Birth Injury Attorney in Virginia Beach

A Skilled Birth Injury Lawyer Holds Careless Parties Accountable

If your child was injured due to a birthing complication, our experienced birth injury lawyers in Virginia Beach, VA, will work tirelessly on your behalf to ensure that the parties liable for your child’s injuries are held accountable.

Most birth injuries are catastrophic to the baby and family and will probably have a negative impact on your child’s quality of life, impairing his or her mental or physical abilities. The majority of birth injuries are due to preventable errors.

Our dedicated team of Virginia Beach birth injury attorneys at Ruloff, Swain, Haddad, Morecock, Talbert & Woodward, P.C. will conduct a thorough investigation and determine if the injury your child sustained was preventable.

Potential Birth Injuries

Errors made by medical personnel during the delivery of your child can result in injury and even death. In some cases, birth injuries are caused by equipment malfunction or medication errors. Some of the most common injuries that result from medical malpractice include:

Brachial Plexus

A brachial plexus injury damages the nerves in the shoulder and occurs when excessive traction or force is used to pull the baby’s head downward when the shoulder of the baby is stuck behind the mother’s pubic bone (photosynthesis is bone in the center of the pelvis). The excessive downward pulling or traction causes an increase in the angle between the head and the baby’s shoulder and stretches a bundle of nerves running from the spine to the arm, potentially causing permanent or partial tearing of the nerve. Symptoms of brachial plexus injury, also known as Erb’s Palsy, include a limp arm, an inability to grip, partial or full paralysis, or loss of function of the affected arm.

Erb’s Palsy

Erb’s Palsy is a form of brachial plexus that results in damage to the nerves in the upper arm. This damage may be the result of physical injury caused by the use of forceps or a vacuum, or excessive pulling on shoulders. It may also result if the baby is pulled out by its legs. Symptoms of Erb’s Palsy include a limp arm, an inability to grip, partial or full paralysis, or loss of function in the affected arm.

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral Palsy affects the brain and motor function of the baby and may be caused by brain injury due to diminished oxygen, trauma resulting from being dropped, or the improper use of forceps or vacuum. Symptoms of cerebral palsy may include a lack of muscle control, abnormal reflexes, limited coordination and communication difficulty, and brain damage.

Shoulder Dystocia

Shoulder dystocia occurs when the infant’s shoulders become lodged in the mother’s pelvic bone. This can lead to brachial plexus injuries and brain damage if a medical practitioner uses improper forceful manipulation to remove the baby. If not treated in a timely manner, shoulder dystocia can result in death.

Brain Injury

Brain injury may be caused by oxygen deprivation, the physical trauma of forceps or vacuum, infant jaundice, and maternal infections. A brain injury may lead to the development of cerebral palsy or other conditions. Symptoms of brain injuries include excessive crying and abnormal behavior, abnormal physical appearance, and delayed development.

Jaundice and Kernicterus

Jaundice can occur when the baby’s liver is not fully developed and does not have the capacity to remove the chemical bilirubin. Usually, light therapy is sufficient to correct the problem, but if not corrected or left untreated because it was not properly diagnosed, jaundice can lead to kernicterus, a type of brain damage. Symptoms of jaundice include yellowed eyes and skin, poor eating, lethargy, difficulty waking, inability to sleep, fussiness, refusal to breastfeed or take a bottle, and seizures. Symptoms of kernicterus, a condition when the chemical bilirubin crosses the blood-brain barrier, are loss of coordination of muscles in the child for life. Immediate symptoms include extreme sleepiness or lethargy and an abnormal high-pitch cry.

Hirschsprung’s Disease

Hirschsprung’s disease occurs when nerve cells in the baby’s colon do not fully develop. Symptoms of Hirschsprung’s disease include a swollen belly, vomiting, constipation or gas, and diarrhea. If a doctor misdiagnoses or fails to diagnose Hirschsprung’s disease, the consequences can be fatal.

Infant Wrongful Death

Infant death may occur due to negligence or improper actions taken by a doctor, nurse, midwife, or other medical staff.

The Birth Injury Legal Process

If you think your child’s birth injury may have been caused by the negligence or carelessness of a medical professional, you should seek the counsel of an experienced Virginia birth injury lawyer.

When you contact our office, we will set up an appointment for you to discuss your case in detail, either in person or over the phone at no charge. We will ask you to have all medical records sent to our office, and our birth injury lawyer team will conduct a thorough investigation and determine if the injury your child sustained was preventable. If so, we will help you pursue compensation for all the injuries suffered by you and your child, including medical care, medical expenses, the effect on your child’s health for life, costs of caring for the child through adulthood, loss of the child’s ability to get employment, pain and suffering, humiliation, and perhaps emotional distress.

Our team has an excellent track record of obtaining the settlements that our clients deserve for the damages, pain, and suffering experienced by their family members after a birth injury results from medical malpractice.

Contact Our Compassionate Birth Injury Lawyers Today

Contact our law office today to discuss your case with a Virginia Beach-based birth injury lawyer at Ruloff, Swain, Haddad, Morecock, Talbert & Woodward, P.C., free of charge. We take cases all across the Commonwealth of Virginia, our fees are contingency-based, and you can rest assured that our law firm will work tirelessly on your behalf to fight for justice if a medical practitioner has injured your child.