Injuries that occur at birth aren’t merely inconvenient. Birth injuries can be devastating. If your baby was injured due to a healthcare provider’s negligence in Sandy Springs, Georgia, you deserve to be compensated. You can count on an experienced Sandy Springs birth injury lawyer at Malone Law Medical Malpractice and Severe Injury Lawyers to fight for every dollar your family deserves.
For decades, our law firm has fought hard to hold negligent doctors responsible for the damage they cause. We’ve successfully recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements and verdicts. Our lawyers bring over 50 years of combined legal experience to the table.
The negligent medical provider may owe you compensation for medical bills, lost wages, pain, trauma, and damage to your baby’s future. Contact our law offices in Sandy Springs, GA at (770) 390-7550 to learn more about how we can help you fight for justice. Your consultation is completely free of charge.
How Can Malone Law Medical Malpractice and Severe Injury Lawyers Help With a Birth Injury Claim in Sandy Springs?
Your child’s birth should be among the happiest days of your life. If a careless doctor turned the day into a tragedy, our trusted Sandy Springs medical malpractice lawyers know how to hold them accountable.
Our team at Malone Law Medical Malpractice and Severe Injury Lawyers has been recognized as members of Best Lawyers—the oldest peer-reviewed publication in the legal profession. They have also been included in the Super Lawyers list—a listing of lawyers who have attained a high degree of peer recognition and professional achievement.
Hire us, and our Sandy Springs personal injury lawyers will:
- Investigate and locate the evidence to prove your case
- Hire leading experts to testify on your behalf
- Evaluate your losses, considering current and future losses
- Calculate your case value
- Negotiate with the insurance companies for a full settlement
- Take your case to trial if necessary to hold the negligent party liable.
Birth injury cases can take time to prove. It can take time for your doctors to understand your baby’s prognosis. Taking a fast settlement can be a mistake, but it’s also a mistake to wait too long to get legal advice. Contact our Sandy Springs medical malpractice attorneys today to discuss your legal options.
Birth Injuries Definition
A birth injury is any injury that occurs during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or in the immediate aftermath of the baby’s delivery. As opposed to a birth defect, birth injuries are usually preventable. They tend to occur because a healthcare professional was negligent.
How Common Are Birth Injuries?
Newborns are incredibly delicate. That’s one reason why OBGYNs and medical professionals who specialize in labor and delivery must undergo specialized training.
Unfortunately, it’s estimated that roughly 7 out of every 1,000 newborns in the United States suffer from some type of birth injury. The most common type of injury is brain damage.
How Much Money Is My Family’s Sandy Springs Birth Injury Case Worth?
A serious birth injury can take a serious toll on a baby’s future. It can also rob the child of a normal, healthy childhood. Putting a dollar value on such devastating and far-reaching losses can seem impossible.
The insurance company is likely betting that you don’t understand how much compensation you deserve. If you’re like most people, you don’t have much experience assessing the value of injuries. When a baby is involved, the losses can continue to pile up for decades. It’s critical to hire an experienced attorney who has handled cases similar to yours in the past.
When our medical malpractice attorneys are evaluating your case value, they’ll analyze the impact of many different factors, including:
- The general nature of your baby’s injuries
- Whether your doctors expect the baby to suffer a permanent or long-term disability
- Available rehabilitative care
- The projected impact of rehabilitation and therapy
- The cost of your child’s medical treatment and rehabilitation
- How long medical treatment and rehabilitation will be required
- Whether the injury will impact your child’s education and ability to work
- Out-of-pocket costs your family will incur solely due to the birth injury
- How the birth injury will impact your ability to work and earn a living in light of childcare obligations
- Damage to your family’s ability to enjoy life
Different factors can be relevant depending on your family’s unique situation. Your baby may or may not respond to treatment and rehabilitation well. When you’re evaluating any insurance offer, you deserve to have an experienced lawyer considering all likely consequences of the injury.
What Types of Damages Are Available in a Birth Injury Lawsuit?
Your family can pursue compensation for any economic damages you have suffered due to the injury, including:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Your lost wages while you’re caring for your child
- Your child’s lost future earning capacity
- Rehabilitation
- Specialized therapies
- Special education needs
- In-home modifications
- Increased childcare expenses
- Mental health counseling for your family
You can also pursue compensation for the more intangible, personal suffering that your family has experienced.
Examples of non-economic damages include:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Physical disfigurement and scarring
- Loss of a healthy childhood
- Anxiety
- Depression
- PTSD
- Reduced quality of life
The nature of your damages will depend heavily on the type of impairment your child has suffered. Regardless of the facts, you can trust our lawyers to identify and evaluate every loss you have endured due to your doctor’s careless mistake.
How Much Does it Cost to Hire a Medical Malpractice Lawyer in Georgia?
Our law firm is contingency-fee based. That means you won’t be responsible for paying any upfront fees. Instead, we take a portion of your settlement or verdict. Typically, our fee ranges between 33% and 40%, depending heavily on the complexity of the case.
Our Attorneys Handle All Types of Birth Injury Cases
Our attorneys handle all types of birth injury cases, including those where the baby has suffered:
- Brachial Plexus injuries
- Cerebral Palsy
- Erb’s Palsy
- Broken bones and fractures, including clavicle fractures
- Caput succedaneum
- Cephalohematoma
- Hemorrhaging
- Hypoxia, or a lack of oxygen
- Nerve damage, including facial nerve damage that can lead to facial paralysis
- Spina bifida
- Skull fractures
- Brain damage
Birth injuries also have the potential to be fatal. If you tragically lost your baby due to a doctor’s negligence, our wrongful death lawyers are prepared to fight for your family. Regardless of the injuries your family is dealing with, we’re here to help. Contact our trusted Sandy Springs birth injury attorneys today to get the sound legal advice you need and deserve.
What Are the Leading Causes of Birth Injuries in Sandy Springs?
Medical negligence is the root cause of most birth injuries.
More specifically, birth injuries often occur due to:
- Failure to monitor the fetus or mother during pregnancy, labor, and delivery
- Failure to recognize potential risk factors
- Failure to perform a C-Section quickly enough when necessary
- Improper use of labor-assist devices, such as vacuums or forceps
- Oxygen deprivation during labor and delivery
- Waiting too long to deliver the baby
- Surgical errors
- Uterine rupture
- Failure to recognize adverse drug interactions
- Anesthesia errors
- Inexperienced or improperly trained staff
- Communication or charting errors
These are just a few examples of the types of medical errors that can cause birth injuries. Different factors may be relevant to your case. Count on our lawyers to uncover every factor that contributed to your baby’s injury.
What Do I Have to Prove to Win a Birth Injury Lawsuit in Georgia?
Birth injury cases are typically based on medical negligence. Medical malpractice can be difficult to prove. In the most general terms, you’ll have to prove that your doctor failed to provide reasonable care during pregnancy, labor, or delivery.
All medical professionals are held to certain standards. When they fail to adhere to the “standard of care,” they can be held liable for resulting injuries.
The basic elements of your medical malpractice claim are:
- The defendant owed a legal duty of care
- The defendant breached their duty of care
- That breach of duty directly caused your baby’s injuries
- Your family suffered damages
Expert witness testimony can be critical to proving your case. Our lawyers have been handling medical malpractice cases for decades. We have relationships with leading experts who the insurance companies will take seriously.
How Long Do I Have to File a Lawsuit for Damages After a Birth Injury in Georgia?
Under Georgia law, you typically have two years from the date of the injury to file a medical malpractice lawsuit. Once the two-year period is over, you cannot pursue compensation. Exceptions do exist in some medical malpractice cases—especially in those involving children. Make sure you speak to an experienced medical malpractice attorney to ensure you don’t miss any deadlines.
Contact a Sandy Springs Birth Injury Lawyer for a Free Consultation
At Malone Law Medical Malpractice and Severe Injury Lawyers, we have decades of experience in medical malpractice cases. We have the skills and resources to help your family recover the maximum compensation you deserve. Contact us today to learn more about how an experienced Sandy Springs birth injury attorney can help you fight for justice.