Las Vegas Birth Injury Lawyers
Help when your baby is harmed during pregnancy, labor, or delivery
Birth injuries occur when an infant is harmed as a result of some sort of trauma that occurs during pregnancy, labor, or childbirth. Although some labor and deliveries have sudden and unforeseen complications, many birth injuries are entirely preventable and happen due to a medical professional’s negligence. And, some birth injuries can affect a child well into their teen and adult years, causing difficulties and pain that could have easily been prevented.
If your child has experienced a birth injury, the Las Vegas attorneys at Claggett & Sykes want to help make things right. Our team of birth trauma and injury lawyers have a respected record of success, including multiple seven and eight figure settlements for a birth injury cases. To discuss your claim and how we can help you recover compensation for your and your child’s losses, schedule a consultation to talk with an attorney today.
“Claggett & Sykes Law Firm is absolutely a respectable, respectful and reliable business. The team of attorneys and supporting staff help take so much pressure off of what can be a very stressful situation. They communicate well, handle details and appointments and questions in a way that it never feels like an imposition. I believe that they try to make their clients feel like they are priority. I would recommend them without hesitation!!” - Cyndi S.
How does a birth injury differ from a birth defect?
Birth injuries and birth defects are different in one very important way: a birth injury is caused by an act of medical negligence, where a birth defect may not be.
Birth defects are often genetic in nature. Conditions like spina bifida, Down syndrome, congenital heart defects or cleft palates are not conditions that can be avoided by proper medical care. Some birth defects, however, could be caused by medications prescribed to the mother. In these very specific cases, you could have a claim for medical malpractice, if no one warned you about the risks, or if a doctor failed to read your chart and prescribed a drug that has known side effects.
Birth injuries, on the other hand, are almost always the result of medical negligence. As such, they are almost always preventable, which is why you can file a lawsuit for damages if you, your partner, or your child suffered injuries before, during, or after labor.
What birth injuries are caused by medical malpractice?
Birth trauma and birth injuries can refer to traumatic events that a mother undergoes during and after childbirth. It can also refer to traumatic injuries a child sustains during a difficult birth. These events can result in long-term mental, emotional, or psychological effects like post-traumatic stress disorder. Failing to use reasonable care; i.e., medical negligence, during the birth of a child can lead to traumatic injuries, such as:
- Brain damage
- Cerebral palsy
- Brachial plexus injuries
- Spinal paralysis
- Skull fractures
- Stunted growth
Other types of injuries sustained during birth can include hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), umbilical cord problems, caput succedaneum, Erb’s palsy, or placental abruption.
Mothers are also at risk for traumatic injury during childbirth, which can be overlooked or misdiagnosed by physicians. These can range from tears and ruptures to pelvic fractures and organ prolapse. Our attorneys represent both mother and child after preventable birth injuries.
What is cerebral palsy?
Cerebral palsy, or CP, refers to a group of disorders that affects movement and posture. It is a physical disability that stems from damage to the brain during development – either during pregnancy, labor, or shortly after birth. People with CP have its effects for life. Symptoms can vary and affect movement, coordination, muscle tone, reflex, and balance. Cerebral palsy can also result in learning, intellectual, speech, visual, and hearing impairments. Some signs of this disorder can improve or get worse over time.
Cerebral palsy is the most common physical disability in children, and premature or low-weight babies are at a higher risk. Cerebral palsy can occur due to abnormal brain development or injury to the brain while an infant is in the womb, or shortly after birth. In some cases, medical malpractice can contribute to the development of CP, including:
- Failing to monitor the mother during pregnancy, leading to infections that go untreated and transfer from mother to baby
- Missing signs of fetal distress, such as umbilical cord prolapse, leading to brain damage from lack of oxygen
If your child has been diagnosed with cerebral palsy and you suspect medical malpractice, consider speaking to a member of our experienced Las Vegas team of attorneys.
What are brachial plexus injuries?
The brachial plexus is a bundle of nerves in the shoulder that controls signals from the spine to the shoulder, arm, hand, and fingers. When something compresses, stretches, or rips the brachial plexus nerves, it interrupts the signals and causes loss of mobility. Brachial plexus injuries can occur in infants when healthcare professionals are negligent during delivery. The most common situation surrounding these birth injuries occurs when the baby gets stuck behind the pelvic bone and the doctor fails to use the proper technique, leading to injury to the brachial plexus.
Other circumstances that can result in a brachial plexus injury are breech deliveries, fetal macrosomia, maternal diabetes, and maternal obesity. Monitoring the mother during pregnancy and treating risk factors can prevent brachial plexus injuries. When these nerves rupture, it can result in Erb’s palsy. Erb’s palsy commonly causes paralysis in the affected arm, loss of motor function, numbness, and decreased grip. The majority of infants eventually recover from Erb’s palsy with medications, physical therapy, and possibly surgery.
Birth injuries are extremely serious. They can permanently affect your life or your child’s life and in some cases require lifelong care. After any type of birth injury, it may be worthwhile to speak with a malpractice lawyer. There is a chance that a negligent medical professional caused or contributed to your incident. You may be able to sue the doctor that handled your pregnancy/delivery, the hospital, and/or a third party.
What are the causes of Las Vegas birth injuries?
Medical professionals, including physicians and obstetricians, can act (or fail to act) in a variety of situations, causing injury to mother and/or child. Some of these include failure to recognize risks of gestational diabetes, failure to monitor mother and child during labor, failure to perform a timely C-section, using excessive force during childbirth, or causing the baby oxygen deprivation during childbirth.
Birth injury goes beyond typical events that happen during childbirth and into the realm of professional negligence. A medical professional may cause birth injury by being apathetic, hostile, careless, or ignoring the needs of the mother and child. Birth injuries can also arise from improper use of birthing tools and techniques, causing infant injury.
What is the value of my Las Vegas birth injury claim?
When medical malpractice causes birth injury, the parents have the right to bring a legal claim on behalf of their baby. These include not only medical treatment and financial losses but also intangible damages, such as mental anguish and loss of enjoyment of life. Our attorneys work with a variety of experts to determine the entire scope of your birth injury claim, including current and future medical expenses, physical and vocational therapy, modifications to your home and vehicle, pain and suffering, and any other expense related to your child’s injury.
Our Las Vegas lawyers want to ensure your child receives the best possible care for the rest of his or her life, and that the right people are held responsible for their negligence. We work to secure maximum compensation, whether through negotiating a fair settlement or by taking them to trial.
Do you have a birth injury attorney near me?
We’re located on Meadows Lane in Las Vegas, at Valley View and the 95, near Springs Preserve and Meadows Mall. If a phone call or video call is easier for you, we can do that too – just let us know.
Talk to a Las Vegas birth injury lawyer today
If your child sustained an injury during labor and delivery, talk to the birth injury attorneys at Claggett & Sykes Law Firm. We have decades of combined experience with medical malpractice cases and we want to help your family after a medical professional harms your baby. Let us work to secure financial compensation and justice for your child. Call 702-333-7777 or fill out our contact form today to set up a free consultation in our Las Vegas office.