Memphis
Birth Injury Lawyers
Get the compensation you deserve when your child has suffered a birth injury in Memphis. Work with the NST Law team to file a lawsuit and receive expert court representation from a Memphis birth injury lawyer.
Table Of Contents
- When to Seek Help: Common Birth Injuries
- The Statute of Limitations for Memphis Birth Injury Cases
- How Memphis Birth Injury Cases Work in Tennessee
- Available Compensation for a Birth Injury Lawsuit in Memphis
- Hospitals Where Birth Injuries Can Occur in Memphis
- Work with Our Memphis Birth Injury Lawyers Today
Birth injuries can be catastrophic and life-altering for parents and children alike. What should be a most joyous occasion can turn into a heartbreaking struggle. While there are many causes of birth injuries, medical malpractice by a health care professional may have harmed your child. Some birth injuries are short-term, while others lead to disabilities that last for your child’s entire life. Some may even lead to death.
When your child has suffered a birth injury, there are laws to follow and processes to navigate to file a lawsuit. You could receive compensation for everything you and your family have been through. Talk to a knowledgeable medical malpractice lawyer in Memphis from NST Law for expert representation and support throughout this stressful process.
When to Seek Help: Common Birth Injuries
Sometimes, birth injuries are unavoidable or unpreventable. For example, some may be genetic conditions or caused by a complication out of everyone’s control. However, many birth injuries are caused by the negligence of a doctor, nurse, or another health care provider.
Here are common birth injuries to consider pursuing legal help for:
- Cerebral palsy
- Shoulder dystocia
- Brain damage
- Fractured bones
- Erb’s palsy
- Klumpke’s palsy
- Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PHHN)
- Brachial Plexus
- Skull Fractures
- Death
Many different problems can occur, causing labor and delivery complications. A medical professional may make these mistakes:
- Fail to treat an infection
- Delay a Cesarean section
- Make an incorrect incision
- Use unnecessary and excessive force
- Provide the wrong medication
- Ignore signs of fetal distress in utero
- Improperly administrate Pitocin
A medical provider may be negligent and harm your child with pre-term birth or perinatal injuries in various ways. If you have been through a situation like this, seek legal representation as soon as possible. Our Memphis personal injury attorneys are ready to win you the compensation you deserve for all the financial and emotional hardships your family has been through.
The Statute of Limitations for Memphis Birth Injury Cases
It’s important to remember that you do not have unlimited time to file a lawsuit in a birth injury case. You typically have one year to file a personal injury case in Tennessee, but that may change depending on exceptions for minors and when you discover the injury. For example, if your child’s injury from medical negligence doesn’t become apparent until much later, you may still have time to file a lawsuit—but only one year from the date you discovered the injury.
Each injury situation is different. Make sure you talk over your options and your timeline with a legal professional. Filing a birth injury lawsuit in Memphis can feel overwhelming, but the right attorney will handle everything on your behalf.
How Memphis Birth Injury Cases Work in Tennessee
If your child was injured during delivery, you could file a lawsuit against the doctor, nurse, or health care facility where you received care. You must meet paperwork and date requirements in this process, and the laws can be complicated to understand on your own.
Understanding how liability works in such cases is an important first step. The medical care provider could be held liable for your child’s injury, or you could bring a claim against the institution itself. When you work with our attorneys at NST Law, we will investigate to uncover what really happened.
To be entitled to compensation, we must show that the health care professional did not provide the reasonable level of care and skill expected from others in that same profession. In addition, we must prove that this lack of care caused your child’s birth injury.
In Tennessee, birth injury laws allow families like yours to seek compensation after they’ve been victims of medical malpractice. This is the case if your child has a short-term injury or if they will have to manage a disability for the rest of their lives.
These are very serious matters that will have significant impacts on your family moving forward. Contacting a Memphis birth injury lawyer as soon as possible is critical. The team at NST Law has handled many similar cases, and we are prepared to represent you and provide expert guidance throughout the legal process.
Available Compensation for a Birth Injury Lawsuit in Memphis
Birth injury claims in Memphis allow for different types of compensation. Some help you pay for the medical expenses you incurred for your child’s injury, and some help with emotional pain and distress.
Economic damages cover monetary losses you and your family had because of the birth injury, including a loss of earning capacity. Non-economic damages cover your baby’s pain and suffering. Your case may involve both, depending on the specific circumstances and injury.
A third type of compensation is punitive damages. The court may award you these damages if it finds that the health care provider or physician acted recklessly, maliciously, or with fraudulent intent, and those actions led to the birth injury. These damages are awarded less commonly but are occasionally available.
Tennessee has limits to be aware of for punitive and non-economic damages. These are as follows:
- Non-economic damages are capped at $750,000 unless the child has a catastrophic injury, categorized as very severe, which includes amputation, third-degree burn, or wrongful death.
- Punitive damages are capped at $500,000, or double the economic damages you are awarded, whichever is greater.
However, there are no caps on economic damages, such as medical bills, future medical costs, and loss of earning capacity. Our law firm has the resources to consult with qualified expert witnesses who can properly calculate and document damages caused by a birth injury suffered by a baby.
When dealing with Memphis birth injuries, questions about the legal process, potential compensation, and Tennessee laws are common. At NST Law, we have successfully helped our clients recover the medical malpractice settlements and verdicts that they deserved. We will use our experience and resources to fight just as hard for you.
Hospitals Where Birth Injuries Can Occur in Memphis
Unfortunately, no one can predict when a medical professional will act negligently. Knowing you chose the right hospital in advance is impossible. However, you can diligently research the best hospitals in Memphis and meet with physicians before your child’s birth.
No parent wants to face the reality of a birth injury. However, if medical malpractice harmed your child, you can seek legal help to recover the compensation needed to pay the medical bills and assist your child’s recovery.
Work with Our Memphis Birth Injury Lawyers Today
As a parent, you want what’s best for your child. When dealing with your child’s avoidable birth injury, you may feel hopeless and angry. Help your family and your baby by seeking legal aid.
At NST Law, our team is ready to assist you in navigating these legal challenges. We have extensive experience with a variety of Memphis birth injury cases. We have the skill and knowledge to get you the compensation you deserve. We are compassionate and communicative throughout the process, helping you with paperwork, representing you in court, and acting as your champion.
We offer free consultations, and you don’t have to pay for anything upfront. Contact our medical malpractice lawyers today to get started.