A birth injury lawsuit can be brought before the Pennsylvania courts if an injury caused during the birthing process, or during prenatal care, caused a child to suffer a long-term condition or disorder. Pennsylvania state law says that upon discovery of the disorder, families have two years to file a lawsuit. In the event that the birth injury caused the wrongful death of an infant, the case must be filed within two years of the date of death.
If the birth injury could have been avoided through better medical care, the doctor, nurses, healthcare team, or healthcare facility could be charged with medical malpractice. Malpractice lawsuits can often drag out through multiple appeal processes, so it’s important for families seeking a judgment in a birth injury case to start the process as early as possible in the child’s medical care.
Pennsylvania Attorneys
Pennsylvania has many attorneys who specialize in birth injury lawsuits. These attorneys can help a family tackle every step of the birth injury lawsuit. First, they will help with the investigative stage of a lawsuit. They may contact the healthcare staff that was on duty, to retrieve records and witness statements. They may coordinate with other experts to give opinions on the child’s injuries and diagnoses. Attorneys may also help determine who precisely should be charged in a malpractice suit.
The next thing that an attorney will do for a family who suffered the birth injury of their child is to help decide what needs to be taken to a court to prove the guilt of the medical professionals involved. The records kept from the care during pregnancy, during the birth, and after the birth will all need to be evaluated. These records can be used to show that the child was healthy before the injury occurred, thus proving that the injury did in fact affect the child’s life negatively.
Finally, an attorney will help decide how much money should be asked of the courts or in a settlement. This amount will probably reflect the predicted future need of the child for medical care as well as basic living needs if the injury resulted in an inability to work as an adult. It may also cover medical expenses that have already been paid, as well as emotional damages.
Maria do los Santos Health Center
In 2015, a family filed a lawsuit against the Maria de los Santos Health Center in Pennsylvania after their child suffered birth injury resulting from malpractice. The lawsuit claims that the attending physician did not perform adequate examination, did not discuss the use of vacuum delivery with the mother, and did not follow correct procedures to prevent the shoulder dystocia the child was born with.
Months later, the child required surgery to graft nerves into the damaged arm and shoulder, but the diagnosis is that the child will likely never have the use of that arm. Cases like this, where the doctor’s actions are well recorded but not necessarily malpractice, could go on for quite some time through many cases of appeals.
Brachial plexus palsy is only one condition that can occur from a birth injury. Some other common types of conditions and injuries include cerebral palsy, epilepsy or seizures, brain damage, broken bones, hemorrhaging, nerve damage, spinal cord damage, and soft tissue damage. While some of these injuries do not leave lasting symptoms, others require lifelong medical care. Cerebral palsy, for example, can lead to delayed mental development, a loss of muscle control, and the inability to see, hear, walk, speak, or feed oneself. In these cases, future medical expenses are likely to be very high.
Sources:
http://www.colleran.com/birth-injury-lawyer/
http://www.birthinjuryguide.org/birth-injury/financial-support/statute-limitations/