if you invest it, interest accrues over time, bringing the total in line with the
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value of the structured settlement.
Pay Your Attorney
Finally, you may be wondering how your attorney gets paid. With a birth injury lawsuit, most attorneys work on a contingency basis. That means that they don’t get paid unless you win. However, if you receive a settlement, you use a portion of that to pay your attorney.
It’s important to act quickly. The statute of limitations in Ohio for medical malpractice cases is complex and you do not want to miss your window to file your case. If you miss this window, you may forfeit your chances to bring a case forward.
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Conclusion
If your child has suffered from birth trauma resulting in his or her injury, or even death, contact a birth injury lawyer in Ohio as soon as possible. We can provide assistance in determining medical malpractice or medical errors that could have contributed to your child’s birth injury.
At The Mellino Law Firm, we are the only medical malpractice law firm in Northeast Ohio to be accepted into Primerus, a society of boutique law firms. The organization only extends membership to the best firms, and currently only 200 law firms in 40 countries have been granted membership. Birth injury lawyer Christopher Mellino invites you to contact our Cleveland office if you believe a birth trauma or medical negligence caused a birth injury like cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy (brachial plexus injury), shoulder dystocia, hypoglycemia, brain damage, or maternal complications such as preeclampsia.
Don’t hesitate to contact us with any questions you may have. You may also download or request birth injury lawyer Chris Mellino’s free guide to filing a medical malpractice claim in Ohio. To learn more, call The Mellino Law Firm at 855-801-3800 for a no-cost consultation.
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Footnotes1https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/infant-health.htm2https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/980112-overview3https://www.babycenter.com/0_surprising-facts-about-birth-in-the-united-states_1372273.bc4https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/infant-health.htm5https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/980112-overview#a56https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/cp/data.html7https://www.additudemag.com/what-causes-adhd-symptoms/⁸https://psychcentral.com/disorders/adhd/causes-of-adult-attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/9https://www.additudemag.com/what-causes-adhd-symptoms/10https://psychcentral.com/disorders/adhd/causes-of-adult-attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd/11https://www.reuters.com/article/us-forceps-delivery-tied-lower-brain-inj/forceps-delivery-tied-to-lower-brain-injury-risk-idUSTRE7AT-2JG2011113012https://www.parents.com/pregnancy/giving-birth/cesarean/c-section-cause-baby-respiratory-problems/13http://americanpregnancy.org/labor-and-birth/cesarean-risks/14https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2724163/15http://www.cdc.gov/injury/erpo/awards/grants/2008/1-R49-CE000433-01.html16https://emedicine.medscape.com/article/980112-overview#a517https://www.reuters.com/article/us-forceps-delivery-tied-lower-brain-inj/forceps-delivery-tied-to-lower-brain-injury-risk-idUSTRE7AT-2JG2011113018https://www.nationwidechildrens.org/newborn-clavicle-fractures19http://www.seattlechildrens.org/medical-conditions/airway/birth-asphyxia/20https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/cp/data.html21https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3950773/22https://www.motherjones.com/politics/2017/01/childbirth-injuries-prolapse-cesarean-section-natural-childbirth/
About
Everyone who needs a lawyer wants a professional with extensive experience and knowledge, proven success in the courtroom, and the respect of peers, courts, insurance companies and hospitals on the opposing side. Finding one with these qualifications is difficult enough. But what if you could have two lawyers working on your case who have all of these qualities?
The Mellino Law Firm is dedicated to justice for our clients and their families. We provide personal service; by limiting the number of cases we accept, our attorneys are able to give all medical malpractice cases the unique attention they deserve. We pride ourselves on relentlessly advocating for those who have been injured.
The Mellino Law Firm
855-801-3800
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Westside Location
19704 Center Ridge Road Rocky River, OH 44116
Downtown Location
600 Superior Avenue, Suite 1300 Cleveland, OH 44114
