Flint Birth Injury Attorney

Birth injuries can happen in a matter of minutes, causing serious, life-altering damage that often could have been prevented. If your child suffered a birth injury due to a physician's negligence, you may be eligible to recover compensation for certain damages, such as medical bills for your child's care.

At Jay Trucks and Associates, we have been advocating for injured victims in Flint and other cities throughout Michigan for decades. Our successful track record includes hundreds of millions in compensation recovered on their behalf. Our Flint birth injury attorneys understand that your family may be dealing with a lot of emotional trauma and mounting medical bills in addition to the physical suffering your child has endured.

We offer a free and confidential consultation to determine how we may be able to help you obtain compensation for the costs associated with your child's care. Although you are not obligated to pursue a legal claim, if you decide to retain our services, there are no upfront fees or other costs unless we first win a recovery for you. Jay Trucks, the firm's founder, is an active member of the Michigan Trial Lawyers Association.

Can I File for Damages After a Birth Injury?

Establishing liability for a birth injury is challenging and victims may benefit greatly from the experience of a qualified attorney. However, before we can determine your eligibility for a claim, we need to understand more about what happened during your child's delivery, as well as throughout your pregnancy and labor.

There are many negligent acts we consider that may have contributed to, or caused, your child's injury, including:

• Inappropriately prolonging initiation of a Cesarean section
• Failing to diagnose or treat gestational diabetes
• Not providing proper treatment if you had an infection while pregnant
• Medication errors during your labor or delivery
• Neglecting to diagnose preeclampsia
• Lack of proper prenatal care
• Failing to properly monitor the baby for signs of distress
• Neglecting to properly prepare when there were signs of increased risk for a difficult delivery
• Careless or improper use of forceps, vacuum extractors or other delivery tools

We welcome the opportunity to review your situation and determine whether you may have a valid case. We encourage you to contact our Flint birth injury attorneys as soon as possible to set up your free legal consultation.

What is the Value of My Birth Injury Case?

If your child was injured during delivery, you are likely already aware of the extensive costs for managing his or her care. The value of a case depends on the severity of your child's injuries and his or her unique needs, so we cannot provide an accurate value without understanding more of the specifics of your situation. However, if your case has merit, these are some of the types of compensation you could be able to seek:

Economic Damages:

• Rehabilitation and physical therapy bills
• Corrective surgery
• All related doctor's appointments
• Assistive mobility equipment, such as a wheelchair, walkers or splints
• Speech therapy
• Diagnostic testing
• Home renovations or modifications to better accommodate your child's needs
• Costs for special schools
• Psychological counseling
• Loss of income if you missed work to care for your child

Noneconomic Damages:

Noneconomic damages refer to intangible losses, such as pain and suffering, disfigurement and disability. In Michigan, state law caps non-economic damages for injuries caused by medical malpractice. These limits automatically increase each year according to inflation rates, and the state-enforced caps could also be higher if your child suffered one of these more severe injuries:

• Spinal cord or brain injury resulting in hemiplegia, paraplegia or quadriplegia
• Permanent cognitive impairment, which causes your child to be unable to live independently
• Severe or permanent damage to a reproductive organ, which makes your child unable to ever procreate

How Long Do I Have to File A Birth Injury Claim in Michigan?

In most cases, the deadline for filing a medical malpractice claim for a birth injury in Michigan is two years from the date of the injury. There are exceptions to that time frame, such as if the injury is not discovered until months or years later. In that scenario, you have six months from the date the injury was discovered to file your claim.

It is important to speak with an attorney to find out what statute of limitations applies in your situation. If you miss your deadline, you may lose any right to pursue compensation.

Defining a Birth Injury

A birth injury is sometimes confused with a birth defect. However, they are not the same thing. A birth defect happens while the infant is in the womb and still developing, and it is not due to negligence. A birth injury, however, occurs during the labor or delivery of a child. Injuries may be minor to severe or temporary to permanent, but they are often the result of a doctor's negligence and could include:

• Injuries to the spinal cord
• Bleeding in the brain
• Broken collarbone
• Damaged nerves of the neck or shoulder
• Lack of oxygen
• Facial nerve damage
• Breathing problems
• Swelling of the infant's scalp

Increased Risk Factors for Birth Injuries

It is a doctor's responsibility to properly monitor both the mother and unborn child to determine whether there are any signs that could indicate the increased probability for a difficult birth.

Common risk factors for a birth injury include:

• An unusually prolonged or difficult labor
• Premature deliveries, such as infants born before 37 weeks
• Infants moving to a feet-first position prior to delivery as opposed to being in a safer, head-first position
• Unborn babies with larger heads born to mothers with a small pelvis
• Improper use of delivery tools to help extract the baby
• Excessive or forceful manipulation of the baby during delivery

If a doctor does not properly monitor or prepare for potential difficulties according to acceptable standards, and these actions or inactions cause an injury, you may have grounds for a legal claim.

Who May Be Liable for a Birth Injury?

There are multiple medical professionals who could be held liable for acts of negligence that cause a birth injury, including:

• Physicians
• Nursing staff
• Hospital staff
• Hospitals
• Physician assistants
• Anesthesiologists
• Other contract workers paid by the hospital

At Jay Trucks and Associates, we are dedicated to fully investigating the circumstances that led to your child's birth injury, gathering supportive evidence and determining all liable parties.

Common Medical Conditions Caused by Birth Injuries

Some birth injuries can be minor, such as a broken collarbone, and may heal quickly. However, others are life-altering and result in the need for lifelong care for the injured child, such as:

• Cerebral palsy – A neurological medical condition caused by damage to the brain during development or birth, such as if an infant suffered a lack of oxygen during delivery.
• Brachial plexus injuries – If the brachial plexus nerves, which affect the shoulders, are overstretched, compressed or damaged during a difficult delivery, it could cause temporary or permanent damage, such as paralysis to the upper arms. Notable examples of a brachial plexus injury include Erb's palsy or Klumpke's palsy.
• Spinal cord injuries – Bruising, tearing or a complete transection of the spinal cord caused by improper use of delivery tools can result in permanent paralysis, breathing and eating difficulties.
• Intra-abdominal birth injuries – Though rare, these injuries to the abdominal area can be quite serious, even life-threatening, especially if there is any hemorrhaging or damage to the liver.

Contact a Flint Birth Injury Attorney to Learn More

The devastation of dealing with a birth injury that could have been prevented is unimaginable. Speaking with a knowledgeable attorney may be an important step, as he or she can determine if you could be able to recover compensation for some of the damages you have suffered. While no amount of money can reverse the harm already done, it can help to relieve the financial burden caused by mounting medical expenses.

At Jay Trucks and Associates, our attorneys' combined experience advocating for injured victims in Michigan spans 150 years. During that time, our reputable attorneys have a proven track record of recovering compensation for victims and their families throughout the state, including Flint. If you have a birth injury claim, we are prepared to aggressively pursue maximum compensation on your behalf.