Akron Birth Injury Lawyer
A birth injury is a parent’s worst nightmare. If you recently found out that your child has a birth injury and suspect medical malpractice or medical negligence, contact Elk & Elk to discuss your legal rights. Our Akron birth injury lawyers are passionate about seeking justice for injured infants. We help families obtain the compensation they need to move forward.
Do You Need to Hire a Birth Injury Lawyer in Akron, OH?
Birth injury lawsuits fall under the umbrella of medical malpractice law. This is one of the most complex areas of law. Hiring an attorney is often necessary to fully understand and protect your rights during a birth injury claim. A lawyer can help you investigate your child’s birth injury, collect evidence against the health care provider responsible and pursue maximum compensation for your child’s serious injuries. A lawyer can help your family achieve peace of mind during this difficult time.
What Are Birth Injuries?
Birth injuries describe injuries or damage to an infant before, during or shortly after birth. In medical malpractice law, birth injuries are preventable child injuries during the birthing process that result from a health care practitioner’s careless failure to uphold the standard of care.
What Are Causes of Birth Injuries?
Birth injuries can arise due to many examples of medical malpractice:
- Misdiagnosing or failing to diagnose a maternal disease or infection
- Prescribing a dangerous drug to a pregnant woman
- Failing to monitor fetal vital signs or heart rate during birth
- Improperly using birth-assisting tools, leading to trauma injuries
- Using improper birthing techniques during a complicated birth
- Failing to communicate with others in the birthing room
- Failing to order an emergency cesarean section
- Surgical errors during a cesarean section
Any type of medical malpractice during the birthing process can cause infant injuries. Common injuries include greenstick fractures, nerve damage, paralysis, brain damage, cerebral palsy, shoulder dystocia, brachial plexus injuries and kernicterus. If your child has been diagnosed with any type of birth injury connected to malpractice, you may have a claim.
Do You Have Grounds for a Birth Injury Claim in Ohio?
To have grounds for a birth injury claim, your lawyer must first prove the defendant owed your family a duty of care; in other words, a doctor-patient relationship existed at the time of the medical error. Second, your lawyer must prove the defendant breached a duty of care. Third, the physician’s breach of duty must have caused your child’s birth injury. Finally, you will need proof of compensable losses connected to the birth injury, such as medical bills.
Compensation Available in Ohio for a Birth Injury
A victim of a birth injury may have to deal with some degree of disability for the rest of his or her life. At Elk & Elk, our goal is to hold the at-fault medical professional or hospital accountable for the damages victims and their families suffer. We will work diligently to obtain the compensation your family deserves for various losses:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Long-term disability costs
- Special education
- Lost capacity to earn a living
- Medications and medical devices
- Your child’s pain and suffering
- Lost quality of life
- Punitive damages
According to Ohio law, there are caps on certain damages that may apply to your award. A cap is the maximum amount you can be awarded by a jury. For a non-catastrophic birth injury, you face a cap of $250,000 or three times your amount of economic damages, whichever is greater, up to a cap of $350,000 per plaintiff. There is no cap on your recovery, however, for a catastrophic birth injury.
Contact Our Akron Birth Injury Attorneys Today
If a doctor recently diagnosed your child with a birth injury, do not hesitate to contact the Akron, Ohio birth injury attorneys at Elk & Elk. Our Akron personal injury attorneys are passionate about standing up for those who cannot stand up for themselves. We offer free consultations, where you can receive legal advice and answers to your questions at no cost or obligation.
Call 1-800-ELK-OHIO (1-800-355-6446) or request your consultation online today for more information.