Phoenix Birth Injury Lawyers

Obstetrical Malpractice & Preventable Birth Injuries in Arizona

Your baby has an arm injury or is in the NICU – the doctors aren’t telling you why. You need to know what happened and you need to know how best to help your baby. Nothing is more important than your baby's health and happiness. When a child is injured at birth, the consequences can be devastating and can have life-long repercussions for your child and your entire family.

Birth injuries involve a specialized area of medical malpractice in which a member of a healthcare team, a hospital, doctor, nurse midwife, or nurse involved in the pregnancy, labor, or delivery of your baby fails to follow the safety rules and harms your baby.

Holding the Medical Field in High Regard

This failure to use reasonable care can result in devastating birth injuries to your child, including:

• Brain bleeds
• Seizures
• Blindness
• Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE)
• Perinatal asphyxia
• Cerebral palsy
• Brachial plexus injury
• Erb's palsy
• Horner’s syndrome
• Death

Understanding Medical Negligence in Birth Injury Cases

When it comes to birth injury cases, medical negligence plays a crucial role in determining liability. Medical negligence refers to the failure of healthcare professionals to meet the accepted standard of care, resulting in harm or injury to the mother or child during the birthing process. These cases can be complex and require a thorough understanding of both medical and legal principles.

At Cullan & Cullan, our birth injury attorneys in Phoenix are well-versed in handling such cases. We understand that medical negligence can occur at various stages, including prenatal care, labor, and delivery. Our attorneys work diligently to investigate and gather evidence to establish negligence on the part of healthcare providers.

It's important to note that not all birth injuries are the result of medical negligence. However, when negligence is a contributing factor, legal action can be pursued to seek compensation for the damages incurred. Our attorneys have the knowledge and expertise to analyze medical records, consult with experts, and build a strong case to prove the connection between negligence and the birth injury.

By partnering with Cullan & Cullan, you can rest assured that we will thoroughly investigate your case and fight tirelessly to hold the responsible parties accountable. Our goal is to obtain the compensation you and your child deserve for the physical, emotional, and financial impact of the birth injury.

Establishing Medical Negligence in a Birth Injury Lawsuit

To establish medical negligence in a birth injury lawsuit, certain elements must be proven. These elements are crucial in demonstrating that the healthcare provider breached their duty of care, resulting in the birth injury.

When evaluating a potential birth injury case, our attorneys at Cullan & Cullan focus on these key elements:

•  Duty of Care: We assess whether a doctor-patient relationship existed and determine the standard of care expected from the healthcare provider based on the circumstances.
•  Breach of Duty: We examine the actions or omissions of the healthcare provider and determine if they deviated from the accepted standard of care. This may involve consulting medical experts to establish what a reasonable and competent healthcare provider would have done in similar circumstances.
•  Causation: We establish a direct link between the healthcare provider's breach of duty and the birth injury. This requires demonstrating that the injury would not have occurred in the absence of negligence.
•  Damages: We quantify the physical, emotional, and financial damages resulting from the birth injury. This includes medical expenses, future care needs, loss of earning capacity, pain and suffering, and more.

By thoroughly examining these elements, our birth injury lawyers at Cullan & Cullan can build a strong case on your behalf.

What Kind of Compensation Can I Get if My Child Was Injured During Birth?

If an infant is injured during pregnancy or delivery, the parents (or other legal guardians) can retain an attorney to sue for damages on behalf of their child and can also file a claim for parental damages. When a baby is injured due to malpractice, both the parents and the child have individual claims for damages. Like all medical malpractice cases, there are both special and general damages.

• Special damages are economic, like the cost of medical bills, loss of earnings or earnings potential, loss of household services
• General damages cover intangible losses like pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life, and disfigurement.

Selecting the Right Birth Injury Lawyer for Your Case

Selecting the right birth injury lawyer is a crucial step in seeking justice and obtaining fair compensation for the harm caused. When choosing an attorney, there are several qualities and qualifications to consider.

At Cullan & Cullan, our firm embodies these qualities, ensuring that we are well-suited to handle your birth injury case:

•  Experience: Our team of birth injury lawyers has extensive experience in handling complex medical malpractice cases, including birth injury claims. We understand the intricacies of these cases and have a successful track record of obtaining favorable outcomes for our clients.
•  Specialization: Our firm focuses exclusively on personal injury and medical malpractice cases. This specialization allows us to stay up-to-date with the latest legal developments and medical advancements relevant to birth injury lawsuits.
•  Track Record: We are proud of our history of achieving significant settlements and verdicts for our clients. Our successful track record demonstrates our dedication, expertise, and ability to navigate the complexities of birth injury cases.

When you choose Cullan & Cullan, you can expect compassionate and personalized representation tailored to your specific needs. We will guide you through every step of the legal process, providing the support and advocacy you deserve during this challenging time.

Why Cullan & Cullan: Thousands of Cases Investigated

Birth injury cases are often highly fought cases. The insurance companies for hospitals, doctors, and midwives vigorously defend these cases. To win justice for your child you must have a team of highly qualified, experienced Arizona birth injury attorneys who have the education, knowledge, experience, and resources to handle birth injury cases. Cullan & Cullan is a personal injury firm that has investigated thousands of birth injury cases in Phoenix, all of Arizona, and nationwide.

Our law firm has four lawyers who are also doctors. Our number one passion for over 30 years has been to help children who have suffered a birth injury. We have conducted thousands of forensic investigations to determine the causes of birth injuries. We have collected tens of millions of dollars on behalf of our clients. We have two goals: To help the child and their family face better lives by recovering the resources necessary to take care of the child for life and to help prevent birth injuries from happening to other families.

What Types of Birth Injuries Do You Handle?

Modern medical interventions have made pregnancy and delivery safer for both mother and baby. There are incredible tools and tests available to healthcare professionals today to assist in the safe delivery of a baby. Unfortunately, all the science and tools in the world are useless if they are not properly used.

Medical animation still showing placental abruption, a serious complication of pregnancy that occurs when the placenta separates from the uterine wall before childbirth.

For example, a doctor’s judgment is no better than the information he or she is given. If a hospital nurse does not relay concerns from fetal heart monitoring or escalating blood pressure in a timely manner, the doctor cannot make good decisions to protect the baby or its mother. Many birth injuries could have been prevented if hospitals, doctors, and nurses had just properly understood and used the tools and wealth of information that is available from technology as well as the patient.

Here are some common examples of birth-related medical malpractice:

• Failing to monitor an infant’s oxygen saturation before, during, and after delivery.
• Delaying or failing to recommend a C-section in difficult labor or at-risk delivery.
• Misuse of forceps or vacuum extractors in assisted delivery.
• Administering the wrong drugs or wrong dosage of drugs.
• Failing to check basic vital signs.
• Failing to consult with physicians who handle high-risk deliveries.
• Failing to adequately control blood loss from the mother post-delivery.
• Failing to properly resuscitate a baby after delivery or monitor blood levels.

Questions to Ask During a Consultation with a Birth Injury Lawyer

During a consultation with a birth injury lawyer, it's essential to ask relevant questions to evaluate their suitability for your case. Here are some important questions to consider:

• What experience do you have with birth injury cases, specifically?
• Have you handled cases similar to mine, and what were the outcomes?
• What resources and experts do you have access to for investigating and building my case?
• How will you communicate with me throughout the process, and what is your availability for updates and questions?
• What is your approach to settlement negotiations and trial representation?
• How do you handle fees and payment arrangements? Are there any upfront costs or fees?

At Cullan & Cullan, we welcome these questions and encourage open communication with our clients. We will provide honest and transparent answers, allowing you to make an informed decision about your legal representation. Our priority is to ensure that you feel confident and comfortable entrusting your birth injury case to our capable team of attorneys.

Involve A Caring & Experienced Birth Injury Attorney

Birth injuries require a compassionate and expert hand. If your child was injured, it is the most difficult time of your life. The Phoenix birth injury lawyers at Cullan & Cullan are passionate about helping you and your child. We have been handling birth injury cases for over thirty years and it is the number one focus of our practice. We have four lawyers who are also doctors. We have investigated thousands of birth injury cases in Arizona and nationwide. Contact us for a free consultation with our firm. A member of our legal team will consult with you and discuss the specifics of your case. If we feel it has legal merit, we’ll take it on a contingency-fee basis. This means you’ll only pay us if we recover damages for you.