Leesburg Birth Injury Attorney

When your child is diagnosed with a birth injury, the aftermath can be traumatic. You likely have many questions about what went wrong during labor and delivery and why this happened.

If your child has suffered a birth injury, then you need to take immediate action to find out if medical malpractice was the cause. Our Leesburg Birth Injury Lawyers at Whittel & Melton can help you get the answers you need.

Doctors, nurses, midwives, and all other medical staff make mistakes. Many of these mistakes are entirely preventable, but can seriously impact how a child is brought into this world and what happens after. Their mistakes can lead to devastating birth trauma that may leave your child disfigured or suffering from a disability that requires a lifetime of medical care.

Our Leesburg Birth Injury Lawyers at Whittel & Melton have been helping families in Lake and Sumter Counties as well as throughout the state of Florida effectively litigate complex birth injury claims resulting from medical malpractice or negligence. We are passionate about helping you and your loved ones seek justice for the harm a doctor, nurse, or hospital caused. We urge you to call us today at 866-608-5529 or contact us online for a completely free consultation where we can discuss all of your legal options. We are happy to put our experience and knowledge regarding birth trauma to work for you.

We can begin helping you right away by offering a free consultation. We can meet with you at any of our offices, including our Lake/Sumter County office in Bushnell or at a location that is convenient for you, such as your home. Your consultation with us is absolutely confidential and you are under no obligation to work with us.

When we first meet with you, we just want to find out more information about your case and when you first suspected a birth injury occurred. We will also ask questions like how the injury has affected you and your family thus far.

If we mutually agree to work together on your birth injury case, then we can start working on your case immediately. We will start the process by launching an investigation into your case. This may include analyzing your medical records from pregnancy, labor and delivery, and postnatal care. From there we can consult with our own medical experts who can help us shed light on whether your doctor or any other medical professional you worked with failed to exercise a proper standard of care. Economic experts can help us calculate the amount of damages we should seek for your suffering.

Once we have collected sufficient evidence, then we can make a settlement demand to the insurance company involved. If liability and damages are not contested, then your case may be resolved. However, if a fair settlement cannot be reached then we will need to move forward with taking your case to trial, which means filing a proper complaint with the court. Once this is done, then we can keep collecting evidence and working towards obtaining a just settlement offer. In the case that damages and.or liability is contested, then we will argue your case in court. If we are able to obtain a settlement or financial award on your behalf, then we will collect and disburse those funds to you as quickly as possible.

By working with our Leesburg Birth Injury Lawyers at Whittel & Melton, you will incur no legal fees or costs unless we are able to recover a monetary award or verdict for your birth injury claim.

While not every birth injury is the result of a medical mistake, a good amount of birth injuries are the result of medical negligence. There are certain complications that can lead to a birth injury that is a natural circumstance, like the baby’s umbilical cord becoming twisted or the baby being too large to pass through the birth canal. Other birth injuries, like those that cause brain trauma, are usually the result of a medical error made by doctors, midwives, nurses, hospitals, or other medical professionals during the course of the delivery process.

Common medical negligence that can lead to birth injuries include:

• Not diagnosing problems during pregnancy, like gestational hypertension or diabetes.
• Prescribing a pregnant mother with medication that has dangerous side effects.
• Not properly addressing fetal distress, bleeding or umbilical cord entanglement.
• Not performing a c-section in a timely manner.
• Complications from a premature birth.
• Improperly using vacuum extractor or forceps
• Failing to monitor the baby or mother following birth.
• Administering the wrong medications to the mother or baby.
• Improper communication between nurses and doctors.
• Complications that arise from the results of genetic testing.

If you have suffered from any of the above circumstances following your labor and delivery, then medical malpractice may have resulted in your child’s injury. Taking legal action can help you get the answers you need about what went wrong and why as well as enable you to obtain financial compensation for the harm you and your child have endured.

Moreover, a legal claim can address any problems a doctor or hospital is having and force them to make necessary changes in order to prevent a similar incident from happening to anyone else in the future.

There are numerous types of birth injuries that can lead to a lifetime of disabilities for a child. These are the most common birth injuries that we have encountered during our time protecting the rights of children and families throughout the state of Florida:

• Shoulder dystocia or collar bone fractures: this can happen when a baby’s shoulder gets stuck behind the mom’s public bone during delivery. If the doctor or whoever is delivering the baby does not properly handle this emergency scenario, the baby could suffer a fractured clavicle or collarbone. Brachial plexus injuries: these injuries affect the bundle of nerves at the base of the neck, known as the brachial plexus. These nerves control movement and sensation in the shoulders, arms, and hands so when these nerves are damaged, then it can result in conditions like Klumpke’s palsy or Erb’s palsy.
• Perinatal asphyxia: When a baby is deprived of oxygen from the bloodstream to the brain during delivery, then they could suffer brain, lung, or kidney damage that is permanent and lead to an infection or excessive bleeding resulting in perinatal asphyxia.
• Spinal cord injuries: If a baby’s spinal cord is compressed during the course of labor and delivery, then the result can be neurological damage or even paralysis.
• Cerebral palsy: this is an incurable condition that can result in loss of vision, speech, hearing, muscle control and coordination. Children with cerebral palsy usually need a lifetime of medical care.
• Facial nerve palsy: a child can suffer from loss of facial movement when there is too much pressure placed on facial nerves during delivery. Facial nerve palsy is often the result of medications used to induce labor and epidural anesthesia.
• Extracranial injuries: these are usually the result of vacuum extractors or forceps not being used properly during delivery. When used incorrectly, a child’s skull can be fractured and result in disfigurement.
• Intracranial hemorrhage: this happens when a vessel ruptures inside a child’s brain, resulting in permanent brain damage or other medical issues. Sometimes brain bleeding can be caused by high levels of bilirubin, which can result in jaundice. Babies having jaundice is a common issue, but if it is not monitored properly, then serious complications can occur.

If your child has suffered any type of birth injury, then you may have a valid legal claim for financial compensation for the harm that a medical professional caused. Our Leesburg Birth Injury Lawyers at Whittel & Melton want to help you seek justice. Call us today at 866-608-5529 or contact us online for a free consultation to learn more now.

If you suspect your child has suffered from birth trauma and you are interested in learning more about filing a birth injury claim, our Leesburg Birth Injury Lawyers at Whittel & Melton want to help you. We have offices throughout the state of Florida and stand ready to assist with your claim.

Once you are ready to take legal action, please call us at 866-608-5529 or contact us online. We can provide you with an immediate and free consultation.