The birth of a child should be one of the happiest moments in a family’s life. When a doctor, nurse, or hospital fails to provide an appropriate standard of care during pregnancy, labor, or delivery, the result can be a lifelong injury to mother or baby. The birth injury lawyers at Wieand Parker Arreola, PLLC, help Pennsylvania and New Jersey families understand what happened during their delivery and pursue the medical malpractice claims they may be entitled to.
Not every complication at birth is the result of negligence. A birth defect typically develops during pregnancy from genetic or environmental factors, while a birth injury is trauma that occurs during labor and delivery, often because a medical provider failed to act reasonably. Determining which occurred, and whether negligence played a role, requires a careful review of prenatal and delivery records by attorneys experienced in birth injury litigation.
Birth injuries frequently trace back to a small number of recurring errors: failing to monitor fetal heart rate for signs of distress, delaying an emergency C-section, misusing delivery instruments, mismanaging a difficult delivery such as shoulder dystocia, or failing to recognize and treat a maternal or newborn infection. Because these cases involve complex medical evidence, they typically require testimony from obstetric and neonatal experts to establish that a provider deviated from the accepted standard of care.
Birth injury cases are a form of medical malpractice claim, which means they come with specific procedural requirements, including a certificate of merit in Pennsylvania confirming that a qualified medical expert has reviewed the case. These cases can also involve long-term damages for a child’s future medical care, therapy, and lost earning capacity, so it’s important to speak with an attorney as early as possible.
If your child suffered an injury during birth and you suspect medical negligence was involved, the attorneys at Wieand Parker Arreola, PLLC, are ready to review your case. Call us at (215) 666-7777 or reach out online for a free consultation.
