Scranton Birth Injury Attorneys
If your child is the victim of a health care provider who failed to exercise the required standard of care during his or her birth you don’t need just any Scranton Birth Injury lawyer; you need a strong supportive individual who will fight aggressively and provide a voice for the innocent child that can’t.
Birth Injury Help in Scranton
Birth injuries usually occur during the birthing process but can also be caused by negligence during pregnancy. Some babies are born with birth defects that developed during pregnancy and cannot be prevented so just because your baby’s diagnosis is listed as a common birth injury does not mean it was caused by negligence.
Birth injuries are often the result of trauma during the delivery process. They vary from minor injuries that are temporary to long-term or permanent medical conditions that require ongoing care.
Scranton Birth Injury Attorneys
When a baby suffers a serious injury during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or shortly after birth, parents understandably want to know what happened and whether the injury could have been prevented.
Some birth injuries occur even when appropriate medical care is provided. Others may involve failures to recognize complications, respond to fetal distress, perform a timely delivery, or provide appropriate care to the mother or child.
Pisanchyn Law Firm represents families throughout Pennsylvania who have questions about whether medical negligence contributed to a child’s birth injury.
Was My Child’s Birth Injury Preventable?
A diagnosis or poor medical outcome does not by itself establish malpractice.
Determining whether an injury may have been preventable can require examining the medical care provided throughout pregnancy, labor, delivery, and newborn treatment.
Tell Us What Happened
Free consultation. We can review the circumstances and explain the next steps.
Questions may include:
- Were signs of fetal distress recognized?
- Was fetal monitoring interpreted appropriately?
- Should a cesarean section have been performed?
- Was delivery delayed?
- Were maternal complications properly treated?
- Were medications administered appropriately?
- Was the baby properly monitored after birth?
- Were accepted standards of medical care followed?
Medical records and expert review can become essential to answering these questions.
Birth Injuries We Investigate
Potential birth injury cases may involve:
- Cerebral palsy
- Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy
- Oxygen deprivation
- Brain injuries
- Brachial plexus injuries
- Erb’s palsy
- Shoulder dystocia injuries
- Nerve damage
- Seizure disorders
- Serious infections
- Permanent physical disabilities
- Developmental disabilities
- Maternal injuries associated with negligent care
The issue is not simply whether an injury occurred, but whether negligent medical care caused or contributed to it.
Fetal Distress and Delayed Delivery
Medical professionals monitor the mother and baby during labor for signs that complications may be developing.
When warning signs appear, timely intervention can become critical.
An investigation may examine fetal monitoring information, physician and nursing notes, medications, the timing of medical decisions, and how quickly the medical team responded when the baby’s condition changed.
Delayed Cesarean Sections
Emergency C-sections sometimes become necessary to protect the mother or baby.
The fact that a C-section occurred does not itself establish malpractice.
Questions may arise, however, when medical evidence suggests delivery should have occurred earlier and a delay may have contributed to oxygen deprivation or another serious injury.
Birth Injuries Can Create Lifetime Needs
A severe birth injury can affect a child and family for decades.
Depending upon the injury, future needs may include:
- Medical treatment
- Physical therapy
- Occupational therapy
- Speech therapy
- Assistive equipment
- Mobility assistance
- Specialized education
- Home modifications
- Personal care
- Future surgeries
Evaluating a serious birth injury case therefore requires considering much more than the medical bills associated with the delivery itself. Families of children with lasting disabilities may also want to understand the difference between SSDI and SSI benefits.
Medical Records and Expert Review
Birth injury investigations can involve prenatal records, fetal monitoring information, nursing notes, physician documentation, medications, laboratory results, delivery records, neonatal records, imaging, and subsequent medical treatment.
Qualified medical professionals may be needed to evaluate whether the care provided met accepted standards and whether different treatment would likely have changed the outcome.
Who May Be Responsible?
Depending upon what occurred, a birth injury claim may involve:
- Physicians
- Nurses
- Hospitals
- Medical practices
- Anesthesia providers
- Other healthcare professionals or organizations
Part of the investigation is determining where a breakdown in care may have occurred. If negligent care resulted in the death of a mother or baby, our Pittsburgh wrongful death lawyers can help the family understand its options.
Pittsburgh Birth Injury FAQs
How long do we have to file a birth injury claim in Pennsylvania? Deadlines in birth injury cases can be complicated. Pennsylvania generally allows additional time for claims brought on a child’s behalf, but a parent’s own claims, such as for medical expenses, may be subject to a shorter two-year deadline. Because the rules depend on the facts, it is best to talk with an attorney as soon as you have questions.
What is a certificate of merit? In Pennsylvania, a medical malpractice lawsuit generally requires a certificate of merit confirming that a qualified medical professional has reviewed the case and believes the care fell below accepted standards. This is one reason birth injury cases require careful expert review early on.
Can a birth injury case include the mother’s injuries? Yes. Negligent prenatal, labor, or delivery care can injure the mother as well as the baby, and those injuries may support their own claim.
What does it cost to talk to a birth injury lawyer? The consultation is free and confidential, and there is no fee unless we win. Call 412-261-1212 or 1-800-444-5309.
Talk to a Scranton Birth Injury Lawyer
You don’t need to determine whether malpractice occurred before contacting us.
If your child suffered a serious injury during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or newborn care, Pisanchyn Law Firm can review the circumstances and determine whether further investigation may be appropriate. Request a free, confidential case evaluation.
Call 1-800-444-5309 for a free, confidential consultation.
For birth injury matters accepted on a contingency-fee basis, there is no attorney fee unless we recover compensation for you.
Talk to a Scranton Birth Injury Lawyer
Free consultation with Pisanchyn Law Firm.
CALL (570) 344-1234