Bowmanville Birth Injury Lawyer

Birth injuries are traumatic for everyone. And if you discovered that your child’s birth injury was caused by the negligence or mistake of a trusted healthcare professional, you were likely devastated by the news.

Families have the right to hold pediatricians, nurses, midwives, and other healthcare practitioners responsible if their medical mistake or negligence caused a birth injury.

If your child has been hurt because of a mistake or negligence on behalf of a healthcare practitioner, you may qualify for compensation. Contact Preszler Injury Lawyers at 1-800-JUSTICE for a free initial consultation.

Common Types of Birth Injuries

There are a number of things that may go wrong during the delivery of a baby that could cause an injury. Common circumstances that lead to the injury of a child are when:

• The baby is premature or large
• The shape and size of the pelvis or birth canal make it difficult for the mother to deliver
• The healthcare practitioner uses forceps or a vacuum during delivery
• The baby is not in the correct, head-down position in the birth canal
• The mother is overweight

Circumstances like these may cause a number of injuries, including, but not limited to:

Shoulder Dystocia

If a baby’s shoulder gets caught on the pelvic bone during delivery, it may cause a number of different injuries to the child, such as brachial plexus. With this type of injury, the nerves between the shoulders and neck are stretched, torn, or compressed during birth. This type of injury generally only occurs in one to three of every 1,000 births.

Cerebral Palsy

This type of injury typically occurs before a baby is born, although it may also occur because of a lack of oxygen to the brain related to a difficult labor or delivery. Cerebral palsy may affect movement, muscle tone, or posture.

Injuries to Facial Nerves

Facial injuries may occur if the doctor uses too much force when utilizing forceps during the delivery of a baby. These types of injuries are generally mild and have a favourable outcome. However, in rare cases, babies require treatment, and the recovery time may be significant.

Clavicle or Collarbone Fractures

Broken collarbones and clavicles are common and treatable injuries that may occur as a baby passes through the birth canal during labor. Large babies are particularly susceptible to this type of injury. This type of injury generally heals on its own without treatment, although your physician may caution you to keep the arm or shoulder immobile for days.

Injuries From a Vacuum Extraction

If your physician performed a vacuum extraction during labor, there is a risk of injury to both the baby and mother. Some of the possible risks to the baby include:

• Shoulder dystocia
• Skull fracture
• Scalp wounds
• Bleeding in the skull

While it is extremely uncommon for a baby to experience serious injuries as a result of vacuum extraction, it may happen.

These are just a few possible injuries that could have occurred during your child’s delivery. If your infant was hurt by these or some other accident that you believe was caused by the negligence or medical mistake of your healthcare practitioner, contact Preszler Injury Lawyers at 1-800-JUSTICE for a free initial consultation.

How Ontario’s Statute of Limitations May Impact Your Claim

Ontario has a deadline for the amount of time you have to file a claim after a personal injury accident like a birth injury. According to the statute of limitations, you generally have “two years after the cause of action arose.”

In other words, you have 24 consecutive months from the date of the accident to file a claim against the at-fault party, or you are generally barred from recovering damages.  However, this two-year rule does not apply to minors or parties that are incapable.  In other words, if you are under the age of 18, the limitation period does begin until you turn 18.  The discoverability principle may also extend the limitation period which is why it is always best to speak to a birth injury lawyer as soon as possible.

How a Birth Injury Lawyer Serving Bowmanville May Be Able to Help

Birth injury claims are often highly complex, particularly because it is often difficult to establish that the physician, midwife, or other health practitioner is liable for the injuries. You are not alone in this, though. If you are eligible, there are a number of ways in which the team at Preszler Injury Lawyers may be able to help.

Provide 24/7 Support

We understand how hard it is to deal with a child’s injury or, even more devastating, loss. We are here to offer you 24/7 support, answering any questions you have and explaining what damages you may be eligible to recover if you qualify. If you are eligible, we may be able to be with you every step of the way, guiding you through the complex claims process to pursue damages for your child’s injuries.

Investigating Your Birth Injury Accident

In order to pursue a claim in a birth injury case, we must first establish that negligence occurred. We usually need to consult with other medical professionals who may offer their expert opinion regarding the standard of care that you should have received from your healthcare practitioner.

Negotiating on Your Behalf

If you are eligible, a lawsuit may be commenced on your behalf to pursue compensation to the fullest extent of your child’s or your family’s injuries. In order to demonstrate the extent of your damages, we will gather medical records, bills, receipts, and other documents that show the extent of your and your child’s losses. We may also use employment records to show the time you have spent away from work as a result of the accident.

To find out what options you have for recovering compensation after your birth injury accident, contact Preszler Injury Lawyers today at 1-800-JUSTICE for a free initial consultation to evaluate your claim.