Was your child injured during labor and delivery in Georgia? If your doctor was negligent, you may be entitled to significant compensation. An experienced Georgia birth injury lawyer at Malone Law Medical Malpractice and Severe Injury Lawyers can help. While you focus on your family, we’ll fight to recover fair compensation for your losses, including medical costs, lost income, and your pain and trauma.
We have over 50 years of experience handling complex medical negligence cases. We’ve used our experience and resources to help families like yours recover hundreds of millions in settlements and verdicts. We’re here to do everything possible to help your family get justice. Contact our law offices in Georgia at (770) 390-7550 to arrange your free consultation with an attorney who is prepared to fight for you.
Why Call Malone Law Medical Malpractice and Severe Injury Lawyers to Handle My Georgia Birth Injury Claim?
Medical providers are expected to provide a standard of care that complies with generally accepted medical practices. That includes OBG/YNs and others who care for mothers and babies.
Unfortunately, mistakes during labor and delivery can lead to severe consequences. As a parent, it can be tough to know exactly what went wrong. Our Georgia medical malpractice lawyers at Malone Law Medical Malpractice and Severe Injury Lawyers can help.
For almost six decades, we’ve been working hard to protect injury victims. We’ve been recognized by Super Lawyers and Best Lawyers in America. We’ve also earned an AV-Preeminent rating.
When you trust us to handle your case, our team will:
- Investigate and determine why your baby was harmed
- Identify all sources of compensation
- Work with leading experts as we assess your case value
- Fiercely negotiate for a full insurance settlement
- Fight to protect you at trial if necessary
Our Georgia medical malpractice attorneys understand the challenges you’re facing. We’re well-prepared to fight for you. Contact us today to schedule a no-cost consultation.
What Are Some Signs and Symptoms of a Birth Injury?
Some birth injuries are immediately obvious. When your child immediately needs resuscitation or requires emergency surgery, you may become well aware that something has gone wrong during delivery.
Other symptoms can be much more subtle. Some can take months to become apparent. As a new parent, some signs of birth injuries that you should take seriously include:
- Bruising or swelling anywhere on the baby’s body
- Pale or bluish skin color
- Low heart rate
- An unusually arched back when crying
- An unusually high-pitched cry
- Decreased heart rate
- Respiratory distress
- Rapid breathing
- Unusual and unexplained body movements
- Early onset of seizures following birth
- Problems grasping items
- Delays in crawling or walking
- Other developmental delays involving speech, hearing, and coordination
Taking your baby for regular doctor’s checkups is important to identify symptoms that don’t appear immediately after birth.
Our Attorneys in Georgia Handle All Types of Birth Injury Claims
Our lawyers at Malone Law Medical Malpractice and Severe Injury Lawyers handle all types of birth injury cases, including those involving:
- Brachial plexus
- Erb’s Palsy
- Cerebral Palsy
- Shoulder dystocia and other shoulder injuries
- Spinal cord injuries
- Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
- Brain injuries and intracranial hemorrhages
- Subconjunctival hemorrhage, or bleeding in the eyes
- Fractures and broken bones
- Cephalohematoma
- Caput Succedaneum
- Placental abruption and uterine rupture, which can lead to oxygen deprivation and brain damage
- Internal bleeding
- Organ damage
- Loss of limbs
- Paralysis
Giving birth can be scary, especially for first-time moms. You shouldn’t have to worry about the laundry list of injuries that your child could suffer. The fact is, most of these injuries are entirely preventable. If your family is struggling because your medical provider was negligent, our lawyers in Georgia will help you fight for full compensation. Call us today to learn more about your legal options.
How Much Compensation Is My Georgia Birth Injuries Case Worth?
Different factors will come into play when calculating your case value. Serious and life-changing injuries tend to lead to higher settlements and verdicts. Still, it’s important to remember that any birth injury has the potential to change your child’s life in dramatic ways.
Every baby is different. Some recover and go on to live normal lives. Others can suffer from lifelong disabilities. Factors that are most relevant when assessing the value of your case include:
- Medical treatment costs
- Ongoing costs for medical care and rehabilitation
- How any long-term disability is expected to impact your child’s future education, lifestyle, and earnings prospects
- Your costs for specialized child care or education
- How the injury has impacted your earnings, as parents
- Your child’s ability to enjoy a healthy childhood
Understanding the facts is critical to getting a fair settlement. Even if the defendant offers a check that seems to cover your current costs, being prepared for the future is critical. When we’re assessing the potential ongoing costs of a birth injury, we’ll bring in experts in medicine, life planning, childhood education, and other relevant specialties.
What Types of Damages Are Available to Birth Injury Victims and Their Families in Georgia?
Two basic types of compensatory damages are available in Georgia: economic damages and non-economic damages.
Economic damages are your financial losses, such as:
- Current medical bills
- Future medical costs
- Rehabilitation
- Lost wages
- Increased childcare expenses
- Your child’s lost future earning potential
- Specialized therapies
- Long-term care
- In-home assistance
Non-economic damages refer to your intangible, personal losses, including:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of the ability to enjoy life and a normal, healthy childhood
- Anxiety
- Depression
- PTSD
- Diminished quality of life
- Disfigurement
Putting a dollar value on these losses is always challenging. Experienced legal representation is essential to make a full financial recovery.
Our lawyers have experience handling cases similar to yours. We know how to fight for the money your family deserves. Contact our Georgia birth injury attorneys today so that we can start documenting your losses.
How Much Does it Cost to Hire a Birth Injury Lawyer in Georgia?
Like most injury law firms in Georgia, our team at Malone Law Medical Malpractice and Severe Injury Lawyers works on a contingency fee basis. You only pay attorneys’ fees if we recover compensation in your case. When we do, we take a set percentage of that compensation.
What Are the Most Common Causes of Birth Injuries in Georgia?
Birth injuries can happen for many different reasons, including:
- Improper use of labor-assist instruments, including forceps or vacuum extractors
- Failure to order a C-Section when needed
- Failure to properly monitor the mother and baby during pregnancy
- Communication and charting errors
- Failure to address a mother’s risk factors or health issues
- Medication errors and adverse drug interactions
- Failing to train and supervise medical staff
- Failure to take a full medical history
- Lack of informed consent
- Mistaken patient identities
- Failure to keep track of vital signs during delivery
Many medical errors are the result of inexperience or exhaustion. Your family shouldn’t have to pay the price because your healthcare provider failed to provide adequate care.
What Do I Have to Prove to Recover Compensation for Birth Injuries in Georgia?
Birth injuries are often the result of medical negligence. To win a medical malpractice claim, you must prove the following basic elements:
- You were patient, so the defendant had a legal duty of care
- There was an established medical standard of care that you should have received
- The defendant deviated from the standard of care by making some type of mistake
- That mistake caused your baby’s injuries
- Your family has suffered identifiable damages
Healthcare providers have a duty to monitor mothers carefully during pregnancy, labor, and delivery. They also must provide care that meets the medical standard that the medical community itself develops.
Testimony from respected medical experts can be critical to proving your case. Our attorneys have the resources to hire leading experts who can testify about your doctor’s error and the value of your case.
How Long Do I Have to File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit If My Child Was Injured at Birth in Georgia?
The statute of limitations in Georgia medical malpractice cases is only two years. As a parent, you generally have two years from the date of your baby’s injury to take legal action.
Some birth injuries take time to discover. When you don’t discover the injury immediately, the two-year clock starts on the date you actually discover or reasonably should have discovered the harm.
You’ll generally lose your right to seek compensation for birth injuries once your child reaches age five. A “statute of repose” also applies. You lose your right to damages automatically once five years have passed. This rule makes seeking legal advice critical, even if you aren’t entirely sure why your child is struggling.
Contact a Skilled Georgia Birth Lawyer for a Free Consultation Today
Birth injuries can be devastating. Even if your baby will recover fully, the trauma alone can be overwhelming. Let Malone Law Medical Malpractice and Severe Injury Lawyers help you get the compensation you deserve. Contact an experienced Georgia birth injury lawyer today to arrange a free case review.