Houston Birth Injury Attorneys

Welcoming a new baby should be a joyous event. However, giving birth is not easy. It can be a complicated medical process, and expectant mothers trust medical professionals to help them weather the labor and delivery process safely. Careless medical providers can harm you and your child in more ways than one.

Birth injuries can be traumatic and are devastating to families. After giving birth, you are in a uniquely vulnerable position both physically and emotionally. Coping with an infant’s birth injury can feel overwhelming for you and your family, especially if your child is facing a lifetime of medical treatments and developmental hurdles.

You don’t have to cope with the trauma alone if you are managing the aftermath of a birth injury. If you believe your child was injured at birth due to the careless actions of a medical provider, you may be due compensation. At Attorney Tom, our managing partner and his legal team are committed to offering you compassionate service and valuable legal advice.

Our Houston birth injury attorneys will take the time to assess your situation and help you evaluate your legal options. At Attorney Tom, our team understands that you and your family could face a lifetime of managing your child’s unique medical requirements. We strive to pursue meaningful compensation to help you fulfill your child’s needs today and tomorrow. Contact our office by calling (713) 244-6363 and set up a free case evaluation. You and your family deserve nothing less than justice, and we want to help you get it.

What Is a Birth Injury?

The birthing process doesn’t always go smoothly. Sometimes, in the process, a baby can suffer a physical injury. This trauma is a direct result of being born and is typically called a birth injury or birth trauma. Birth injuries are generally the result of something going awry during labor and delivery. In most cases, competent and proactive medical intervention can prevent birth injuries from occurring in the first place.

What Is the Difference Between a Birth Injury and a Birth Defect?

Birth injuries are not the same as birth defects. Birth injuries are physical injuries or trauma suffered by a baby during the birth process. A birth injury is often the result of the careless actions of a medical provider or facility.

Birth defects, on the other hand, happen in the womb before a baby’s delivery. Birth defects are not caused by physical trauma. Instead, defects can occur due to a medical condition, genetic mutation, or other unpreventable issues with the development of a growing fetus. Defects are structural abnormalities or changes that occur before birth and can impact any part of the body or bodily system.

Common Types of Birth Injuries

You trust your medical team to give you and your baby the best care possible. Unfortunately, not all practitioners provide diligent, proactive, and competent care. When a medical team member fails to provide you and your newborn with the proper care, a physical birth injury can occur. Common types of birth injuries can include:

• Brachial Plexus Injury or Brachial Palsy – This condition occurs when the nerves in a newborn’s arms and hands are damaged, stretched, or ripped away from the spinal cord during delivery. The damage is most common in cases where there are complications in delivering the baby’s shoulder. The condition can cause pain, stiffness, numbness, and sometimes loss of motion or permanent disability.
• Cerebral Palsy – Cerebral palsy is caused by damage to the brain. This damage can occur when a challenging delivery leads to asphyxia or lack of oxygen for the baby. It can also be caused by bleeding into the brain and traumatic head injuries because of a demanding birth. Cerebral palsy can impact muscle function, movement, coordination, and development. In some cases, cerebral palsy can also result in intellectual disabilities or blindness. Medical treatments can help improve function, but cerebral palsy has no cure.
• Facial Paralysis – Continuous pressure on a newborn’s face can cause damage to facial nerves. This damage may lead to facial paralysis, or the inability to move the muscles in the face. This type of injury is most common in cases where forceps are used for delivery.
• Hypoxic- Ischemic Encephalopathy or HIE – If an infant’s brain does not receive enough oxygen or blood flow during delivery, they may suffer HIE. HIE is a brain disorder that can lead to significant disability and permanent cognitive impairment.
• Intracranial Hemorrhage – An intracranial hemorrhage is bleeding in the skull. If the bleeding is not controlled immediately, it can lead to brain damage and other complications.

Other potential birth injuries can also include:

• Bone fractures
• Spinal cord injuries
• Bacterial infections
• Newborn jaundice

Any of these complications can lead to life-long health issues and potential disabilities.

How Are Birth Injuries Caused?

In some births, significant complications arise that threaten to harm the infant and mother. Thankfully, medical professionals receive training to mitigate the health risks to mothers and infants and step in when the process is not advancing according to plan. Yet, proactive, diligent, and competent medical care isn’t always provided when it is needed. In those cases, birth injuries may be the result.

A careless medical provider can put you and your child’s life at risk. Some of the most common causes of Texas birth injuries include:

• Failure to diagnose issues before delivery
• Poor fetal monitoring practices
• Overly aggressive delivery tactics
• Improper post-birth care
• Incorrect use of birthing instruments

Mothers and infants require close observation and dedicated medical care to avoid physical trauma during labor and delivery.

Complications of Birth Injuries

Birth injuries can cause significant and life-long complications for children and their families. These physical and mental conditions may require extensive medical intervention and prevent a child from experiencing life as peers or siblings will. Children injured at birth may face significant complications such as:

• Physical limitations
• Mobility problems
• Developmental delays
• Impaired cognition
• Physical disfigurement
• Physical disability
• Blindness
• Hearing loss
• Learning impairments

These complications can limit a child’s educational opportunities and impact their eventual career path and ability to generate income for themselves. Birth injuries can also be financially devastating for families, leading to medical debt and financial instability.

Compensation in a Birth Injury Claim

Unfortunately, a lot can go wrong in the delivery room. Healthcare professionals are tasked with providing quality care to mothers and babies to reduce the risk of potential complications and birth injuries. When a provider fails to protect the health and safety of the mother and infant, they may be held legally liable.

Medical professionals have a duty to provide patients with a suitable medical standard of care. There is no concrete definition of the medical standard of care. However, in legal terms, it is commonly understood that when a medical provider’s care fails below what a practitioner in the same area of practice and under the same conditions would provide, that provider may have committed medical negligence. If carelessness is at the heart of a baby’s birth injury, the physician or medical provider may be held accountable for their actions.

If you suspect your child was injured during the birth process and a medical professional is to blame, you should contact an experienced Houston birth injury attorney. An attorney can review your situation and explain your options for recovering compensation for the injury to your baby. In some cases, a medical malpractice lawsuit may be the best way to recover the money you need for your child. Depending on the circumstances of your case, you may be eligible to seek compensation for:

• Current and future medical expenses for your child
• Rehabilitation costs
• Required medical assistance devices
• Loss of earning capacity if your child will not be able to work in adulthood
• Pain and suffering

A skilled lawyer will also be able to help you calculate the value of your case. Birth injury cases are complicated because a significant birth injury may impact your child for the rest of their life. Medical costs associated with a lifetime of treatment can be astronomical. An attorney can evaluate your unique case and help you seek fair compensation for your child’s injuries.

An experienced Houston birth injury attorney can also review how Texas law may impact your case. Texas limits the money individuals can collect in medical malpractice cases. There is no cap for economic damages, such as medical expenses. However, non-economic damage for intangible losses like pain and suffering is capped at $250,000 per claimant if the defendant is a healthcare provider or physician that is not a healthcare institution.

Contact a Skilled Houston Birth Injury Lawyer Today

From start to finish, the Houston team with Attorney Tom will investigate the cause of your child’s birth injury, gather evidence to strengthen your case, assess your damages, and negotiate on your behalf for the money your family deserves. You deserve to spend this time caring for your precious newborn, not worrying about paperwork. Let us help you hold careless medical providers accountable for their actions and seek justice on your child’s behalf.

For a free, no-obligation, case evaluation call Attorney Tom at (713) 244-6363 today. If we handle your case, rest assured there are no legal fees unless we obtain financial compensation for you.