The birth of a child is typically among the happiest of memories, especially when a doctor or nurse places a child in the mother’s and fathers’ arms for the first time. However, the labor and delivery process is complicated so that doctors and nurses are required to meet high standards of care to ensure the health and safety of the mother and child. When medical professionals make mistakes that cause injury to the mother or child, it is important to ask if the doctor or nurse met the standard of care in treatment.
If your child has suffered a birth injury due to a medical professional’s mistake, it is important to reach out to a medical malpractice attorney who is experienced in this area of the law. At Burgos & Burgos, LLC, our Maryland birth injury lawyers are committed to holding negligent medical professionals and hospitals accountable for the harm that they cause. We have assisted many families in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties, as well as Washington, D.C., and we know how to protect their rights. Everyone on our team is fluent in Spanish as well as English.
Unfortunately, birth injuries can result from medical errors that occur during the pregnancy, labor and delivery, or as the result of improper care after the delivery of a baby. Some birth injuries can be minor, and the child can make a full recovery, while, in other cases, these injuries can result in death or lead to permanent harm, including intellectual, cognitive or physical disabilities. Some common examples of birth injuries include:
Some of these injuries can be remedied if the doctor recognizes the issue and responds right away. On the other hand, an initial misdiagnosis can significantly worsen the child’s condition.
Preventable birth injuries in the state of Maryland fall under medical malpractice statutes. If your child has suffered a birth injury due to a medical professional’s error or carelessness, you should retain a birth injury attorney to bring a Maryland malpractice claim against that medical professional. Medical malpractice takes place when a medical professional fails to use the generally accepted level of care in their specialty, thereby causing a birth injury. For example, an obstetrician who uses forceps with too much force, causing harm to a newborn, would likely have committed malpractice because another obstetrician using the generally accepted level of care would know the appropriate amount of force to apply in such a situation.
In Maryland, for a medical malpractice lawsuit to be successful, your attorney must show that a hospital, nurse, physician, or other medical professional committed an act of medical malpractice or negligence, and this act of medical negligence directly caused injuries, death, disability, or pain and suffering.
Birth injuries, depending on their severity, can be extremely costly to treat. In addition, these expenses can be ongoing for a child’s entire life. This is why Maryland law allows birth injury victims to obtain financial compensation if medical malpractice is established. Typically, a plaintiff can recover both economic and non-economic damages, such as medical expenses, rehabilitation costs, the costs of present and future care, pain and suffering, disability, and any other compensation for any expenses that they need to cover as a result of the birth injury.
Families of children who have suffered from cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy, shoulder dystocia, or other injuries at birth can lead challenging lives. Unfortunately, obstetricians and other health care workers often make mistakes that can cause serious injuries to a mother or a newborn child. If your child has suffered a birth injury, you need to consult an attorney who can assess the circumstances of your case. At Burgos & Burgos, LLC, we are committed to helping our clients obtain the compensation that they need to deal with a birth injury. We represent people in Gaithersburg, Germantown, Silver Spring, Takoma Park, Wheaton-Glenmont, and Hyattsville, as well as other communities in Montgomery and Prince George’s Counties, and in Washington, D.C. For an appointment with a birth injury lawyer in Maryland or the District of Columbia, call us at (301) 681-1111 or contact us online.