Birth Injury Attorneys & Lawyers

The birth of a healthy child can be one of the most joyous and exciting times in a family’s life.  Pregnancy and delivery should be experiences cherished by parents.  Although the vast majority of babies are carried to term and born without complications, not all pregnancies or deliveries are uncomplicated. 

Sometimes problems arise during pregnancy.  When they do, it is important to have a physician or nurse specialist who can recognize these birth injury problems early and take the necessary steps to ensure a healthy baby and mom.  Occasionally, emergencies arise during delivery that can become life threatening to the mother or baby.  Without prompt and proper care, the child or mother might suffer a devastating birth injury. 

Some birth injuries can be attributed to the negligence of doctors, nurses, or other medical personnel.  All doctors and nurses owe duties to the patients they serve.  When a doctor or health care professional makes a medical mistake during the course of pregnancy or labor, it means that they have failed to use the degree of skill and learning, under the same circumstances, that are used by other members of the medical profession.  If medical personnel fail to provide medical care that meets accepted standards of practice, significant birth injury, disability, and even death can occur.

If the doctor or other health care professional fails to monitor or to respond properly to certain situations that arise during the delivery, that individual may be negligent with regard to the duty owed to the patient.  A delivery medical team should monitor the mother and child throughout labor and delivery in order to prevent injuries from any complications which may develop. 

Birth injuries can result in substantial harm suffered by the infant or mother.  Common injuries during or after birth consist of brain damage, traumatic brain injury, seizures, and mental retardation.  Other birth injuries that can result from medical malpractice may include: 

• Cerebral Palsy
• Perinatal Asphyxia
• Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy
• Shoulder Dystocia
• Erb’s Palsy/Brachial Plexus Palsy
• Sepsis/Infection
• Seizures
• Spastic Quadriparesis

A careful review of the medical records can determine the cause of injuries and whether the actions of the medical personnel played a part in causing the birth injury.  Our birth accident attorneys and lawyers who handle birth injury cases have experience in investigating medical mistakes and birth injury malpractice and have the resources necessary to review complicated birth injury cases. 

We have experience in handling cases arising out of the following situations:

• Failure to provide appropriate prenatal care and appropriate interventions during labor and delivery
• Failure to diagnose and treat an infection in the mother
• Failing to rapidly diagnose and treat preterm labor
• Failure to diagnose large babies
• Failure to properly manage prolonged or post-term pregnancy
• Failing to respond appropriately to placenta abruption
• Failure to treat maternal preeclampsia or infections
• Negligent management of labor and delivery or delay in delivery
• Failure to appropriately respond and intervene to non-reassuring fetal heart monitor changes and evidence of fetal distress
• Failure to perform a timely caesarean section (c-section) to remove a baby in distress
• Failure to successfully resuscitate and intubate a newborn
• Failure to recommend or perform a caesarean section  

If you or your child suffered a birth injury due to improper care during your pregnancy or the time of delivery, perhaps we can help.  Please call the experienced Minnesota birth injury attorneys and lawyers at Sieben Polk Law at 651-437-3148 for a free consultation.