Chattanooga Birth Injuries
Medical Malpractice Attorneys Serving Chattanooga Families
The birth of a baby should be a joyous occasion, and doctors dread having to notify a parent that their child suffered an injury during the birthing process. Many birth injuries can cause developmental delays, severe handicaps, or even death, and some of these injuries are due to the negligence of the obstetric delivery team. If your child suffered an injury during birth or passed away following delivery, call the Chattanooga birth injury lawyers of Nahon, Saharovich & Trotz today for a free consultation. We are the largest plaintiff’s personal injury firm based in Tennessee, and our attorneys have extensive experience handling birth injury and other complex medical malpractice and wrongful death claims against physicians and hospitals across Tennessee.
How Do Birth Injuries Occur?
A baby is born every eight seconds in the United States. Some babies are born quickly with no complications, and others only arrive after hours of painful labor by the mother. Some are delivered by cesarean section – either planned or due to an emergency situation. Some babies arrive right on time, while others are pre-term deliveries. While some physicians have delivered hundreds or even thousands of babies, no two births are the same. Every childbirth experience is different, based on that particular child and mother.
Unfortunately, not every child is delivered safely. Some children suffer birth injuries during labor or delivery, sometimes due to the medical staff’s neglect or error. Common types of birth injuries include:
- Cerebral Palsy
- Brain damage
- Erb’s Palsy
- Klumpke’s Palsy
- Shoulder dystocia
- Brachial plexus
- Persistent pulmonary hypertension
- Wrongful death
Birth injuries such as these occur in many different ways. They may occur because the baby’s size was incorrectly determined, leading to a complicated birth. The doctor may use forceps or a vacuum to extract the baby, causing bruising or head injuries. The doctor may fail to recognize that the baby is in distress during labor and not perform a needed C-section. The doctor may fail to properly treat infection, high blood pressure, or other conditions in the mother that could harm the baby or cause pre-term labor.
Seeking Compensation for Birth Injuries in a Lawsuit
If you are the parent of a newborn who suffered a birth injury, you should immediately contact an experienced lawyer who can help you during this trying time. Our birth injury lawyers can help Chattanooga residents prove when a physician or medical provider breached his or her duty of care and that this negligence caused the birth injury in question. When liability is proven, you may be entitled to recover past and future medical expenses, lost wages, pain and suffering, loss of companionship, and loss of enjoyment of life, depending on the facts of your situation.
Under Tennessee law, you generally only have one year to pursue a personal injury case or a wrongful death claim. The clock usually begins ticking on the date of injury or death. However, some birth injuries are not discovered until years later. Because of strict time limitations to file birth injury lawsuits, it is important to speak with a birth injury attorney in Chattanooga as soon as possible upon discovery of the injury to ensure that you meet the applicable legal deadlines.
Many parents are overwhelmed after the birth of a child and may be busy caring for and tending to that child, especially if the child is injured and has special needs. That is why it is critical to consult an experienced law firm who can focus on the legalities so the parents are free to focus on the child and deal with the physical and emotional impact a birth injury can have on not only the child, but also the parents and other immediate family members. At Nahon, Saharovich & Trotz, we strive to make this process as easy on the family as possible under such difficult circumstances.
Consult with an Experienced Birth Injury Lawyer Today
If your child suffered harm during labor or delivery, contact our office today to speak with one of our experienced Chattanooga birth injury attorneys. If you have a viable birth injury claim, we can carefully review all medical records, consult with medical experts, and begin building a case against the medical provider so that you or your child can get the compensation you deserve. To speak with a medical malpractice attorney today, call 800-529-4004 or complete our online form. Let us show you why NST is the way to go.