If your child has suffered a birth injury, you may be overwhelmed at the complexity of the law and medicine involved. Read on to learn some legal and medical basics and how a birth injury lawyer can help you navigate your complex birth injury case.
PRESERVING YOUR RIGHTS TO FILE A CLAIM
In Pennsylvania, you can file a birth injury claim up to two years after the child turns 18 (i.e., up until their 20th birthday). But you should never wait that long to consult an attorney. If your baby suffered a birth injury, you need to contact a Philadelphia birth injury lawyer as soon as possible to preserve your claims.
While your child’s case doesn’t expire until your child turns 20, YOUR case expires two years after you knew or should have known that your child’s birth injury was someone’s fault. Your claim as the parent could be for, e.g., out of pocket expenses, emotional suffering, etc. Parents lose their individual right to sue the healthcare providers after those two years expire.
A Philadelphia birth injury attorney, with sufficient notice, can ensure that you and your child don’t lose your rights to file a lawsuit.
GETTING YOUR CHILD ACCESS TO CRITICAL CARE
If your child has suffered a serious birth injury, you may be so overwhelmed that you don’t know what to do next. You don’t know how to deal with this massive injury that is afflicting your child. You don’t know whom to talk to, how to navigate various hospital systems, and how to obtain the appropriate medical care for your child. Philadelphia birth injury lawyers can help by connecting you with the proper healthcare professionals who can provide thorough medical evaluations, early intervention, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and other critical care.
COLLECTING CRUCIAL EVIDENCE
Another way a birth injury attorney can help you is by collecting evidence that could be crucial to your birth injury lawsuit. The medical terms may seem complicated and the medical records may be hard to understand; this is where your birth injury lawyer comes in. Your attorney will review and digest all of the necessary information because it is essential to your birth injury lawsuit – it supports the argument that the healthcare professionals’ actions or omissions caused your child’s injuries. This evidence will also help establish the extent of your child’s injuries, detailing every related issue whether it’s physical or emotional.
OBTAINING MONEY DAMAGES
In Pennsylvania, there are two main categories of compensation: economic and non-economic. Economic damages are quantifiable, the specific figures can be established, or at least reasonably estimated, with documentation. Examples of economic damages include: medical expenses, loss of future earnings, and lost wages (for parents who had to stop working to care for their injured child).
Non-economic damages are not quantifiable – they are more of a subjective assessment of the sad consequences of a birth injury. Examples of non-economic damages include: loss of companionship, loss of life’s pleasures, pain and suffering, humiliation and embarrassment, and disfigurement.
It goes without saying that no amount of money will take away the pain your child and your family feel after a birth injury. But, with the right birth injury attorney in Philadelphia, you can at least rest assured that you will get the most compensation possible for your complex birth injury case.
There is no birth injury case that is too complex for the lawyers at VSCP Law.
Babies are delivered one of two ways: either vaginally or via Cesarean delivery. Cesarean delivery (“C-section”) is a method used to deliver a baby through surgical incisions made in the abdomen and uterus. A botched C-section is when the healthcare provider is negligent in performing the procedure.
Why have a C-section?
There are many reasons a healthcare provider might recommend a C-section, such as: labor isn’t progressing normally; the baby is in distress; the baby is in an unsafe position; there’s a problem with the placenta; certain health concerns or medical issues the mother is experiencing; or there’s a blockage of the birth canal by, eg, a fibroid or the umbilical cord.
What can go wrong in a C-section?
While C-sections are a common way to deliver a baby, there are risks associated with the procedure. Such risks can lead to a botched C-section. These include:
Delayed delivery. Delivery delays can result in the baby being in a prolonged and unhealthy state of distress.
Brachial plexus injury. The brachial plexus is the network of nerves that send signals from the spinal cord to the shoulder, arm, and hands. That part of the body can be injured when the nerves are stretched, compressed, or – in the most serious cases – ripped apart or torn away from the spinal cord.
Laceration of internal organs. The doctor cuts the mother’s bowels or another organ, causing infection and injury.
Broken bones. The doctor positions the baby wrong and breaks his/her bones when removing the baby from the uterus.
Uterine rupture. The uterus is torn and the baby and placenta can fall into the mother’s abdomen. This can cause the next complication: oxygen deprivation.
Oxygen deprivation. This occurs when the baby is denied sufficient levels of oxygen which is necessary for brain and body development.
Laceration of the baby. When a doctor improperly uses delivery tools, the baby’s skin can become cut and disfigured.
Improper wound closure. After surgery, the mother can develop an infection if the wound was not properly closed and disinfected.
Should I contact a birth injury lawyer for a botched C-section?
If you or your baby suffered an injury during C-section delivery, you should contact a birth injury attorney to discuss whether you have a medical malpractice claim.
In Pennsylvania, you can file a birth injury claim for the child up to two years after the child turns 18 (i.e., up until their 20th birthday). But you should never wait that long to consult an attorney. This is because your claim, as the parent, is only available for two years after you knew or should have known that your child’s birth injury was the medical professional’s fault. Another reason you should not delay contacting an attorney is because the closer you are in time to the actual date of delivery, the easier it is to gather all essential medical records and testimony.
If you underwent a botched C-section, do not hesitate to contact the specialized birth injury lawyers at VSCP Law.
If you’ve ever been in the hospital, you may have undergone intravenous (IV) therapy. Intravenous means “within a vein.” Intravenous therapy is when the healthcare professional inserts a tube (also called a “catheter”) through your vein to deliver fluid or medicine directly into your bloodstream. Can you suffer injuries from your IV? And if so, could you sue for those injuries?
IV Damage
An injury that can occur with IV placement is referred to as “IV infiltration.” IV infiltration is when the tip of the catheter slips out of the vein, the blood vessel wall allows part of the fluid to enter the surrounding tissue, or the catheter passes through the wall of the vein.
Another injury is called “IV extravasation.” This term describes leakage of fluid or medicine in the tissue around the IV site. It happens when the catheter comes out of the blood vessel but is still in nearby tissue. It may also happen if the blood vessel leaks because it is weak or damaged.
Both IV infiltration and IV extravasation involve fluid or medicine leaking out of the vein and into surrounding tissue.
Another example of IV damage involves the wrongful administration of medicine. In other words, the healthcare staff inserts the wrong medicine through the catheter into your bloodstream.
The above IV placement problems can cause nerve damage, muscle damage, scarring, tissue necrosis, and injuries to your limbs and the rest of your body.
Can you sue for injuries from improper IV placement?
The healthcare staff should ensure that they’re giving you the correct medicine through the IV. They should also monitor the IV throughout your treatment to make sure the catheter was correctly placed and hasn’t moved. Failure to do so can result in the injuries described above and, if you can prove medical malpractice, you will likely have a successful lawsuit.
Medical malpractice is established when you’ve proven that: (1) there was a duty; (2) the medical professional breached that duty; (3) you suffered injuries; (4) that were caused at least in part by the healthcare professional’s breach of duty.
Healthcare professionals absolutely have a duty (1) to ensure proper administration of medicine and insertion of a catheter. Failure to do so constitutes a breach of duty (2). If you can prove that you suffered serious injuries (3) caused at least in part by the healthcare staff’s improper IV placement (4), you have proven medical malpractice.
If you believe you or a loved one were injured as the result of improper IV placement, contact the medical malpractice attorneys at VSCP Law.
How to Find the Best Medical Malpractice Attorney: 4 Things to Consider for Your Birth Injury Case
If a medical professional’s negligence caused injuries to your baby and/or the mother in the course of childbirth, you may be able to file a birth injury lawsuit. But how can you find the best attorney to handle the case? Read on to learn four important considerations in finding the best attorney for your birth injury case.
1) There are different disciplines of medicine involved.
Even though birth injury sounds like a narrow subcategory of medical malpractice, it is anything but narrow in its scope. An experienced birth injury attorney will have a working knowledge of various types of medicine, including obstetrics, nursing, neonatology, pediatric neurology, pediatric cardiology, orthopedics, and maternal fetal medicine. The birth injury attorney’s deep understanding of these types of medicine enables them to properly analyze your case.
2) A winning strategy means finding the best theory of negligence.
In addition to understanding the various types of medicine involved in a potential birth injury case, your Philadelphia birth injury lawyer must understand all of the facts in evidence and the legal theories involved. There are certain fact patterns that will be familiar to an experienced birth injury attorney and it’s the ability to recognize the particulars of these cases and pinpointing the proper theory of negligence that distinguishes a good birth injury attorney from a bad one.
3) Your attorney needs to know the right experts.
A good birth injury attorney in Philadelphia will have the right contacts for every case that comes across their desk. They will have a database of top-quality experts in the varying fields of birth injury medicine discussed above so that when you reach out to them to represent you, they know the first person to call for an expert opinion. If the case, for example, involves a baby’s bone fracture during childbirth, the attorney may call an orthopedist to determine the extent of the baby’s injuries. This segues neatly into the next consideration: damages.
4) Understanding the extent of damages is key to winning the case.
In Pennsylvania, there are two main categories of compensation: economic and non-economic. Economic damages are quantifiable, the exact figure can be established with documentation. Non-economic damages are not quantifiable – they are more of a subjective assessment of the sad consequences of a birth injury. For your birth injury case, a good birth injury attorney will understand the extent of the damages and ensure that you are compensated fully. For example, if you had to stop working to manage your child’s care as a result of the birth injury, you could collect economic damages called “lost wages.” Medical expenses related to the birth injury are also economic damages. Non-economic damages would include your child’s loss of enjoyment or quality of life due to, for instance, an injury that prevents them from enjoying typical childhood milestones such as bike-riding or going down a slide at the playground.
So that you can do what’s best for your child and for your family, contact the qualified birth injury attorneys at VSCP Law.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, birth injuries affect 3% of all babies born in the United States. A birth injury refers to damage caused to a baby shortly before, during, or after their birth. Birth injuries can result in permanent damage to the baby that will last into childhood and adulthood. Common birth injuries as a result of negligence at and/or around the time of delivery include bone fracture, cerebral palsy, brachial plexus, vacuum extraction complications, brain damage, and encephalopathy.
If you believe your child suffered a birth injury, you may be able to file a lawsuit and get compensated for the various costs involved with a child who has been injured. This article explores why you should hire a birth injury lawyer who specializes in birth injury law in the City of Philadelphia – and how to find the right birth injury lawyer in Philadelphia.
The First Judicial District of Pennsylvania includes the Court of Common Pleas in Philadelphia. The Court of Common Pleas has more than one hundred judges and handles a wide variety of cases including birth injury cases.
Some states have a unified judicial system. In New Jersey, for instance, the same rules and forms and procedures apply whether you file a lawsuit in Camden County, New Jersey or Union County, New Jersey. Pennsylvania, however, does not have a unified judicial system. Every county is different. Practicing law in Philadelphia County, Pennsylvania is very different from practicing law in Montgomery County, Pennsylvania or Bucks County, Pennsylvania. There are special forms, filings, procedures, and processes that attorneys practicing law in other counties would find downright confusing. If you plan to hire a lawyer for a birth injury that occurred in Philadelphia, you should hire a Philadelphia birth injury lawyer.
A Philadelphia birth injury attorney knows the ins and outs of the complicated Philadelphia judicial system, has the necessary contacts at the various large Philadelphia-based medical institutions, and knows how to navigate every crucial stage of a successful birth injury case in Philadelphia.
When you do a Google search, you may find that a lot of lawyers in Philadelphia appear to handle birth injury cases. If you click on the “Practice Areas” tab of their websites, you’ll see “birth injury” listed. That means very little. It’s very possible that no attorneys in that firm have ever handled a birth injury case. The words “birth injury” on their website just means the lawyers in that firm are willing to handle a birth injury case. Again, it’s highly possible that no one in that firm ever worked on a birth injury case.
If your child needed braces to correct an overbite, you wouldn’t take them to a dentist. You would take them to an orthodontist. You would take them to the professional who has the specific training necessary to solve the problem you bring to them.
Check out the profile pages of the attorneys at the firms you’re considering. Are there specific examples of birth injury cases listed? Check out the media tabs – are there news articles about birth injury cases? Check out their resources tab – do they offer resources on birth injuries? Do they have a blog where they discuss birth injuries? If yes, these are all indications that the attorneys have solid experience handling birth injury cases and that they will be the right birth injury attorneys for your case.
If you believe your loved one has suffered a birth injury, contact the experienced birth injury attorneys at VSCP Law.
If your child has suffered a birth injury, you may not know whether to contact a birth injury attorney. Read on to learn how a birth injury attorney in Philadelphia can help you through this difficult time.
In Pennsylvania, you can file a birth injury claim up to two years after the child turns 18 (i.e., up until their 20th birthday). But you should never wait that long to consult an attorney. If your baby suffered a birth injury, you need to contact a Philadelphia birth injury lawyer as soon as possible to preserve your claims.
While your child’s case doesn’t expire until your child turns 20, YOUR case expires two years after you knew or should have known that your child’s birth injury was someone’s fault. Your claim as the parent could be for, e.g., out of pocket expenses, emotional suffering, etc. Parents lose their individual right to sue the healthcare providers after those two years expire.
A Philadelphia birth injury attorney, with sufficient notice, can ensure that you and your child don’t lose your rights to file a lawsuit.
If your child has suffered a serious birth injury, you may be so overwhelmed that you don’t know what to do next. You don’t know how to deal with this massive injury that is afflicting your child. You don’t know whom to talk to, how to navigate various hospital systems, and how to obtain the appropriate medical care for your child. Philadelphia birth injury lawyers can help by connecting you with the proper healthcare professionals who can provide thorough medical evaluations, early intervention, physical therapy, occupational therapy, and other critical care.
Another way a birth injury attorney in Philadelphia can help you is by collecting evidence that could be crucial to your birth injury lawsuit. Your birth injury lawyer will review medical records, retain experts, gather evidence, and conduct depositions. All of this is essential to your birth injury lawsuit – it supports the argument that the healthcare professionals’ actions or omissions caused your child’s injuries. This evidence will also help establish the extent of your child’s injuries, detailing every related issue whether it’s physical or emotional.
As mentioned, your birth injury attorney, given time and having had the opportunity to collect critical evidence, can now fight to win you just compensation, that is, payment for your child’s suffering and your suffering.
In Pennsylvania, there are two main categories of compensation: economic and non-economic. Economic damages are quantifiable, the exact figure can be established with documentation. Examples of economic damages include: medical expenses, loss of future earnings, and lost wages (for parents who had to stop working to care for their injured child).
Non-economic damages are not quantifiable – they are more of a subjective assessment of the sad consequences of a birth injury. Examples of non-economic damages include: loss of companionship, loss of life’s pleasures, pain and suffering, humiliation and embarrassment, and disfigurement.
It goes without saying that no amount of money will take away the pain your child and your family feel after a birth injury. But, with the right birth injury attorney in Philadelphia, you can at least rest assured that you will get the most compensation possible for your case.
If you believe your child has suffered a birth injury, contact VSCP LAW at vscplaw.com.
We recently summarized the types of cases a Philadelphia medical malpractice attorney specializing in birth injury can handle. Those cases are focused on the injuries your child could suffer during childbirth. There are often medical issues that arise for the mother of the child as well. Below is a list of medical injuries that can occur during childbirth for the mother, the baby, and/or both.
The placenta is a temporary organ that develops during pregnancy. Placental abruption happens when the placenta separates from the uterine wall before the baby is delivered. When this happens, the baby could lose vital nutrients and oxygen. Placental abruption is dangerous for the mother and the baby.
Uterine rupture can occur during vaginal childbirth. It happens when the uterus tears, which can allow the baby to slip into the mother’s abdomen. Uterine rupture can lead to severe bleeding for the mother and suffocation for the baby.
The umbilical cord is a tube-like structure that connects the fetus to the mother during pregnancy. It is often called the baby’s “lifeline” because it carries nutrients to the baby and carries away the baby’s waste. Before or during childbirth, the umbilical cord can drop through the open cervix into the vagina before the baby is delivered. This dangerous complication is called umbilical cord prolapse and could cause a loss of oxygen for the baby.
Nuchal cord occurs when the umbilical cord wraps around the baby’s neck. This can happen during pregnancy, labor, or childbirth. Nuchal cord is dangerous because it can obstruct the blood and oxygen flow to the baby.
Meconium is a tar-like substance that is created by the baby, at first in the womb. It’s known as the “baby’s first stool.” Meconium aspiration is when the baby is stressed and breathes in meconium and amniotic fluid. Meconium aspiration can cause significant health problems and if it is left untreated, it can be fatal to the baby.
The “chorion” is the outer membrane and the “amnion” is the fluid-filled sac surrounding the fetus. Chorioamnionitis is a serious infection that occurs when bacteria infect the chorion, amnion, and amniotic fluid around the baby. This infection can afflict the mother and the baby, and cause premature birth. If left untreated, the mother and baby could develop serious complications including sepsis and respiratory problems.
The cervix is the opening at the lower part of the womb/uterus. Cervical insufficiency is when a woman’s cervix opens too early in the pregnancy process. This can cause premature birth or miscarriage.
Your medical malpractice lawyer in Philadelphia can help you determine whether any of the above medical issues is the result of a healthcare professional’s actions or omissions.
If you believe you or your child suffered a medical injury before, during, or after your child’s birth, contact the experienced Philadelphia medical malpractice lawyers at VSCP LAW at vscplaw.com to have your case evaluated.
If your child was injured during birth, you should look for a Pennsylvania medical malpractice attorney who has specific experience trying birth injury cases. That experienced birth injury attorney can help you with myriad birth injury issues, including:
The brain is one of the most delicate organs during childbirth. It is also the most important organ in a person’s body because it controls the bodily functions as well as the cognitive processing. Thus, birth injuries resulting in brain damage can be the most devastating of any birth injury. There are a variety of brain injuries including hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE or, also, perinatal asphyxia), brain bleeds (hemorrhages or hematomas), periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), kernicterus, cerebral palsy, caput succedaneum, and hydrocephalus. Many of these are caused by hypoxia or a lack of oxygen in the blood. Your medical malpractice lawyer in Philadelphia will investigate the circumstances of your child’s birth and analyze the various actions and omissions of health care professionals. That analysis will be the basis of a possible lawsuit against those healthcare professionals.
Sometimes after birth, a baby will appear to be blue in color. This blue skin tone is due to a lack of sufficient oxygen to support healthy red blood cells. (Blood cells are only red when they have enough oxygen.) It’s actually common for a baby to appear blue immediately after birth and then to take a breath, which makes the blue tone disappear. If the appearance of blue skin remains for several minutes after the birth, this could be indicative of a more serious medical problem.
A baby could be born blue because of issues during the labor and delivery – perhaps the mother had high blood pressure that wasn’t properly managed by her health care team. Or maybe low blood sugar affected the baby. During labor, a mother may be given narcotics to manage the discomfort and pain. Those drugs, if not prescribed or given appropriately, could negatively affect the baby’s ability to breathe or the regularity of the baby’s heart rate.
Your Philadelphia medical malpractice attorney can help determine whether a doctor’s or other professional’s mistake caused your baby to suffer from a dangerous lack of oxygen.
The brachial plexus is a series of nerves near the neck that provide movement and feeling to the shoulder, arm, and hand. Erb’s palsy describes the weakness and loss of motion in these body parts. Erb’s palsy is the most common type of brachial plexus palsy. This physical injury can result from difficult deliveries, such as with a large baby or where the baby was in breech position. The injury can also result from a prolonged or delayed labor — or when the person assisting the delivery exerted excessive force in pulling the baby from the birth canal.
The above are examples of common birth injuries that require the assistance of an experienced medical malpractice lawyer in Philadelphia. If you believe your child suffered a birth injury, you may have a viable birth injury lawsuit. You should not hesitate to contact the attorneys at VSCP LAW (vscplaw.com) for a thorough evaluation of your claim.
When a family has been impacted by a birth injury, they can suffer financially. Babies who are injured during the birthing process require medical care that the parents of the child hadn’t anticipated. Some costs they didn’t plan for are related to physical therapy, occupational therapy, medicine and medical supplies, subsequent surgeries or medical procedures, and special equipment. Many of these costs are only partially covered by insurance or not covered at all. A good birth injury lawyer can help. Here are some ways that birth injury lawyers can help you recover money damages.
In Pennsylvania, you can file a birth injury claim up to two years after the child turns 18 (i.e., up until their 20th birthday). But you should never wait that long to consult an attorney. If your baby suffered a birth injury, you need to contact a Philadelphia birth injury lawyer as soon as possible to preserve your claims.
While your child’s case doesn’t expire until your child turns 20, YOUR case expires two years after you knew or should have known that your child’s birth injury was someone’s fault. Your claim as the parent could be for, e.g., out of pocket expenses, emotional suffering, etc. Parents lose their individual right to sue the healthcare providers after those two years expire.
Another reason you need to contact a birth injury attorney in Philadelphia as soon as you suspect your baby was injured at birth is that your birth injury lawyer needs ample time and opportunity to review medical records, retain experts, gather evidence, and conduct depositions. All of these processes need to be done sooner rather than later as the passage of time tends to erase memories and details. And your birth injury attorney needs all the memories and details available to create a clear and successful lawsuit on your behalf.
As mentioned, your birth injury attorney, given time and having had the opportunity to collect critical evidence, can now fight to win you just compensation, that is, payment for your child’s suffering and your suffering.
In Pennsylvania, there are two main categories of compensation: economic and non-economic. Economic damages are quantifiable, the exact figure can be established with documentation. Examples of economic damages include: past and future medical expenses (often incredibly expensive), loss of future earnings, and lost wages (for parents who had to stop working to care for their injured child).
Non-economic damages are not quantifiable – they are more of a subjective assessment of the sad consequences of a birth injury. Examples of non-economic damages include: loss of companionship, loss of life’s pleasures, pain and suffering, humiliation and embarrassment, and disfigurement.
It goes without saying that no amount of money will take away the pain a child and their family feel after a birth injury. But, with the right birth injury attorney in Philadelphia, you can at least rest assured that you will get the most compensation possible for your case.
If you believe your child has suffered a birth injury, contact VSCP LAW at vscplaw.com.
If your baby was injured during his or her birth, you may wonder whether you should hire a birth injury lawyer. But not all babies’ injuries are the result of someone else’s wrongdoing or negligence. So how do you know when you should consult a birth injury attorney in Philadelphia? Here are some of the critical situations where you should hire a birth injury lawyer in Philadelphia.
Sometimes after birth, a baby will appear to be blue in color. This blue skin tone is due to a lack of sufficient oxygen to support healthy red blood cells (blood cells are only red when they have enough oxygen). If the appearance of blue skin remains for several minutes after the birth, this could be indicative of a serious medical problem.
The brain is one of the most delicate organs during childbirth. It is also the most important organ in a person’s body because it controls the bodily functions as well as the cognitive processing. Thus, birth injuries resulting in brain damage can be the most devastating of any birth injury. There are a variety of brain injuries including hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE or, also, perinatal asphyxia), brain bleeds (hemorrhages or hematomas), periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), kernicterus, cerebral palsy, caput succedaneum, and hydrocephalus. Many of these are caused by hypoxia or – as described above – a lack of oxygen in the blood.
The brachial plexus is a series of nerves near the neck that provide movement and feeling to the shoulder, arm, and hand. Erb’s palsy describes the weakness and loss of motion in these body parts. This physical injury can result from difficult deliveries, such as with a large baby or where the baby was in breech position. The injury can also result from a prolonged or delayed labor — or when the person assisting the delivery exerted excessive force in pulling the baby from the birth canal.
In Pennsylvania, you can file a birth injury claim up to two years after the child turns 18 (i.e., up until their 20th birthday). But you should never wait that long to consult an attorney. There are two main reasons you should contact a birth injury attorney in Philadelphia as soon as you suspect your baby’s injury was caused by another person’s action or inaction:
(1) To preserve the parents’ claims. While your child’s case doesn’t expire until your child turns 20, YOUR parental claims expire two years after you knew or should have known that your child’s birth injury was someone’s fault, which is usually two years from the date of birth. Your claim as the parent could be for, e.g., out of pocket expenses, emotional suffering, etc. Parents lose their individual right to sue the healthcare providers after those two years expire.
(2) To preserve and gather medical records, testimony, etc. Your birth injury attorney needs ample time and opportunity to review medical records, retain experts, gather evidence, and conduct depositions. All of these processes need to be done sooner rather than later as the passage of time tends to erase memories and details. And your birth injury attorney needs all the memories and details available to create a clear and successful lawsuit on your behalf.
If you believe your child suffered a birth injury, you may have a viable birth injury lawsuit. You should not hesitate to contact the attorneys at VSCP Law (vscplaw.com) for a thorough evaluation of your claim.