Birth Injury Lawyer in Gainesville, Florida

What should be among the happiest moments in your life can quickly turn into a tragedy when your baby suffers an injury due to medical malpractice by a doctor, nurse, hospital, or another healthcare provider.

Improper handling of the birth by a medical professional can cause injuries or illnesses that can lead to permanent disability or even death. Difficulties in diagnosing such injuries may lead many parents to believe their child’s injury was genetic in origin when the fact is that doctors can prevent many such birth defects.

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The Gainesville birth injury attorneys of Steven A. Bagen & Associates are here to help you and your family search for answers.

Steven A. Bagen & Associates, P.A. Can Help You With Gainesville Birth Injury Claims

There are no one-size-fits-all approaches to Florida birth injury cases. Health care providers can cause birth injuries when they behave recklessly, carelessly, or negligently, especially during delivery room procedures. Although some birth injuries occur naturally and involve complications with pregnancy or labor, most occur when experts behave recklessly, carelessly, or negligently.

The doctors in the delivery room (such as the obstetricians), nurses, or delivery room personnel may be responsible for birth injuries. You can hold them liable for medical malpractice when these injuries occur.

For these reasons, choosing the right birth injury lawyer for your child is crucial. You and your family will benefit most from an attorney who offers compassionate legal guidance throughout your case. Our birth injury attorneys have handled cases similar to yours successfully. If necessary, we are ready to take your case to court.

You need a Gainesville lawyer who can get results. Steven A. Bagen & Associates, P.A. have been helping injured Florida residents since 1983.

Our firm has won hundreds of millions of dollars on behalf of injured clients. We have a success rate of more than 99 percent. The American Institute of Personal Injury Attorneys has recognized us for our client satisfaction.

Our fees are not guaranteed – we don’t get paid until you do. Our firm has over 100 years of combined experience.

Super Lawyers have added us to their Super Lawyers List, a distinction granted to fewer than 5 percent of attorneys in the country. American Trial Lawyers also recognizes us as a Top 100 Personal Injury Firm.

When you need help with your case, you can rely on our experienced legal experts.

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Birth Injuries: What Are They?

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Injuries sustained during labor and delivery are considered birth injuries. Permanent damage can occur during birth that results in severe injuries, such as brain damage or a spinal cord injury.

Doctors cannot always prevent these devastating situations. However, doctors sometimes act outside the standard scope of care, which can be considered medical malpractice. This makes them responsible for any injuries a mother or newborn suffers during pregnancy, labor, and delivery.

You may hold health care facilities in Gainesville, including hospitals, liable for birth injuries. If a hospital or healthcare provider fails to provide appropriate care to a patient, they may be found liable. Not all injuries can qualify as medical malpractice, but some qualify. Although mistakes happen, you and your child shouldn’t suffer. Your entire family can suffer from birth injuries, and the pain and suffering you experience can leave you at a loss for what to do.

Gainesville birth injury attorneys want to help your family seek justice for birth injuries you or your child may have suffered due to negligence by a doctor or healthcare provider. To learn more about your legal options for pursuing a birth injury claim, please contact us today for a free consultation.

Birth Defects: What Are They?

In contrast to birth injuries, birth defects can result from genetic or inherited conditions or even from exposure to toxic substances while you are pregnant. Congenital defects and developmental abnormalities present at birth can be called birth defects. Heart, lung, spinal cord, intestine, brain, bones, nerve, eye, and limb defects can occur in a child at birth. A birth defect affects approximately one out of every 33 babies in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

Birth Injuries in Gainesville: Causes and Consequences

The most common causes of birth injuries in Gainesville are:

  • Techniques used in delivery rooms that are not appropriate
  • Fetal heart rate monitoring is inadequate.
  • Inadequately performed medical procedures or delayed C-sections
  • The baby’s brain does not get enough oxygen.
  • Misuse of forceps and other delivery room equipment
  • Providing the mother with incorrect or improper delivery room drugs

What Are the Most Common Birth Injuries?

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Various factors can damage a baby’s brain during delivery, such as umbilical cord choking, asphyxia, and injuries caused by pulling on the baby’s head during extraction. A brain injury can result in long-term disabilities requiring around-the-clock care for the rest of one’s life.

In most cases, cerebral palsy results from a lack of oxygen to the baby’s brain and internal bleeding during delivery. Apart from physical disabilities, such as walking and the ability to move hands and arms, cerebral palsy can lead to limitations in how the baby functions, such as hearing, talking, and mental functions.

Nerve damage can cause Erb’s palsy, resulting in paralysis of the hands, arms, or shoulders. Birth injuries are often caused by babies being born breech (feet first) or by doctors or nurses pulling too hard on a baby’s head during delivery. A child who suffers an injury of this nature often needs physical therapy throughout their life.

Damage to the spinal cord may impair your child’s ability to move, touch, and feel as the spinal cord transmits signals to the brain that control body movements. If your child suffers a spinal cord injury, they may lose their ability to move. Medical treatment cannot reverse damage to the spinal cord. Licensed therapists can treat these injuries, but the cost can be high.

Birth injuries include those listed above, among others. Seek legal help if your child suffers a birth injury, as these injuries can result in major health issues and can be a huge financial strain for families. Your child will likely need surgeries, special medications, doctor’s visits, and therapy throughout their lifetime. As a result of these hardships, you should receive compensation.

Birth Injury Claims: What to Do and What Not to Do

We recommend taking the following steps if you believe you or your newborn child have suffered birth injuries caused by the breach of duty of a doctor or other healthcare provider.

If you or your baby suffered specific injuries, seek medical attention from a specialist.

Don’t sign anything if you have not consulted with an attorney regarding your injuries.

To limit their liability, doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies usually ask you to sign documents related to you or your child’s injuries. You should never sign anything without consulting your attorney first.

Moreover, you may receive an offer that falls far short of the amount needed to cover your injuries. As this is their way of preventing lawsuits, please do not sign anything. Instead, contact our Gainesville birth injury lawyers.

Limitations on Birth Injury Lawsuits in Florida

There is a limited time for parents can file a claim or lawsuit against negligent health care providers in delivery rooms or hospitals.

The parents must file a birth injury claim or lawsuit within two years of discovering the injury. Florida’s statute of repose prohibits any claims or lawsuits filed after four years from the date of the birth injury.

If you are considering filing a claim or lawsuit for medical malpractice due to a birth injury, you should seek legal counsel as soon as possible due to strict and unforgiving time constraints. Our Gainesville birth injury lawyers are capable of meeting all deadlines and appointing the appropriate experts on time.

In Medical Malpractice Cases, What Is the Standard of Care?

A doctor is responsible for providing you with the necessary medical services and experience their profession requires. The term “reasonable care” refers to the standard of care that we expect of the average professional, and failure to meet these standards can result in the professional being liable for the harm caused.

We can help you establish whether your health care provider’s actions or inactions constituted medical negligence. If your healthcare providers injured you or your child, we know how to investigate, argue and prove it.

Birth Injuries Caused by Negligence

Every birth is unique. Women often experience complications and difficulties that can strain both mother and child. However, the doctor must prepare for and respond to problems swiftly. During pregnancy, doctors, obstetricians, surgeons, and nurses have a professional duty to provide women and their babies with the highest quality care.

Incompetence or unpreparedness can cause several preventable injuries, such as:

  • Brachial plexus injuries: During a difficult birth, a physician may pull on the baby’s arm, causing injury to the bundle of nerves in the arm. The baby may suffer temporary symptoms such as tingling and shock down the arm and hand, as well as the inability to use certain muscles. Injuries to the arm and shoulder can also result in shoulder dystocia, Erb’s palsy, and Klumpke’s palsy.
  • Brain injuries: When doctors fail to take due care of a baby during labor or soon after birth, they can suffer brain injuries. Problems with the umbilical cord during delivery can cause brain injuries. A doctor’s job is to monitor fetal vital signs and take emergency measures if there is a problem, such as oxygen deprivation in a baby’s brain. Prolonged hypoxia can cause conditions such as cerebral palsy.
  • Delivery-related injuries: Infants can suffer broken bones, lacerations, facial paralysis, and traumatic brain injuries from misused delivery tools.

If an independently-contracted doctor caused your child’s injuries, you can file a claim against the doctor. You might hold the healthcare facility vicariously liable if a physician or staff member caused the incident. If you suffered an injury or lost a loved one due to medical malpractice at the Birth Center of Gainesville, University of Florida Health Center, Gentle Journey Midwifery and Birth Center, or North Florida Regional Medical Center, our firm can assist you.

Recovery of Medical Expenses and Financial Compensation for Victims of Birth Injuries

When your child suffers an injury at birth due to mistakes by a physician, a nurse, or a hospital, you may have the basis for a lawsuit. Your young child’s birth injuries may be life-altering, but by fighting for just compensation, you can help to ease that burden.

Your child and your family may be entitled to recovery of medical expenses (both current and future), as well as compensation for pain and suffering, disability and disfigurement, loss of quality of life, and loss of future earnings.

The Gainesville birth injury attorneys at Steven A. Bagen & Associates handle claims arising from a wide range of complications, including:

  • Cerebral palsy
  • Erb’s palsy/Brachial plexus palsy
  • Shoulder dystocia
  • Newborn jaundice
  • Bruising and lacerations from forceps
  • Bone injury/fracture
  • Cranial or spinal cord injury
  • Spinal birth defects
  • Brain or head injury
  • Soft tissue injury
  • Umbilical cord strangulation
  • C-section injuries

Securing A Better Future for Families Coping With Birth Injuries

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Gainesville birth injury lawyer, Steven A. Bagen, Esq

You might need help from a Gainesville birth injury lawyer if your child suffered serious, life-threatening, or disabling injuries. A lawyer can also assist if you believe your child lost their life during labor and delivery because of an error on the doctor or hospital’s part.

Although you have two years to bring a medical malpractice claim in Florida, prompt action is best for your case. The sooner you call an attorney, the sooner your family can receive the compensation you deserve.

If you believe your child may have suffered a birth injury, act immediately to protect your legal rights. The Gainesville birth injury attorneys of Steven A. Bagen & Associates will evaluate your case for free and help your family sort through your options.

Let us work with your family to pay your medical bills and ensure that your insurance company will pay for future treatment of your child’s injury. From there, we can work together to determine your best path for financial compensation to secure the best possible life for your injured child. Contact us today at (800) 800-2575 for a free case evaluation with our Gainesville birth injury lawyers.

Client Testimonial

“My experience was beyond satisfactory, from the first call with Mr. Bagen for consultation, to working with Megan to achieve the end goal. I definitely want to thank them for their hard work and dedication to my case along with the warm and friendly care. My calls were always returned in a timely manner, and no matter the question I had Megan always helped. I would highly recommend.

Once again I can’t thank you guys enough!” – Teresa S.

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Gainesville Office

6241 NW 23rd Street
Suite 300
Gainesville, FL 32653

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Phone: (800) 800-2575