A "birth injury" is defined as any type of damage to an infant's body before, during or just after birth. Complications in the process of pregnancy, labor and delivery can result in a wide variety of complications for a newborn baby.
Birth injuries vary greatly - from very minor to being so severe as to cause the death of the infant.
Some common types of birth injuries include:- Skin irritations
- Temporary paralysis
- Fractured collar bone
- Fractured arm
- Cerebral Palsy
- Brain damage
- Erb's Palsy
- Brachial Plexus Palsy
Unfortunately, doctors and hospitals will almost never admit fault or offer to pay reasonable damages to cover even the likely economic loss from an injury.
Appropriate discovery is essential to knowing whether there is a case, and to knowing what the likely costs will be that are associated with any permanent injury. Therefore, it is important to consult an experienced birth injury attorney early because records and other information that are vital to knowing whether negligence occurred might be lost over time.Frequently hospitals and doctors will destroy or lose records within months of the delivery. Also, important witnesses such as nurses and therapists may forget details or move, making it difficult to recover essential facts.
Further, almost any time there is a problem with a patient, the hospital personnel and doctors will meet with their own lawyers to begin formulating a strategy to defend any potential case. Time is an important ally to both sides.
