When you have a child, you put your trust in the hands of healthcare professionals to keep your baby safe during childbirth. Sadly, healthcare professionals can make mistakes. Obstetricians and other healthcare staff may make devastating errors when delivering your baby. These errors can cause birth injuries. Indeed, the Center for Disease Control reported that seven in every thousand babies suffer from a birth injury.

You are entitled to compensation if your newborn suffered a birth injury because of medical malpractice. The attorneys at The Watson Firm, PLLC have a wealth of experience with birth injuries and medical malpractice. They can advocate for you and help you get the compensation you deserve. Call The Watson Firm, PLLC at 850-607-2929 or reach out online.

What Is A Birth Injury In A Newborn?

A birth injury is an injury to the baby that happens during birth. Birth injuries may happen on their own. However, some birth injuries occur because a healthcare provider made a mistake and was negligent.

What Are Examples Of Birth Injuries?

Many different types of birth injuries happen to newborns. Here are some common types and examples of birth injuries.

Your baby's bones may fracture. Fractures often occur in the collarbone and clavicle during breech deliveries.
Your baby's face may be paralyzed. Pressure on the baby's face during delivery may cause nerve damage. In severe cases, infants need surgery.
The nerves that supply your baby's arms and hands may be injured. This is called brachial palsy.
Your baby may suffer breathing difficulties, such as meconium aspiration in which an infant's airway is blocked.
Your baby may experience a traumatic brain injury. Permanent brain damage can occur when a baby does not get enough oxygen to the brain.
Particularly if your baby is premature, your baby may experience bleeding in the brain, causing lethargy, difficulty feeding, and seizures.
Your baby may also experience scalp bruising and swelling, and blood in the eyes.

Some birth injuries can lead to permanent disabilities. Some birth injuries, particularly when a newborn's airway is blocked, can even lead to death.

Can Doctors Cause Birth Injuries?

A birth injury may occur independently or because your healthcare provider made a mistake. Whether your doctor caused your baby's birth injury depends on the circumstances of your case. A capable personal injury attorney can evaluate your case.

What Is Medical Malpractice?

Your baby's doctor must uphold a standard of care. When the doctor makes a severe mistake, their care falls below that standard. If the mistake harms your baby, the doctor has committed medical malpractice. You may sue the doctor to recover compensation for the harm the doctor caused. For instance, if a birth injury to your baby left you with expensive medical bills, an award of monetary damages from the doctor's malpractice insurance may help compensate you for the costs associated with the doctor's mistake.

How Do You Prove Medical Malpractice?

A qualified attorney can help you make your case that the healthcare professional was medically negligent. To win your case, you must establish four elements.

First, you must show that the healthcare professional owed your baby a duty of care. Usually, the provider-patient relationship is enough to establish this.
Second, you must show that the healthcare professional breached their duty of care when making a medical mistake.
Third, you must show that your baby was harmed.
Fourth, you must show that the healthcare professional's mistake caused harm to your baby.

The fourth element is usually the most complex to establish. A veteran personal injury attorney can help you build your case.

What Are Examples Of Negligence?

There are many ways that your doctor could be negligent and cause a birth injury.

Your doctor could forget to monitor your baby's oxygen levels before or after birth.
Your doctor could be poorly trained and make a mistake using tools during delivery, fracturing your baby's bones.
Your doctor could neglect to clear your baby's airway after birth, leading to suffocation.

Florida Newborn Birth Injury Law

You deserve compensation if your healthcare provider caused your newborn's birth injury. The expert attorneys at The Watson Firm, PLLC understand birth injuries and medical malpractice. Call The Watson Firm, PLLC at 850-607-2929 or reach out online.