Your Birth Injury Team is Here at KGO
Injury to a child during birth is a distressing circumstance for any family to go through. Having to deal with the emotional and financial toll that such an event can cause to a family is overwhelming. A birth injury can lead to many conditions, often permanent, such as brain injury, facial paralysis, bone fractures, brachial palsy (damage to nerves in arms), and cephalohematoma (bleeding under the cranium), among other injuries. Injury caused to the baby during childbirth due to negligence of the healthcare provider is a form of medical malpractice, for which you may be able to seek compensation. Navigating a birth injury medical malpractice claim is complex and requires a capable and skilled attorney to ensure that the proper steps are taken to maximize the compensation. The experienced attorneys at Krum, Gergely & Oates, LLC can help you determine liability and help you file your claim and lawsuit.
- Oversized babies
- Improper use of medical devices, such as forceps or vacuums
- Baby born prematurely
- Non-headfirst delivery
- Failure to detect prenatal conditions
- Failure to pay attention to the fetal heart monitor
- Misdiagnosed condition in the mother or the baby
- Review of the medical records of the child
- Review of the pre-natal medical records of the mother
- Obtain the opinion of expert witnesses
- Gather testimony of fact witnesses
- Investigate the background of all involved medical providers
The medical provider can be found to be liable for negligence, where:
- A duty of care was owed;
- This duty of care was breached;
- The breach of the duty of care proximately caused the loss or injury; and
- You suffered an actual loss or injury.
Properly identifying the responsible party in a birth injury medical malpractice suit is critical and particularly multifaceted. During the time before the child is born the parents may have seen numerous types of providers, for a number of reasons. , All of these owed a duty of care, in addition to the providers who are part of the actual delivery. It is not always easy to determine who is responsible and whether the breach of duty owed led to the specific injury alleged. You should; therefore, have the guidance of the experienced malpractice attorneys at Krum, Gergely & Oates to assist you with navigating the elements of a birth injury malpractice claim and to get you any recovery that you may be entitled to.
The monetary award available in a birth injury medical malpractice claim varies. Recovery exists for economic and non-economic damages. In addition, in Maryland, there is a cap (limit) on the amount of financial recovery for non-economic damages (e.g. pain and suffering) that arise from the medical injury. The cap is set by Maryland Code, Courts & Judicial Proceedings, section 3-2C-09, and increases in designated increments each year. There is a separate cap for medical malpractice cases that result in wrongful death where there are two or more claimants. It is critical to have the assistance of an experienced attorney to negotiate with the responsible party and to present arguments in court on your behalf to maximize the financial recovery you deserve after an unwarranted medical catastrophe.
You may be entitled to compensation to cover the following areas when you sue as a result of a birth injury medical malpractice claim. Those harmed may recover the following damages:
- Medical Bills
- Replacement Services
- Pain and Suffering
- Punitive Damages
- Loss of Consortium
- Property Damage
- Lost Wages
- Future Medical Bills
- Lost Earning Capacity
- Emotional Distress
- Wrongful Death