Pittston Birth Injury Lawyer

You've spent your entire life waiting for a child you can call your own. And finally, that day arrives. You're excited and a bit nervous. Can you and your partner handle such a large responsibility?

The day comes and into the world, a child is born. But something is wrong. The medical team is surrounding your baby, murmuring among themselves. Minutes pass; finally, someone tells you what you've been dreading all along, "Your baby has been injured."

Unfortunately, this is a phrase many new parents hear and lots of babies don’t start their life off the way they should. Complications can happen in the infant ward and can take place due to the negligence of medical professionals.

If you believe the injury of your infant or the baby of someone you know took place due to negligence, there are legal options available to you. Contact a Pittston birth Injury lawyer at Caputo & Mariotti immediately.

In Pittston, What Kind Of Birth Injury Cases Happen?

Babies are likely to get injured during pregnancy, labor, and in the moments following the delivery. Unfortunately, injuries that take place in the hospital nursery happen fairly regularly. Research has found that out of every 1,000 infants that are born in the U.S., approximately 6 to 8 are born with a birth injury. This equates to approximately 1 in every 9,715 people in the U.S. are born with a birth injury.

Some injuries are more complex than others and can affect the baby in different ways. Here are some injuries which commonly happen:

Common birth injuries include:

• Cerebral palsy -- a group of disorders that can affect a person’s ability to move and maintain balance
• Brachial plexus palsy -- weakness or paralysis in parts of the arm as a result of injury to the brachial plexus. The most common type is called Erb’s palsy.
• Swelling or bruising of the head, which may have been resulted because of the use of forceps or vacuum
• A facial nerve injury or paralysis that may have been caused by pressure on the baby’s face
• Fractures to the clavicle or collarbone
• Injuries caused by the spinal cord
• Umbilical cord compression, causing hypoxia in the infant
• Subconjunctival hemorrhage -- the breakage of small blood vessels in the eyes of the infant

Why Do Birth Injuries Happen?

There are many factors that can cause a birth injury to occur. They don’t even necessarily have to do with the infant itself. The weight of the mother and the way the baby is delivered plays a major role in causing an injury. So, if a vacuum or forceps were used during labor, the likelihood of an injury increases. The mother's pelvis could also be a contributing factor. The size and shape of the pelvis make it inadequate for a baby to be born vaginally.

The size of the baby itself plays a big role. When there are larger babies who require birth through a Cesarean section, this increases the chances of an injury. Additionally, prematurely born babies are more likely to suffer due to their delicacy.

Surely mistakes happen. We’re all prone to it. Unfortunately, the medical field requires professionals such as doctors, nurses, surgeons, and staff to be on their “A Game” at all times. When medical professionals are negligent, the consequences can change the lives of so many people.

Birth injury cases become a medical malpractice case when the following conditions have been met:

The doctor has a relationship with the patient: The patient must have a relationship with the doctor, such as the obstetrician you have been seeing throughout the span of your pregnancy.

Negligence by the doctor: The doctor had used poor judgment during the birth of your child.

Negligence causes harm to the patient: As a result of the physician's poor judgment, such as ignoring a pregnant mother's complaints, it brought harm to the patient, causing an injury.

Can I Sue for My Child's Birth Injury Claim?

This is best determined on a case by case basis since different victims react to injuries in different ways. For example, scarring on your child's head is a more permanent yet less harmful injury that won’t affect the child's development. Cerebral palsy, on the other hand, has far more serious consequences and usually may not be detected until the baby becomes a toddler.

For most newborns with minor birth injuries such as bumps and bruises, these issues are resolved without needing treatment. However, there are some injuries that can permanently alter the life of the baby, resulting in a financial burden that could last a lifetime. If medical negligence was the result of your child's birth injury, what type of compensation can you and/or your child expect to receive?

If the claim is successful, compensation could include:

• Medical expenses
• disability and disfigurement
• loss of any future earning your child may have received
• special educational needs
• pain and suffering
• a loss of enjoyment of a normal life

The court system in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania takes the effect of birth injuries into account when coming up with laws. Fortunately, even if your birth occurred over 18 years ago, you may seek damages. The Commonwealth states that when a child (under the age of 18 at the time of injury) is a victim of any personal injury, you can claim seeking damages right up until the child is 20 years old.

Do I Need A Pittston Birth Injury Lawyer?

For starters, you should contact a Pittston birth injury lawyer at Caputo & Mariotti. Our team has a combined 55+ years of experience handling all sorts of legal matters. We make it our mission to make sure we’ve claimed back what we’ve been wronged.

Our team of Pittston birth injury lawyers has the knowledge and the experience needed to get your child the compensation they deserve following an injury. The longer you want to file a claim, the more likely evidence will be lost in time, making it difficult to prove your claim. Don't wait, contact us today.