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Tampa Birth Injury Attorneys
Compassionate advocacy when medical malpractice harms your newborn in Florida
Every parent dreams of the life their newborn will live from the cradle through school, adulthood, and, ultimately, their own families. So, it’s devastating to learn that your child will lead a challenging life, possibly permanently, due to mistakes during their delivery and during prenatal and post-delivery care. At MattLaw, our medical malpractice lawyers have the experience and working relationships with gynecologists and obstetricians to hold negligent doctors accountable. Our Tampa birth injury lawyers demand full compensation for your child’s medical expenses, pain and suffering, inability to function, and loss of life’s pleasures. We care deeply and passionately about your child’s future.
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- What types of birth injuries do you handle in Tampa?
- Why do birth injuries occur in Tampa?
- Who is responsible when birth injuries occur in Tampa?
- How do you hold healthcare providers accountable for birth injuries and fatalities?
- What compensation can parents and newborns receive for medical malpractice?
- Do you have a Tampa, Florida birth injury lawyer near me?
What types of birth injuries do you handle in Tampa?
Birth injuries are child injuries that occur before, during, or shortly after the delivery of a newborn. Birth injuries include injuries to both the child and the mother. According to Stanford Medicine, some of the leading causes of birth injuries and deaths include:
- Large babies.There is an increased risk of complications if a newborn weighs more than 8 pounds, 13 ounces (4,000 grams).
- Babies born before 37 weeks have a greater risk of birth injuries due to their fragility.
- Cephalopelvic disproportion.“The size and shape of the mother's pelvis is not adequate for the baby to be born vaginally.”
- Labor complications. Common risk factors include dystocia (difficult labor) and prolonged labor.
- Abnormal birthing position of the fetus
- Maternal obesity
At MattLaw, our medical malpractice lawyers have the experience and working relationships with pregnancy and birth delivery doctors to handle all types of birth injuries, including:
- Brachial palsy injuries. This injury happens when the group of spinal nerves that connect to the baby’s arms and hands (brachial plexus nerves) are injured. This injury commonly occurs when moving the baby’s shoulder becomes difficult (shoulder dystocia). Shoulder dystocia injuries can cause bruising and swelling of the brachial plexus nerves. With competent medical care, the newborn’s movements should return within a few months. If a nerve is torn, the damage can be permanent. A brachial plexus injury can cause loss of feeling, weakness, and loss of movement in the affected arm and hands.
- Improper use of forceps and vacuum extractors. Obstetricians who improperly use forceps or vacuum extractors can cause bruising of a baby’s face, head, and scalp. These instruments are generally used to help deliver a baby through the mother’s birth canal.
- The improper use of forceps can also cause facial paralysis – pressure on the newborn’s face can damage facial nerves. Surgery may be required if a nerve is torn.
- Babies who are delivered by vacuum extraction are also more likely to suffer a “significant swelling of the soft tissues of the baby's scalp.”
- Cephalohematoma. This condition involves bleeding “between the skull bone and its fibrous covering.” A common symptom is a raised lump on the newborn’s head. This condition can take several months to heal. If there’s a lot of bleeding, some babies may “develop jaundice as the red blood cells break down.”
- Fractures. Newborns may suffer a fractured clavicle or collarbone during labor/delivery. “The clavicle may break when there is trouble delivering the baby's shoulder or during a breech delivery.” Parents may notice the break because a baby with a fractured clavicle rarely moves the arm on that side. Fortunately, “healing occurs quickly. As new bone forms, a firm lump on the clavicle often develops in the first 10 days.”
- Subconjunctival hemorrhage. This condition involves breaking the small blood vessels in the newborn’s eyes. This condition normally takes 7-10 days to heal.
Our Tampa birth injury lawyers also represent newborns and families in these birth injury claims:
- A wrongful birth. Your newborn may die during the delivery or may be born alive but die shortly after birth – due to medical malpractice.
- Cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy (CP) is a neurological condition that is caused by damage to the brain during fetal development or delivery. This brain damage results from the lack of oxygen to the brain. Cerebral palsy affects your baby’s ability to control their muscle movement. CP may cause cognitive disabilities in addition to physical disabilities and emotional trauma. The Cleveland Clinic estimates that between 5,500 and 13,100 children in America are born with CP each year. Some of the complications of cerebral palsy include seizures, epilepsy, intellectual disabilities, communication challenges, bone and muscle damage, hearing and vision problems, feeding issues, and behavioral challenges.
- Birth (oxygen) asphyxia. This condition causes severe damage to your newborn’s brain. This birth injury occurs when your newborn’s brain and organs don’t receive the oxygen they need during labor and delivery. Possible complications include seizures, comas, respiratory damage, digestive disorders, and circulatory disorders.
- This Tampa birth injury occurs when your baby’s brain doesn’t get enough oxygen. Hypoxia may occur during delivery if your physician leaves the baby’s head in the birth canal for too long or misuses a suction device. Hypoxia can cause catastrophic injuries, including brain injury, nerve injury, breathing difficulty, seizures, coma, and death. Our Tampa birth injury lawyers work to hold obstetricians liable for medical malpractice when hypoxia occurs.
- Erb’s palsy (also called brachial plexus palsy). As discussed above, brachial plexus injuries occur when the brachial plexus nerves are stretched or torn. Erb’s palsy involves the upper nerves in the plexus. Palsy means the partial or complete loss of muscle function — which can cause muscle weakness or paralysis. Our Tampa birth injury lawyers understand the different types of Erb’s palsy disorders and what steps your doctors should have taken to prevent them.
- Klumpke paralysis. This birth injury happens when the baby’s shoulder nerves are damaged during delivery. Klumpke paralysis limits your newborn’s ability to move their hand and lower arm.
- Meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS). MAS occurs when a newborn has difficulty breathing because meconium (a sticky substance that becomes your baby’s first poop) gets into your newborn’s lungs just before or during birth. Inhaling meconium can damage your child’s airways and lung tissue - and “block surfactant (the substance that helps open your baby’s lungs at birth). MAS can cause respiratory problems and, in rare cases, be life-threatening.”
We also represent newborns and parents when the following birth injuries occur:
- Kernicterus
- Femoral nerve dysfunction
- Lumbosacral plexus injury
- Perineal tears
- Uterine prolapse, which affects the mother’s health
- Pregnancy disorders
- Other delivery disorders
- Post-delivery disorders
Why do birth injuries occur in Tampa?
At MattLaw, we understand how angry and frightened you are. You expected a healthy baby. Now, your world has completely changed. Our Tampa birth injury lawyers are skilled at showing your doctors, the hospital, and other healthcare professionals failed to provide a reasonable standard of medical care.
Some of the causes of birth injuries include the following. The failure to:
- Properly monitor the mother and fetus’ health before the delivery.
- Properly assess the risks based on the mother’s health, family history, pregnancy history, and many other factors.
- Diagnose or monitor preeclampsia, diabetes, weight problems, and low blood pressure in the mother.
- Detect fetal distress and/or oxygen asphyxia.
- Consider the risks of a vaginal delivery.
- Perform a timely C-section.
- Disclose the possible risks of certain birth defects.
- Conduct routine pregnancy examinations.
- Test for specific medical conditions.
- Perform an episiotomy to prevent or mitigate vaginal or perineal tearing.
- Insert an epidural correctly.
- Use forceps and vacuum extractors properly.
- Prescribe certain medications during the pregnancy.
- Advise the parents about the dangers of certain medications during pregnancy.
- Refrain from using excessive force during the delivery.
Who is responsible when birth injuries occur in Tampa?
At MattLaw, our medical malpractice lawyers file personal injury and wrongful death claims against all responsible parties. The defendants may include:
- Obstetrician
- Gynecologists
- All members of the birth delivery team
- The hospital where the delivery was performed
- Lab technicians
- Nurses
- Pharmacists
- Midwives
How do you hold healthcare providers accountable for birth injuries and fatalities?
Our Tampa birth injury lawyers routinely:
- Work with experienced obstetricians who are skilled at explaining what steps your healthcare providers failed to take or should have taken prior to the delivery, during the delivery, and immediately after the delivery.
- Question (in writing and in person) everyone with information about the birth of your child.
- Review each step in the delivery process, including whether the birth doctors anticipated known risks and how they responded when those risks occurred.
- Anticipate and work to counter the arguments of the delivery doctors such that they didn’t cause your child’s birth injuries.
- Work with doctors to assess the current status of your child’s health, what care your child will need, the cost of their care, and all the ways your child’s life will be affected by their birth injuries.
- Determine your child’s quality of life while they are receiving treatment and if they have a permanent birth disorder such as cerebral palsy.
What compensation can parents and newborns receive for medical malpractice?
At MattLaw, we work with our network of physicians and life-care planners when necessary to show all the treatments your child will need for the rest of their life – including understanding what complications may arise and all the challenges your child will face.
Our Tampa birth injury lawyers demand compensation for all your child’s current and future:
- Medical expenses
- Physical pain and emotional suffering
- Loss of bodily function
- Loss of cognitive function
- Any scarring or disfigurement
- The inability to enjoy life’s pleasures
- The loss of income because parents need to take time from work to care for their child
- The expenses involved in caring for a child when the parents are deceased
- All other damages that Florida law permits
Generally, birth injury verdicts and settlements are placed in a trust/annuity, so the funds are there for the rest of your child’s life.
If medical malpractice during delivery took the life of your child. We file a wrongful death claim on behalf of the parents.
Do you have a Tampa, Florida birth injury lawyer near me?
MattLaw meets birth injury clients (newborns, parents, and guardians) at our Tampa, Florida office located at 304 S Plant Ave., Tampa, FL 33606. We also have an office in St. Petersburg. Our medical malpractice lawyers meet with clients who can’t come to our office due to their injuries or need to care for their children - at their homes and healthcare facilities. We also speak with clients by phone and through online conferences.
We understand how upset you are. We can answer your questions and guide you calmly and clearly through each step of the claims process. We’ve helped many clients like you obtain strong recoveries.
Speak with our experienced Tampa, Florida amputation lawyers now
At MattLaw, our lawyers have the advocacy skills, medical relationships, and that ‘something extra’ known as compassion and heart to fight for all the compensation your child and you deserve. We’ve worked as both defense lawyers and plaintiff’s lawyers, which means we understand how to thoroughly prepare your case and how to anticipate the arguments the doctors, their insurance carriers, and lawyers are likely to assert. Matt Powell is an AV-rated lawyer by Martindale-Hubble, the most respected legal rating service in the country.
Call our respected Tampa birth injury lawyers now or use our contact form to schedule a free consultation. We handle birth injury cases on a contingency fee basis.