Seguin Birth Injury Lawyer
A Seguin birth injury lawyer from Janicek Law can help families affected by birth injuries recover financial compensation for birth injuries through a birth injury lawsuit. The experienced birth injury attorneys at Janicek Law have been holding negligent medical professionals accountable for birth-related medical malpractice throughout San Antonio, Seguin, and New Braunfels, TX, for over 20 years.
At Janicek Law, our Seguin personal injury lawyers successfully handle various medical malpractice cases, including birth injury cases considered medical negligence. Our Seguin birth injury lawyers fight tirelessly for the rights of families affected by medical malpractice, aiming to ensure that they recover financial compensation and legal justice through birth injury lawsuits.
Our dedicated Seguin birth injury lawyers have a proven track record showing they have what it takes to handle birth injury cases with care.
Call 210-366-4949 to schedule a free consultation with our experienced legal team of Seguin birth injury lawyers today. Our birth injury attorneys in Seguin, TX work on a contingency fee basis, so clients won’t owe any legal fees unless their birth injury claim is successful.
What is a Birth Injury?
A birth injury refers to any harm or trauma inflicted on a newborn during the childbirth process. Birth injuries may occur due to various factors, such as the baby’s size or position during birth, the length of labor, or medical errors. Understanding the circumstances surrounding a birth injury and other birth injury cases similar to yours is crucial for medical malpractice prevention and holding health care providers accountable, as well as addressing any immediate or long-term health concerns they may pose for the affected child.
The San Antonio birth injury attorneys at Janicek Law have experience handling even the most challenging medical malpractice lawsuits. If you believe your child’s birth injury was caused by medical negligence, call our Seguin birth injury lawyers today.
Birth Injury vs. Birth Defect: Why it Matters for a Birth Injury Lawsuit in Texas
A birth injury and a birth defect may be used as interchangeable terms in everyday life, but you’ll never hear a top birth injury lawyer do this. In legal contexts, they refer to different issues. A birth injury takes place during the process of labor and is typically due to physical trauma or oxygen deprivation. Many birth injuries result from complications in the birthing process, medical negligence, or the use of birthing tools.
In contrast, a birth defect develops while the baby is still in the womb, typically arising from a genetic factor.
It’s essential to understand the differences between a birth injury and a defect if you plan on pursuing a birth injury lawsuit. When an infant’s injury was caused by negligence on the medical provider’s part, a birth injury lawyer could help you secure legal compensation through a birth injury lawsuit. This does not apply to birth defects in most cases.
To learn more about your legal options in regards to your child’s birth injury, contact a Seguin birth injury attorney today.
Types of Preventable Birth Injuries Our Seguin Birth Injury Lawyers Commonly See
To pursue financial compensation, your child’s injury must have been preventable, or your child’s disability must have been due to a preventable birth injury. The Seguin birth injury lawyers at Janicek Law explain a few of the most common birth injuries that we have seen in medical malpractice lawsuits.
Brachial Plexus Injuries
Brachial plexus injuries in newborns, often occurring during challenging deliveries like shoulder dystocia, affect the nerves from the spine to the arm. The severity depends on the extent of nerve damage. While many infants regain limb function over time with physical therapy, severe cases might need surgical nerve repair. If your child suffered because of medical errors or lack of medical care, our San Antonio brachial plexus injury attorneys and our San Antonio shoulder dystocia attorneys can help you determine if you have a strong case for a birth-related medical malpractice lawsuit. Call a birth injury lawyer at Janicek Law today for your free case review.
Caput Succedaneum
Caput succedaneum, a common and generally benign birth injury, involves swelling of the newborn’s scalp tissues, often resulting from pressure in the birth canal or during vacuum-assisted deliveries. This swelling, appearing as a soft, puffy area on the head, may slightly alter the head shape but typically resolves within a few days without treatment. Although it causes no discomfort and rarely leads to complications, distinguishing caput succedaneum from more serious issues like cephalohematoma or skull fractures is important.
While this injury is also considered fairly minor compared to other types of birth injuries, it’s still important to seek legal advice from San Antonio caput succedaneum lawyers. An experienced birth injury lawyer can help you determine if your case is considered malpractice.
Cerebral Palsy
Cerebral palsy is caused by brain damage at or near birth that significantly affects muscle coordination and movement, with severity ranging from mild motor skill difficulties to profound physical disabilities. Symptoms can include muscle stiffness, spasms, and coordination challenges and may extend to speech and cognitive development issues. While cerebral palsy is incurable and lifelong, interventions like physical and occupational therapy, and in some cases, medical or surgical treatments, can greatly enhance the quality of life. San Antonio cerebral palsy attorneys can help you recover the compensation you deserve to afford lifelong supportive care.
Cephalohematoma
Cephalohematoma, a birth injury, involves blood accumulation between a newborn’s skull and its outer membrane, often due to birth trauma, prolonged labor, or the use of delivery devices like forceps. Cephalohematomas typically resolve within weeks to months but require monitoring for potential complications such as jaundice, anemia, or rare infections. While this birth injury is considered fairly minor compared to others, it’s still important to contact a San Antonio cephalohematoma lawyer today.
An experienced birth injury attorney at Janicek Law can discuss the specifics of your child’s birth injuries and walk you through the process of birth injury litigation.
Cytotec Birth Injuries
Cytotec, or Misoprostol, is a medication that has been used off-label to induce labor. While Cytotec can be effective in starting the labor process or speeding things along, as many health care professionals say, its use has been known to cause a range of serious complications and birth injuries to the mother and the baby.
A Seguin birth injury attorney can you determine whether you can hold the medical professionals responsible for prescribing and failing to monitor the use of this dangerous drug. Call a birth injury lawyer from Janicek Law for your free case review.
Erb's Palsy
Erb’s Palsy is considered a serious birth injury that is seen in several medical malpractice lawsuits. If a medical professional fails to properly manage risk during delivery or fails to perform a cesarean section, they, along with any medical team members who failed to act within the reasonable standard of care, may be held liable for your child’s disability through a birth injury lawsuit.
Speak with an Erb’s Palsy attorney at Janicek Law to learn about your options for a birth injury lawsuit.
HIE Birth Injuries
Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) is a birth injury that occurs when there is a lack of oxygen and blood flow to the baby’s brain during birth, often due to complications like umbilical cord issues or prolonged labor. This can result in neurological damage ranging from mild learning difficulties to severe developmental delays and, in extreme cases, cerebral palsy or fatalities.
The impact of HIE varies based on the duration and extent of oxygen deprivation. Immediate treatment, such as therapeutic cooling, is critical to lessen brain swelling and subsequent damage, with long-term care including therapies like physical and speech therapy tailored to the injury’s severity.
If the doctors, registered nurses, or other medical professionals handling your delivery didn’t perform according to the medical standard of care set by other healthcare professionals, a Seguin birth injury attorney from Janicek Law can hold him liable for your child’s injuries.
Contact San Antonio HIE birth injury attorneys today for more information.
Infant Skull Fractures
Infant skull fractures, a birth injury often caused by labor and delivery trauma, can arise from a medical professional using delivery instruments like forceps, challenging childbirth, or breech presentations.
These fractures vary from simple, with no brain impact, to complex, posing serious risks. Symptoms include head swelling, tenderness, or unusual shape. While many infant skull fractures heal naturally, careful monitoring for potential brain injuries or neurological issues is essential.
Allow an infant skull fracture attorney to fight for your and your baby’s justice today. A seasoned Seguin birth injury attorney can determine whether your child’s injury occurred naturally or due to medical malpractice.
Klumpke's Palsy
Birth injury cases where Klumpke’s Palsy is caused by medical malpractice include when medical professionals fail to manage delivery, use excessive force during the birth process, or do not perform a cesarean section in a timely matter. In these birth injury cases, the families affected may have grounds to file a birth injury lawsuit.
Call a Seguin birth injury lawyer at Janicek Law to see how our law firm can help you secure financial compensation for your child’s injury.
Meconium Aspiration Syndrome
Meconium aspiration syndrome (MAS) occurs when a newborn inhales a mix of meconium and amniotic fluid into the lungs, often during stressful or overdue labor. This can block airways, hinder breathing, and cause lung irritation and inflammation. Symptoms include breathing difficulties, blue skin, and abnormal chest movements. MAS severity varies; mild cases may need minimal treatment, while severe ones could require oxygen therapy, mechanical ventilation, or even extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) in extreme situations.
Birth injury cases in which families can pursue a medical malpractice lawsuit are those in which the doctor or medical professional monitoring delivery failed to recognize or perform under the medical standard of care.
If your child has suffered this injury due to medical malpractice, contact a San Antonio meconium aspiration lawyer to learn about your legal options. Our Seguin birth injury lawyers will compare birth injury cases similar to yours to determine the best course of action for you and your family.
Umbilical Cord Prolapse
Umbilical cord prolapse is a critical birth emergency, posing a significant risk to the baby, as the prolapsed cord can reduce blood flow and oxygen supply. If medical professionals do not promptly manage this condition and if the child has a birth injury diagnosis, families can pursue compensation through medical malpractice lawsuits with the help of our Seguin birth injury lawyer team.
Our Seguin birth injury attorneys handle umbilical cord prolapse claims in Texas regularly. Your birth injury lawyer will help you account for ongoing medical expenses associated with your child’s birth injury and will work with you to determine the best course of action for a birth injury lawsuit.
Proving Medical Negligence in a Seguin Birth Injury Lawsuit
Proving negligence in a birth injury lawsuit involves establishing several key elements. Your Seguin birth injury lawyers will work diligently with you as you both gather evidence to prove your medical malpractice lawsuit.
A successful birth injury lawsuit hinges on proving the four elements of negligence:
- Duty of Care: Establish that health care providers, registered nurses, nurse case managers, or other health care professionals had a patient relationship, thereby owing a duty of care.
- Breach of Duty: Show evidence that medical professionals deviated from accepted medical standards, acting differently than other medical professionals in similar situations.
- Causation: Demonstrate a direct link between the provider’s breach of duty and the birth injury, proving the child’s birth injury resulted from their action or inaction.
- Damages: Articulate the specific damages caused by the child’s birth injury, including past medical expenses, current medical care, future medical expenses, and emotional impact, supported by medical records and expert testimonies.
Detailed medical records, expert witness testimonies, and thorough documentation of the birth injury diagnosis and its impact are crucial in substantiating birth claims in Seguin, Texas.
Compensation for Birth-Related Medical Malpractice in Texas
When you’ve suffered birth-related medical malpractice, you and your family deserve financial compensation for both economic and non-economic damages. An experienced Seguin birth injury attorney from Janicek Law will work to secure the birth injury settlement you deserve.
Generally speaking, how much compensation you can receive depends on your child’s injuries and the long-term effects of the birth injuries your child suffered or will continue to suffer from. A lifetime of expensive medical treatment for a baby or young child will merit more financial damages than less expensive medical care.
Economic Damages Your Birth Injury Lawyer Will Fight For
Economic damages aim to mitigate some of the financial impact of the injury that families struggle with. Examples include:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Parents’ lost wages
- Special education costs
- Adaptive equipment and assistive technologies like wheelchairs and communication devices
- Transportation costs
- Home healthcare
Non-Economic Damages Your Birth Injury Lawyer Will Fight For
Many birth injury lawyers understand the numeric value of ongoing medical care associated with birth injury lawsuits. At Janicek Law, our birth injury attorneys are prepared to focus on and fight for other injuries after the birth injury that go unseen.
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Loss of enjoyment of life
- Loss of companionship
- Physical scarring and disfigurement
- Permanent disability
At Janicek Law, once your birth injury claim is considered medical negligence, our Seguin law firm will devote our resources to ensure proper care for you and your family. We’ll hire a medical team of experts to determine the extent to which the medical errors caused the child’s injury. Our birth injury lawyers will retrieve medical records and comb through other birth injury cases to ensure we’re calculating a fair settlement on your behalf.
Our Seguin birth injury attorneys work with patient advocates, nurse case managers, and other medical care professionals to determine the long-term costs associated with the birth injury.
Texas Medical Malpractice Statute of Limitations for Birth Injury Claims
The statute of limitations for pursuing birth injury litigation in Texas is two years. However, there are exceptions for some medical malpractice lawsuits. Discuss your claim with one of our San Antonio medical malpractice lawyers at Janicek Law today.
Experienced Seguin Birth Injury Lawyers
If you are facing the challenges of a birth injury in Seguin, remember that help is just a phone call away with Janicek Law. We have maternal birth injury lawyers, infant wrongful death lawyers, and a host of medical experts on staff to help with your birth injury claim.
Our seasoned team of Seguin birth injury lawyers is ready to provide you with the support, guidance, and representation you need during this difficult time. And don’t worry about the birth injury lawyers cost; at Janicek Law, our birth injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis, so you won’t owe your experienced birth injury lawyer any legal fees unless your birth injury lawsuit is successful.
At Janicek Law, our birth injury lawyer team understands the intricacies of birth injury cases and is committed to advocating for the justice and compensation your family deserves. Don’t hesitate to reach out to a birth injury lawyer at Janicek Law today and take the first step toward finding the resolution and peace of mind you need.
Schedule a free consultation with an experienced birth injury lawyer at Janicek Law by calling 210-366-4949 today.