Birth Injury

Errors by OB/GYNs, anesthesiologists, obstetrics nurses and midwives can leave a newborn struggling with a lifetime of physical disabilities of intellectual challenges. Hospitals and clinics that fail to properly equip and sterilize birthing suites, license and train staff, or enforce best practices also put children at risk.

Knowing how birth injuries can devastate families in addition to harming children, Agee Clymer Mitchell & Portman works hard to hold negligent health care providers and health care facilities accountable.

Birth injuries come in many varieties, but they often result from mistakes that professionals should not have made. The cases we handle typically involve one or more of the following:

• Facial Paralysis — Pressing too strongly on a newborns head or incorrectly using forceps during delivery can irreparably damage the nerves that control facial muscles and cause disfigurement and/or problems with speech and eating.
• Brachial Palsy — Rough handling during delivery can damage the brachial plexus, which is a bundle of nerves around the shoulder that controls sensation in and movement of the arms and hands. Tearing the nerves can cause problems ranging from paralysis and numbness to chronic pain.
• Fractures — Broken collarbones and shoulder blades can occur when the birthing team fails to reposition a breach birth. When the fractures do not heal correctly, a child can have trouble developing arm strength and achieving a full range of motion.
• Spinal Cord Injuries — Pulling on a newborn’s head or misusing forceps during deliver can tear the spinal cord, leading to paralysis.
• Hypoxic Injuries — Maintaining a sufficient flow of oxygen to a baby’s brain during labor and delivery, as well as in the minutes following birth, is essential to preventing neonatal death and a host of developmental difficulties.
• Cerebral Palsy — This disorder, which is marked by varying degrees of poor muscle control, frequent muscle spasms, and muscle weakness, has been linked to oxygen deprivation in the birth canal.

Ohio allows parents or the child who suffered a birth injury to file a medical malpractice lawsuit against the responsible people and health care facilities.

The state imposes strict statutes of limitations on birth injury claims, and courts demand a significant amount of strong evidence that an avoidable mistake caused a child’s injuries. For instance, a parent has a single year — 12 months – from the date on which the birth injury occurred to file a legally viable claim. That same year will be the first of the injured child’s life, a time during which the parents will need to focus on their baby’s health and development.

Contact our Birth Injury Lawyer in Columbus, Ohio

Partnering with a dedicated birth injury lawyer will give the parents a strong legal ally who has the time and motivation to complete paperwork, track down and organize medical records, and determine which standards of care were violated. To learn if we can perform these essential services for your family, call us at (614) 221-3318 or request a free consultation by completing this contact form.