Delivery Negligence

A child's birth should be very joyous. Most deliveries go fairly smoothly. However, in some cases, there are complications during labor or delivery, and a doctor or nurse's delivery of a child can result in injuries to the infant. When the harm could have been avoided, you should consider bringing a birth injury lawsuit. At the Hartsoe Law Firm, Knoxville delivery negligence lawyer Mark Hartsoe may be able to help you recover damages. If the harm was avoidable, it is important that the legal rights of both the baby and the parents are fully safeguarded.

Each case has unique facts. However, often delivery negligence involves a doctor's failure to evaluate conditions accurately or respond to them appropriately. For example, if a doctor fails to recognize hypertension or the need to perform a C-section, the doctor may be professionally negligent for allowing a vaginal delivery to go forward.

Sometimes a doctor misuses tools such as forceps or vacuums during delivery. This can result in cerebral palsy or facial or head trauma in the infant. It may be appropriate to sue the doctor for improper use of forceps or vacuums if the doctor's use was not within the standard of reasonable professional care.

A delivery negligence lawyer in the Knoxville area may be able to help you recover damages by bringing a medical malpractice lawsuit for birth injuries arising from delivery negligence. This case may be brought against doctors and other medical professionals involved. Sometimes you may also have a claim against the hospital where the delivery occurred, or where the care during the pregnancy that led to delivery problems took place. Sometimes, prescription drugs used during the pregnancy can cause problems during delivery, and in that case, you may have a product liability claim against the drug manufacturer and the pharmacist or another party in the chain of distribution.

After going through a complicated delivery, you may not want to question your doctor. Sometimes injuries such as cerebral palsy take some time to reveal themselves, and usually people want to believe that their medical team abided by the professional standard of care. However, most people are not financially prepared in case their child has a serious birth injury like cerebral palsy. They may not have money for expensive therapy, lifelong medical care, or medical equipment. They may not have money to alter their home to accommodate a child with a disability. Bringing a medical malpractice lawsuit to recover damages for birth injuries from the parties who were responsible for a negligent delivery can be the only way to pay for serious birth injuries.

In a medical malpractice lawsuit based on delivery negligence, a Knoxville delivery negligence attorney will need to prove a doctor-patient relationship, a professional standard of care, a breach of the standard of care, causation, and actual injuries and damages. Injuries could include facial paralysis, swelling of the head, blood clots, brachial plexus injuries, partial palsy of the lower brachial plexus, birth asphyxia leading to fetal stroke, strangulation by an umbilical cord, brain injuries caused by lack of oxygen, cerebral palsy, Erb's palsy, spinal cord damage, fractures, and shoulder dystocia.

Damages that you may be able to recover after establishing negligence by staff members or an OB-Gyn include both economic and noneconomic losses. They can include past and future medical expenses, disability, loss of enjoyment of life, pain and suffering, loss of future earnings, and disfigurement.

Delivery negligence can have devastating consequences. When you select an OB-gyn and medical team, you expect that they will do all that they can to ensure that your baby is born healthy. If your baby was injured due to delivery negligence by health care providers, you should consult an experienced attorney. Our firm can advise you and represent you in a lawsuit for damages. Call the Hartsoe Law Firm in East Tennessee at 865-804-1011 or contact us through our online form. We also represent people in Clinton, Oak Ridge, Alcoa, Louisville, Maryville, LaFollette, Tazewell, Newport, Crossville, Jamestown, Rutledge, Greeneville, Morristown, Chattanooga, Dandridge, Jefferson City, Strawberry Plains, Madisonville, Lenoir City, Loudon, Athens, and other areas of Anderson, Blount, Campbell, Claiborne, Cocke, Cumberland, Fentress, Grainger, Greene, Hamblen, Hamilton, Jefferson, Knox, Monroe, Loudon, McMinn, and Bradley Counties.