Many people dream of starting a family, and thankfully, science has given us more options than ever to make that dream a reality. While we can document each ultrasound, each belly growth, and each pregnancy milestone along the way, we do so in anticipation of childbirth and the miraculous arrival of our new family member. Unfortunately, not all births go according to plan, with some deviating from a meticulously planned birth plan while others veering into dangerous territory. Statistics show that 1 out of every 9,714 people in the United States suffers from a birth injury.
If the unthinkable happens and your baby is injured during childbirth, you may be wondering what you can do if the injury occurred in a hospital.
An accomplished personal injury lawyer in Houston can help you navigate the obstacles common in birth injury cases and ensure that your legal rights are protected.
Common Birth Injuries
When a child is born, birth injuries are usually physical. Not every birth injury can be avoided, but many can. While many different types of injuries can occur during pregnancy and childbirth, the following are the most common ones:
- Forceps or vacuum injury. When a baby becomes stuck during childbirth, a medical provider may use forceps and/or a vacuum to help deliver the baby. Injuries will occur if those devices are used incorrectly or in the wrong circumstances.
- Head and/or brain injury. A baby with a head or brain injury may need lifelong medical care and will never be able to function normally.
- Fracture of clavicle or collarbone. The most common birth injury caused by medical malpractice is a broken collarbone. These types of injuries commonly cause shoulder dystocia, when a baby’s shoulders become stuck behind the mother’s pelvis.
- Facial nerve injury. When a baby’s facial nerves are injured during birth, it is referred to as Bell’s palsy. It is usually caused by rough treatment by doctors, the use of forceps, or other types of medical malpractice. While many children regain control of their facial movements, others are permanently affected.
- Cerebral Palsy. CP affects a child’s muscle control and often results in speech and other developmental milestones being delayed. There is no cure for this condition
- Oxygen deprivation. When a baby does not get enough oxygen, it is referred to as hypoxia. The extent of the damage is determined by how long the baby’s brain was without oxygen. Hypoxia during childbirth is extremely dangerous and can even result in death.
- Spinal cord injury. A rough delivery can harm a baby’s spine, resulting in devastating consequences such as loss of movement in one limb or even paralysis.
- Erb’s Palsy. An injury to the brachial plexus nerves during labor causes paralysis of the arm, shoulder, or hand.
What Is Considered Childbirth Medical Malpractice?
While birth injury claims are covered by the medical malpractice umbrella in Texas, they are handled differently in several ways. To begin with, because the injured party is a minor, they are not subject to the standard two-year statute of limitations for personal injury cases. Instead, they have until they turn 18 plus two years to file a lawsuit related to their birth injury. Waiting that long has serious consequences, including the loss or destruction of evidence such as hospital records, medical bills, and notes from healthcare professionals, as well as the inability to have the baby examined by a professional at the time of the injury.
Birth injury claims are not subject to the Texas damages caps that apply to other types of medical negligence cases. This means that if handled properly by an experienced trial lawyer, a birth injury in a hospital can provide for your child’s medical and other needs for the rest of his or her life, whereas other victims of medical malpractice in Texas have their damages capped at $250,000 in many cases, regardless of the severity of the negligent act or the resulting injury.
Doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals are only human, and they all make mistakes. So what exactly qualifies as birth injury malpractice? To hold a negligent party liable for birth injury damages, a plaintiff must prove four elements:
- Duty. The plaintiff must show that the party or parties who injured the child had a legal duty of care to that child. A person providing healthcare services in a hospital owes their patients a duty of care to provide medical services that are comparable to those provided by a reasonable provider in a similar situation.
- Breach. If your medical provider’s care fell short of the legal standard, it means they failed to meet the patient’s standard of care. When a medical provider acts or fails to act in a way that a reasonable or prudent person would not have acted in the same situation, they have breached their duty.
- Cause. The birth injury must have been caused by the legally obligated medical provider’s breach of their duty of care. The link between the defendant’s breach and your child’s injuries is known as causation, and it is frequently established through expert testimony.
- Harm. While doctors can make mistakes, they must cause harm in order for those mistakes to be actionable. Physical injuries, pain and suffering, a lifetime of medical care, medical bills, and other economic losses, among other things, are all covered by birth injury damages.
A Houston personal injury lawyer can help you prove these elements when pursuing a birth injury case in Texas.
Birth Injury Attorneys in Houston
If your child was seriously injured during birth as a result of a delivery room or other hospital error, West Loop Law and the Law Office of Nhan Nguyen, MD, JD will fight for you, your child, and your family. You can reach out to one of our knowledgeable Houston birth injury attorneys.
Nhan Nguyen, MD, JD and Nader Rabie, JD are here to help you recover after your child has suffered a birth injury.
Contact our law offices today at (713) 840-7200 to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation.
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