Baltimore Med Mal Lawyers / Baltimore Birth Injury Lawyer

Baltimore Birth Injury Lawyer

Birth Injury Attorneys Serving Children and Families in Baltimore

During the process of pregnancy, labor, and birth, both the mother and the baby need proper medical attention to ensure everything goes smoothly. When this does not happen, the consequences can be devastating, such as nerve damage, brain damage, and even a tragic death. The Baltimore birth injury lawyers at Wais, Vogelstein, Forman, Koch & Norman can guide Baltimore residents through the process of pursuing compensation for the harm that they have suffered.

We have compassionately helped numerous parents and children hold negligent health care providers accountable. Our team’s priority is to provide aggressive representation to the most seriously injured people in our community.

How We Can Help You

100+ Years of Combined Experience
Free Consultations
Hundreds of Millions Recovered
No Fees Unless We Win

Seeking Compensation from a Negligent Health Care Provider

Mistakes during the delivery process may arise due to improper care by a doctor, nurse, or other medical professional. There is a wide range of potential errors, such as insufficient prenatal care, a failure to identify signs of fetal distress, or a failure to perform a timely C-section when appropriate. Birth injuries can lead to serious conditions in newborns that may be long-lasting or even permanent. We have helped assert the rights of children suffering from cerebral palsy, brain cooling, Erb’s Palsy, fetal acidosis, hypoxic injuries, and other devastating conditions.

What are the steps of a birth injury case?

Medical professionals may be held accountable when their careless or reckless behavior results in a birth injury. These claims usually proceed under a theory of malpractice, which is a form of negligence. A critical step in malpractice cases consists of establishing the appropriate standard of care that the defendant should have been expected to meet. It is usually defined as how another doctor or health care professional in the same specialty and geographic area would have acted in similar circumstances. Expert testimony is usually needed to determine what this means in a specific situation and to explain what the defendant did that fell short of the appropriate standard.

Once the elements of duty and breach have been shown, the child’s family would try to show that he or she would not have been hurt if the medical professional had adhered to the duty of care. Finally, they would need to identify the full extent of the objective costs and subjective harm that their child experienced as a result of the malpractice. Children injured at birth can require extensive medical care over their lifetimes. For example, they may require a nutritionist, a physiotherapist, a speech therapist, or motor skill training. Additionally, depending on the nature and extent of the injuries, a person bringing a malpractice claim may be able to recover medical expenses, lost income and benefits, pain and suffering, and any other costs that arose from the defendant’s carelessness.

What are common signs that my child may have suffered a birth injury?

Some birth injuries are immediately noticeable, while others may take months or even years to become apparent. Common signs include difficulty breathing at birth, seizures, poor muscle tone, excessive fussiness, difficulty feeding, and developmental delays. Conditions such as cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy, and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) may also indicate a birth injury. If you suspect medical negligence played a role, a Baltimore birth injury attorney can evaluate your case.

How long do I have to file a birth injury lawsuit in Maryland?

In Maryland, birth injury lawsuits generally must be filed within five years of the date of injury or within three years of the date the injury was discovered, whichever is earlier. However, cases involving minors may have extended time limits. Because these cases are highly complex, it is best to consult a Baltimore birth injury lawyer as soon as possible to ensure you meet all legal deadlines.

What compensation can I recover in a birth injury lawsuit?

A birth injury lawsuit can help recover compensation for medical expenses, future medical care, specialized therapy, assistive devices, home modifications, lost earning capacity, and pain and suffering. In some cases, punitive damages may be awarded if extreme negligence is proven. A Baltimore birth injury attorney can help assess the full extent of damages to ensure your child receives the financial support they need.

HOW WE DO IT – KNOWLEDGE, RESOURCES, EXPERIENCE

Birth injury and child injury claims are incredibly complex and challenging. Most cases require anywhere from 8 to 15 expert witnesses in order to prove the case. That could include experts in obstetrics and gynecology, maternal-fetal medicine, labor and delivery nursing, neonatology, pediatrics, pediatric neurology, pediatric neuroradiology, placental pathology, life care planning, vocational rehabilitation and economics.

The hospitals and insurance companies defending these claims will spend hundreds of thousands, and sometimes millions of dollars, defending birth injury and child injury claims. To fight fire with fire you need a firm that will go toe-to-toe with those hospitals and insurance companies.

The investigation process starts with our lawyers, not a paralegal. If we think there is a case to pursue we will start finding the most highly credentialed experts to review and support the case. Doing this right requires knowledge of the law and the medicine, and knowing what expert witness will be best suited for the case. We will spend whatever it takes, in terms of time and money, to put forward the most solid and aggressive case possible so the hospitals and insurance companies will know what they are up against. Throughout the discovery process, we will use our experience litigating these cases all over the country to navigate your case to the best possible path – either to settle the case, or try the case.

Our Birth Injury Attorneys in Baltimore are ready to help you today

If you suspect that your child was harmed by negligent behavior during the birth process, or immediately after your child was born, we can help. At Wais, Vogelstein, Forman, Koch & Norman, our Baltimore birth injury lawyers have helped many families in Prince George’s County and elsewhere in Maryland pursue claims against health care professionals that failed to use the appropriate care. Our team has over 100 years of collective experience in the area of medical malpractice. This is a complex area of law, and having a knowledgeable attorney on your side can make all the difference.

To learn more, contact us online or call us at 410-998-3600 for a free consultation.

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