Was your child injured during pregnancy, labor, or delivery in Jacksonville, FL? Do you suspect your medical providers made a mistake? You may be entitled to compensation. An experienced Jacksonville birth injury lawyer at Baggett Law Personal Injury Lawyer can help you fight to recover compensation for medical bills, lost earnings, pain, suffering, and more.
We have over 80 years of combined experience fighting for families like yours. We’ve put our experience to work and helped our clients recover tens of millions of dollars in life-changing settlements and verdicts.
The compensation you recover for your baby’s injuries can make a world of difference in your future. Contact our law offices in Jacksonville, Florida, at (904) 396-1100 to schedule a free consultation and learn more about how we can help.
How Baggett Law Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help With a Birth Injury Claim in Jacksonville, FL
The birth of your child should be the happiest day of your life. Unfortunately, when doctors and healthcare professionals are careless, your family’s life can change forever.
Medical professionals have the tools and technology to keep your baby safe during pregnancy, labor, and delivery. As a patient, however, it can be tough to know whether your doctor has committed medical malpractice. Our experienced Jacksonville personal injury lawyers can help.
Our team at Baggett Law Personal Injury Lawyers has won the Martindale-Hubbell 2021 Platinum Client Champion Award for our exceptional legal services.
When you hire our AV-rated lawyers to handle your case, we will:
- Collect evidence to support your claim for compensation
- Determine who is legally responsible for paying your damages
- Find out exactly what caused your child’s injury
- Calculate your case value
- Hire experts to testify on your behalf
- Negotiate fiercely for a fair settlement offer
There isn’t any time to waste if your child suffers an injury at birth. Contact our Jacksonville medical malpractice attorneys to get started fighting for fair compensation today.
What Is a Birth Injury?
A birth injury is any injury that happens during pregnancy or childbirth. Your OBGYN and healthcare staff have a duty to monitor mother and baby carefully to identify risk factors that can prevent these injuries.
While not all birth injuries can be prevented, many of these injuries occur due to medical negligence. If your child was harmed because of a medical error, contact our birth injury attorneys in Jacksonville right away. We’ll do everything we can to help you fight for fair compensation.
How Can I Establish My Right to Compensation for My Child’s Birth Injuries?
Many birth injuries occur because of medical negligence.
To prove you deserve compensation from a negligent healthcare provider, you must prove the following elements:
- Your baby was a patient and thus owed a legal duty of care
- The standard of care you should have received
- The doctor, nurse, or health care provider failed to provide competent care
- Your family was harmed as a direct result of the substandard care
- The damages your family has suffered as a result
All healthcare professionals are required to provide care that meets the medical standard of care. That standard varies from case to case. As the victim, it’s up to you to prove that the care you received deviated from the standard of care.
When you hire our Jacksonville birth injury lawyers, you’ll benefit from the help of respected experts who can testify about both the level of care you received and the level of care you should have received.
We Handle All Types of Birth Injury Claims in Jacksonville
At Baggett Law Personal Injury Lawyers, we handle all types of birth injury cases, including those involving:
- Cerebral palsy
- Erb’s palsy
- Broken bones
- Brachial plexus injury
- Head injury
- Brachial palsy
- Hypoxia (oxygen deprivation)
- Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
- Intracranial hemorrhages
- Subconjunctival hemorrhages
- Spinal cord injury
- Brain damage
- Caput succedaneum
- Facial paralysis
- Cephalohematoma
Was your baby injured at birth? Contact our Jacksonville birth injury attorneys to learn more about whether you have a valid claim for compensation.
What Are the Most Common Signs and Symptoms of Birth Injuries?
Some of the most common signs that your child has been injured at birth include:
- Extremely pale or blue skin
- Bruising or swelling
- Low heart rate
- Rapid breathing or trouble breathing
- An unusually arched back when crying
- Very high-pitched crying
- Weak reflexes
- Lethargy
- Excessive vomiting
- Seizures
While some infants require immediate resuscitation at birth, not all birth injuries are immediately apparent. It’s critical to monitor your baby for signs that they may have suffered an injury during labor and delivery.
Understanding the Long-Term Consequences of Birth Injuries
Before you sit down and negotiate a settlement, it’s important to identify the likely long-term consequences of your baby’s injury. Those consequences can vary dramatically depending on the nature of your child’s injury.
Some potential long-term consequences of birth injuries include:
- Developmental delays
- Cognitive disabilities
- Loss of mobility
- Limited mobility
- Loss of vision or hearing
- Brain damage
- Speech disorders
- Seizure disorders
- Organ damage
- Special education needs
- The need for long-term care
- Paralysis
- Loss of limbs
- Wrongful death
Every case is different. Our lawyers will bring in experts who can evaluate your baby’s medical records, speak with your doctors, and work closely with your family to anticipate your child’s potential long-term needs.
What Are the Most Common Causes of Birth Injuries?
Some of the most common causes of birth injuries include:
- Failure to monitor the mother and baby during pregnancy
- Failure to order a C-Section when necessary
- Delayed C-Sections
- Failure to diagnose a high-risk pregnancy or identify risk factors
- Improper use of forceps, vacuum devices, and other labor-assistance devices during labor and delivery
- Inexperienced healthcare providers
- Understaffing and overworked medical professionals
- Failure to detect signs of fetal distress
- Communication and charting errors
- Failure to take a complete medical history
- Nursing negligence
- Uterine rupture
- Medication errors
- Oxygen deprivation
- The use of excessive force
At Baggett Law Personal Injury Lawyers, we have the resources to help you find out what happened. Contact our experienced attorneys in Jacksonville today.
What Is My Jacksonville Birth Injury Lawsuit Worth?
The costs associated with a birth injury can greatly exceed your initial expectations. It’s critical to understand your case value before you accept an insurance settlement offer.
All personal injury claims are unique. The value of your case will depend on the specific facts and circumstances of your baby’s injury.
Our lawyers will evaluate all relevant factors when building your case and establishing your case value, including:
- The severity of your baby’s injury
- Your baby’s prognosis–whether your doctors expect a full recovery or a long-term impairment
- How the injury is expected to impact your baby’s future education and earning potential
- How the injury will impact your baby’s childhood and development
- Whether you lose income to care for your child during recovery
- The cost of your child’s medical treatment
- Whether your child will need ongoing medical care and rehabilitation, and the expected cost
- Your family’s emotional suffering
- Whether your child has, or will, experience physical pain and damage to their mental health
A birth injury has the potential to impact your child’s entire life. It’s critical to consider all relevant issues before making an insurance demand for compensation. You should expect the insurance company to downplay the extent of your losses. If they succeed, you could be left to struggle with unexpected future costs alone.
At Baggett Law Personal Injury Lawyers, we know the tricks that insurance adjusters will use to minimize the amount of compensation you take home. We’ll do everything we can to fight back and maximize your settlement award.
What Types of Compensation Can I Recover for My Baby’s Injuries in Jacksonville, Florida?
Victims of medical negligence can seek compensation for economic and non-economic damages.
Examples of the types of compensation you may be entitled to receive include:
- Medical bills
- Your lost wages while your child recovers
- Future medical bills
- Your child’s lost future earning capacity
- Physical therapy
- Rehabilitative care
- Long-term care
- Special education
- In-home assistance and childcare costs
- Counseling
- Pain and suffering
- Mental anguish
- Loss of a normal childhood
- Diminished quality of life
- Reduced life expectancy
- Depression
- Anxiety disorders
- Additional damages for wrongful death
The compensation you recover can make a huge difference in your baby’s future. Our lawyers are here to fight for every available dollar. Call our law firm in Jacksonville to learn more about how we can help your family.
How Long Do I Have To File a Medical Malpractice Lawsuit Based on Birth Injuries in Florida?
The statute of limitations in medical malpractice claims is two years. You have two years from the date the injury occurs to file a lawsuit for damages.
However, a discovery rule typically applies in cases involving medical negligence, so you’ll have two years from the date you discover, or reasonably should discover, the medical error to take legal action.
It’s best to contact an experienced attorney for help confirming the amount of time you have to file a lawsuit in your case.
Call a Jacksonville Birth Injury Lawyer To Arrange a Free Consultation Today
Was your baby injured at birth? A Jacksonville birth injury lawyer can help your family fight to hold the negligent healthcare professional accountable. Call Baggett Law Personal Injury Lawyer today at (904) 396-1100 to schedule a free consultation.
