The birth of a child should be among the happiest moments in your life. If your baby was injured at birth due to a doctor’s mistake in Phoenix, AZ, our team at Curiel & Runion Car Accident And Personal Injury Lawyers can help you get justice. An experienced Phoenix birth injury lawyer can fight for compensation for medical expenses, rehabilitative care, pain, suffering, and other injury-related costs.
Our lawyers have a 98% success rate when it comes to getting our clients the compensation they deserve. To date, we’ve recovered over $50 million in settlements and verdicts.
You, too, can benefit from our team. We’re ready to put over 55 years of combined legal experience to work for your family. Call our law firm in Phoenix, Arizona at (602) 595-5559 to schedule your free consultation today.
How Curiel & Runion Car Accident and Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help You With a Birth Injury Claim in Phoenix, AZ
One careless mistake may have changed your child’s life forever. It’s any parent’s worst nightmare. You may be facing a lifetime of medical and rehabilitative costs–not to mention your personal losses, grief, and suffering.
Unfortunately, it can be extremely difficult to hold a negligent doctor liable. Medical malpractice laws favor doctors and hospitals. They’re so complicated that many victims give up before they ever see a dime. Our Phoenix medical malpractice attorneys at Curiel & Runion Car Accident and Personal Injury Lawyers won’t let that happen to your family.
When you trust us to handle your case, we will:
- Determine the exact cause of your baby’s injury
- Gather evidence and build the strongest case possible
- Hire medical experts and specialists in economics, life planning, vocational rehabilitation, and other relevant specialties as we assess your case value
- Reject any lowball insurance offers
- Negotiate aggressively for every dollar you deserve
Our Phoenix medical malpractice lawyers can help your family get your life back on track. Call us today to learn more about our team and experience.
Birth Injuries: An Overview
A birth injury is any injury that occurs during the labor and delivery process. Sometimes, these injuries occur because of failure to recognize issues during pregnancy. Sometimes, they’re entirely related to the delivery.
Either way, a serious birth injury has the potential to alter the course of your child’s life in dramatic ways.
Medical professionals have a duty to provide competent care. When they fail and cause a birth injury, they can be held financially accountable.
We Handle All Types of Birth Injury Cases in Phoenix
Our Phoenix personal injury lawyers handle all types of birth injury claims, including those involving:
- Ataxic, Athetoid, or Spastic Cerebral Palsy
- Erb’s Palsy
- Klumpke’s Palsy
- Facial paralysis
- Shoulder dystocia
- Brachial plexus injuries
- Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
- Placental abruption, which can cut off the baby’s oxygen supply
- Spinal cord damage
- Broken bones
- Injuries to the arms, legs, hands, or feet
- Brain damage, often caused by oxygen deprivation or hypoxia
- Caput Succedaneum
- Intracranial hemorrhages
- Subconjunctival hemorrhages
- Uterine rupture
It’s always possible that a baby can recover fully after a birth injury. It’s also possible that they could struggle with those injuries for a lifetime. Your family deserves the best possible legal representation. Our attorneys in Phoenix will stand by your side from day one, so give us a call to learn more about how we can help today.
What is Medical Negligence, and What Do I Have to Prove to Win a Birth Injury Lawsuit in Arizona?
Every doctor is held to a certain standard of care. The medical community itself dictates the level of care you should receive. Medical malpractice occurs when your doctor, nurse, or OB-GYN deviates from the standard of care.
To win your case, you must establish:
- The defendant owed you a legal duty of care because you were their patient
- The medical standard of care in your case
- Your doctor breached their duty by deviating from the standard of care
- That breach or error directly caused your child’s injuries
- The specific damages your family has experienced as a result
This is an oversimplified explanation. In reality, you’ll need expert testimony and strong medical evidence to prove your case. Even if the mistake is easily identifiable, the insurance companies will work hard to downplay your damages and pay less than you deserve.
What Types of Compensation Can I Recover By Filing a Birth Injury Lawsuit in Phoenix?
Your compensation will be directly tied to the types of losses your family has experienced. Generally, you can seek compensation for economic and non-economic damages.
Possible examples of your economic damages include:
- Current medical bills
- Future medical expenses
- Rehabilitation and specialized therapies
- Skilled nursing care
- In-home assistance
- Specialized education needs
- Mental health counseling
- Home and vehicle modifications
- Lost wages and loss of your child’s future earning potential
- Other out-of-pocket expenses
Your economic damages award should account for all current and future financial losses. In birth injury cases, it can be particularly difficult to identify those future losses. It’s possible that your child may never live independently or earn a living.
Non-economic damages account for the suffering your family has experienced due to the injury.
They may include:
- Physical pain and suffering
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Diminished quality of life
- Reduced life expectancy
- Disfigurement
- Emotional trauma
- Damage to relationships
Birth injuries can result in serious physical and emotional losses. These losses can impact your family for a lifetime.
The bottom line? Never take an insurance offer without consulting an experienced Phoenix birth injury attorney. Our team at Curiel & Runion Car Accident and Personal Injury Lawyers can help you identify and document your losses.
How Much Is My Phoenix Birth Injury Case Worth?
Many different issues will dictate your case value. Typically, the value of a personal injury case increases as the severity of the injuries increases. Because birth injuries can impact families for years–or decades–to come, it’s critical to consult a lawyer who knows how to determine your case value.
Some of the most important considerations include:
- Whether your baby will suffer a long-term or permanent impairment
- The nature of the child’s medical treatment, rehabilitation, and therapies
- Your family’s financial costs, including medical care, in-home assistance, childcare, etc.
- How the injury will impact your child’s education and career prospects
- How the injury impacts your ability to work and support your family
- The nature of the at-fault doctor’s actions
- How the injury impacts your quality of life and your baby’s childhood
- Expected future financial costs associated with the injury
Additional factors will be relevant. The insurance companies like to focus on the pure financial losses you’ve experienced. They don’t like to look at the long-term impact of your loss.
Count on our Phoenix personal injury attorneys to look at the big picture. We’ll compare your child’s injuries to similar injuries. We’ll also consult respected specialists who can testify about likely future impacts.
What Are the Leading Causes of Birth Injuries in Phoenix?
Babies are born every single day. That doesn’t mean labor and delivery should be taken lightly. Childbirth can be extremely traumatic for both mother and baby. The doctors, nurses, and support staff owe it to patients to provide the highest level of care possible.
Unfortunately, birth injuries tend to occur when doctors and medical professionals are careless.
More specifically, birth injuries often occur because of:
- Failure to properly monitor the mother and fetus
- Failure to recognize signs of a high-risk pregnancy or identify critical risk factors
- Failure to order a C-section entirely
- Waiting too long to order a C-section
- Improper use of forceps, vacuum devices, and other labor-assist devices during delivery
- Inexperienced medical providers
- Failure to properly supervise staff
- Failure to detect signs of fetal distress
- Failure to take a full medical history
- Medical professionals who fail to communicate
- Nursing negligence
- Medication errors and adverse drug interactions
- Oxygen deprivation
- Failure to diagnose a prolapsed umbilical cord
If your child is struggling with painful injuries because of a medical error, our attorneys can help you fight for justice.
How Long Do I Have to File a Lawsuit if My Child Sustained a Birth Injury in Arizona?
The statute of limitations is a deadline for taking legal action after suffering an injury. Most birth injury claims involve medical malpractice. The statute of limitations is two years.
The two-year clock starts to run on the later of:
- The date the injury occurred, or
- The date you discovered, or reasonably should have discovered, the harm
This “discovery rule” may seem plaintiff-friendly. However, it’ll be up to you to prove that you couldn’t have known about the injury earlier. In all cases, it’s best to consult a lawyer if you even suspect that your baby has been the victim of medical negligence.
Contact a Skilled Phoenix Birth Injury Lawyer for a Free Consultation
If your baby was injured at birth, you have enough to handle right now. An experienced Phoenix birth injury lawyer can handle the fight for financial compensation. Our team at Curiel & Runion Car Accident and Personal Injury Lawyers is here to protect your legal rights. Contact us today to schedule a free consultation.