Even when it goes as smoothly as possible, childbirth can be immensely stressful for the expecting mother, her newborn child, and everyone who loves both of them. Fortunately, advances in medical science, technology, and best practices over the past few decades have dramatically reduced both maternal and infant mortality during childbirth in the United States. Unfortunately, obstetricians and other doctors who fail to provide high-quality care to expecting and delivering mothers can still wind up causing life-altering trauma through their misconduct.
Filing a civil suit over an injury caused by medical malpractice during childbirth can be challenging on both legal and personal levels, which is why it can be especially important in a situation like this to have a dependable malpractice attorney’s help. From beginning to end of your legal proceedings, our Southfield birth injury lawyers could work tirelessly to protect your entire family’s best interests and to ensure you are compensated fairly for the harm you and your child have unfairly sustained.
Common Causes and Effects of Birth Trauma
Every doctor who assists with childbirth, care for a mother in labor and her fetus, or care for a mother and her newborn after birth is expected to meet the same standard that any equally qualified physician would provide in their same position. In practice, this means that minor mishaps may not be considered serious enough in legal terms to justify a lawsuit, but major errors like misuse of forceps or other tools, failure to monitor vital signs, and failure to identify and address birth complications can be a very different story.
Likewise, birth can be traumatic for babies even when everything goes perfectly. Certain minor injuries may not serve as valid grounds for litigation if they do not cause any compensable damages. Conditions like cerebral palsy, brachial plexus injuries, spinal cord damage, and cephalohematoma are all examples of serious and long-lasting harm that our Southfield birth injury attorneys may be able to help effectively file suit over.
Suing for Short-Term and Long-Term Losses
Whether a birth injury can be fixed completely with proper medical care or will result in lifelong disability or disfigurement, the purpose of an ensuing lawsuit would not be to paper over the harm that has been done with a cash payment. Instead, the goal of this type of claim is to reimburse the parents, as well as the child themselves, for specific economic and non-economic losses they will experience as a direct result of that injury, such as:
- Future medical expenses
- Lost working and earning capacity
- Disability-related costs for wheelchairs, home modifications, in-home assistance, and more
- Physical pain and suffering
- Emotional anguish and distress
- Lost quality and enjoyment of life
Michigan state law places caps on how much money a malpractice victim can recover, specifically for non-economic damages like physical pain and emotional anguish, which our birth injury lawyers in Southfield could go into further detail about during an initial consultation.
Our Southfield Birth Injury Attorneys Could Help
Learning your child has been injured under any circumstances is always devastating as a parent, but learning they have been hurt during the first moments of their life can be an exponentially more harrowing experience. In the aftermath of a revelation like that, it can be understandably hard to think proactively—or at all—about filing civil suit, but doing just that may be vital to protecting your child’s future prospects.
Working closely with a compassionate Southfield birth injury lawyer from Thurswell Law could make a big difference in how effectively you can demand the compensation your family deserves without piling too much additional stress on yourself in the process. Call 248-621-8799 today to discuss your options.
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