Birth injuries are injuries to babies, and sometimes their mothers, sustained during the birth process. Because they are almost always caused by a medical professional’s bad decision or lack of attention, they are a special and particularly tragic form of medical malpractice. Serious birth injuries can cause lifelong, permanent disabilities to children who would otherwise have been born perfectly healthy. The most common of these serious birth injuries include:

• Cerebral palsy
• Erb’s palsy/brachial plexus injury
• Brain damage from oxygen deprivation (hypoxia/anoxia)
• Broken bones

Most birth injury cases focus on the medical team’s failure to properly monitor the fetus, or choice of actions once trouble arises. One common problem in birth injury cases is shoulder dystocia, the medical name for when the baby’s shoulder gets caught behind the mother’s pubic bone, stopping the delivery. This is a very serious problem because it can cut off the baby’s access to oxygen, causing brain damage and cerebral palsy, a condition that causes at least some physical or mental disability. Shoulder dystocia can also cause birth injuries when the delivery team responds with very hard tugging on the child, which can literally tear the nerves that attach the child’s arm to the shoulder. The result can be Erb’s palsy, in which the arm is partially or totally useless. Serious disabilities can also be caused by failure to monitor or notice signs of fetal distress that require quick action.

Serious birth injuries mar a brand-new life before it can really begin. Children who sustain permanent disabilities from birth injuries will need special care and therapies throughout their lives. Birth injuries also reduce these children’s physical and cognitive potential, putting them a step behind their peers as they age. These are devastating for both the children and their parents -- and, over a lifetime, they can be very expensive to treat. When the injury was the avoidable result of a medical professional’s bad decisions, families can hold those professionals legally liable. Our West Palm Beach birth injury attorneys fight hard to get these tiny victims and their families the medical care and financial compensation to which they’re legally entitled.

Birth injury cases are very complex, time-consuming cases because they require plaintiffs to figure and claim all of the costs of the injuries over the child’s lifetime. The Miami birth injury lawyers at Balliro have the experience and legal expertise necessary to handle this sad but very important duty. All of our partners are experienced trial attorneys with a decade of experience in federal court. We know how to negotiate, but we also know how to win at trial. When required, we have the resources to hire experts to help properly value the costs of medical care and lost income over a lifetime, and to explain the injury in plain language to jurors. Our Fort Lauderdale birth injury attorneys work to get complete, fair settlements so that clients can get the excellent care that can give them a better chance in life.

If your family has suffered a birth injury and you’d like to learn more about your legal rights, don’t hesitate to call Balliro. We offer free, confidential consultations, so you risk nothing by speaking to us about your case and your options. To set one up, you can reach us 24 hours a day and seven days a week through our Web site, or call toll-free from anywhere in Florida at 1-866-INJURED.