Kansas City Birth Injury Lawyers

Nationally-Recognized Birth Injury Lawyers

Was Your Baby in the NICU? Find Out Why.

Every year, shortly after delivery, thousands of children are admitted to a Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) because there is a serious medical problem with the child. Most of the time, no one tells the family what really happened, particularly if the problem is a birth injury which could have been prevented.

If your child was admitted to an NICU when he or she was born, or if you have a baby who has a birth injury like brain damage, seizures, cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy, or a brachial plexus injury, we can help you find out why. Our Kansas City birth injury attorneys can determine who is responsible and may be able to pursue financial compensation for your child’s immediate, ongoing, and even lifelong care.

What Happened to Your Baby? - Forensic Investigation of Birth Injuries

A forensic investigation of a birth injury is a scientific inquiry that looks at the facts of what happened before, during, and immediately after your child’s birth, to determine the most probable cause of your child’s injuries.

We’re qualified to do this because we have lawyers who are also doctors. We have conducted thousands of such investigations over the past 40 years.

What is a Birth Injury?

A birth injury refers to any harm or damage sustained by an infant during the process of childbirth or delivery. These injuries can be physical and/or neurological in nature and can result from a variety of factors, including medical complications, difficult labor, or errors made by healthcare providers during delivery. Birth injuries can differ in severity and may lead to both short-term and long-term consequences for the affected child.

Animated still illustrating a placental abruption – a serious complication that occurs when the placenta separates from the uterine wall before birth.

Remember, there is a difference between birth injuries and birth defects. Birth defects are typically caused by genetic or environmental factors during pregnancy and are not related to the birth process itself.

If a birth injury occurs, timely and appropriate medical intervention is crucial to minimize the impact and provide the best possible care for the affected infant. In some cases, birth injuries can be preventable, and healthcare providers have a responsibility to follow proper protocols and standards of care to reduce the risk of harm during childbirth. Legal action may be pursued in cases where negligence or medical malpractice is suspected as a cause of the birth injury.

What Birth Injuries Are Considered Medical Malpractice?

Here are some examples of the types of medical negligence that can lead to your child having cerebral palsy, brain injury, brachial plexus injuries, or other significant birth injuries:

• Failing to recognize the baby was in fetal distress
• Failing to act when a fetal heart monitor warns the baby is in distress
• Failing to order a timely emergency cesarean section
• Improper use of forceps
• Improper use of vacuum extractors
• Improper use of Pitocin
• Failing to act when the mother has preeclampsia or high blood pressure
• Failing to act when the mother has low blood pressure
• Failing to act when the mother has toxemia
• Failing to act when there is a dangerous infection
• Failing to properly manage prolonged labor
• Failing to properly manage a breech delivery

Urgent: Contact a Missouri Lawyer to Secure Birth Injury Evidence

Another important reason to contact a birth injury attorney early to investigate birth injury cases is to preserve the evidence in your case before it is lost, altered, or destroyed. In some cases, an early investigation can be vital to being able to prove and win your case. In some cases, there are medical tests that should be done when the baby is a newborn that would help determine what happened.

Seeking Justice for Preventable Birth Injuries

Doctors, nurses, midwives, and other healthcare providers have a legal duty to monitor your pregnancy and delivery, and take appropriate steps to protect the health of you and your baby. The “appropriate steps” are what’s called the “standard of care,” the rules about what should and should not to be done to ensure that your baby is delivered safely. Doctors and nurses have a duty to be knowledgeable and attentive and must recognize known potential birth complications to prevent injury.

Patrick & Joe Cullan – Holding the Medical Field in High Regard

Sometimes a baby can be injured even when the appropriate steps were taken. But when your child’s injuries happen because of negligence, that’s medical malpractice, and the doctor, nurse, hospital, or other healthcare provider should be held accountable – along with their insurance company.

You are required to have auto insurance, homeowner’s insurance, and business insurance. You would want your insurance company to pay for the harm you caused if you made a terrible mistake and hurt someone. Likewise, under the law when a hospital, doctor, or nurse violates the rules of medicine, their insurance companies should pay for your child’s medical bills, lost future wages, disfigurement, pain and suffering, and other damages.