Newborn (neonatal) anoxia, or lack of oxygen at birth, is a potentially serious condition that can affect your child for life. If your child’s birth was marred by medical incompetence that led to a brain injury, a Dayton newborn anoxic brain injury lawyer can help you understand your rights and fight for the compensation you deserve.
You can explore your legal options and learn more about how we can investigate your child’s injury. At the Fitch Law Firm LLC, we charge no fees unless you win compensation in your case.
Medical Incompetence May Have Caused Your Infant’s Birth Injury
A baby can suffer a lack of oxygen to the brain while developing in the mother’s womb during pregnancy, while being delivered during labor, or in the postnatal stage. There are many ways hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (brain dysfunction due to a lack of oxygen or blood flow) can develop, including:
- Preeclampsia, diabetes and vascular disease in the mother, and congenital fetal infections, which should all be diagnosed and treated to ensure the mother and baby’s safety
- Issues with the umbilical cord during labor
- Rupturing of the placenta during labor
- Extended labor
- Low blood pressure in the mother during labor, which can reduce blood flow to the infant
- Infection in the infant after birth
- Trauma to the head or brain after birth
When a doctor or medical team fails to diagnose prenatal conditions and conditions in the mother during pregnancy, the effects of hypoxia can develop into more serious conditions while the baby is still in the womb.
Birth injuries are more likely to occur under certain conditions, such as if the baby is unusually large or was in a breech position. In these conditions, your physician should already be on the alert for potential problems. Even when there are no complications, it is their responsibility to provide you with competent care. If they fail to do so, you and your child could suffer serious health consequences.
For a free legal consultation with a newborn anoxic brain injury lawyer serving Dayton, call 614-545-3930
Effects of Newborn Anoxic Brain Injuries
Many birth injuries are relatively minor, temporary, and will heal over time with minimum medical treatment. Others, however, may affect your child for a lifetime. A lack of oxygen to the brain in newborns (neonatal anoxia) can cause long-term effects like brain damage.
The long-term consequences of neonatal oxygen deprivation may include:
- Motor impairment (e.g., trouble moving or controlling movement of the limbs),
- Chronic pain
- Behavioral and emotional concerns, including depression and mood swings
- Damage to other organs, like the heart, liver, and kidneys
- Seizures
- Coordination and balance issues
- Gross and fine motor skill impairment
- Concentration and memory issues
All of these symptoms may require treatment and special services—services that cost a lot of money, especially if you or your partner have had to work fewer hours or give up your job entirely to take care of your child.
Fortunately, there may be a way for you to get some extra money to cover these expenses while holding the liable parties responsible for their negligence. You could file a lawsuit for medical malpractice, and a Dayton newborn anoxic brain injury lawyer may be able to help. The Fitch Law Firm LLC can tell you more about your options.
Dayton Newborn Anoxic Brain Injury Lawyer Near Me 614-545-3930
Seeking Compensation for Brain Damage Due to Lack of Oxygen at Birth
If you decide to sue for damages, the type of damages you qualify for depends on how seriously the birth injury affected your family. A lawyer can help you calculate the maximum possible amount that you may be able to recover.
Of the two types of damages you might be entitled to, non-economic damages will likely be the harder one to quantify. This includes the emotional and physical consequences of the birth injury, such as:
- Disability: The birth injury was directly responsible for your child’s physical and/or intellectual disabilities.
- Pain and suffering: Your child’s injury has caused them physical and emotional stress, such as chronic pain or depression.
- Reduced quality of life: Your child could struggle with the aftereffects of neonatal anoxia for the rest of their life, which may prevent them from engaging in certain activities.
Economic damages serve as remuneration for the money you spent and the income you lost due to the birth injury. Specific examples include:
- Loss of income: You (or your partner) stayed home from work for a while as you adjusted to life with your disabled newborn.
- Loss of employment: You (or your partner) decided to become a stay-at-home parent to better accommodate your child’s needs.
- Medical costs: This includes treatment for any condition caused by the injury, such as physical therapy, surgery, and medication.
If your baby passed away from their birth injury, your family could be facing grief—and at the same time, you must pay significant medical bills and handle other expenses. We can also help you seek wrongful death damages and justice for your family’s loss.
You Can Decide What Action to Take
Whether you take advantage of your right to sue the medical professional or facility is entirely up to you. Before you make that decision, however, make sure you fully understand the pros and cons of filing a lawsuit and hiring a lawyer to represent you.
The Fitch Law Firm LLC can answer all your questions about the legal process, the benefits of hiring a lawyer, and how your case may go. Here is just a small sample of the services we can provide for you during this difficult time:
- Look for supporting case evidence: We will obtain your child’s medical records, talk to expert witnesses, and more to strengthen your case for damages.
- Notify all relevant parties: To begin your claim or lawsuit, you must send the liable party a letter notifying them of the suit. We can do that for you, in addition to submitting all other paperwork throughout your case.
- Strive for a settlement: In many cases, we can negotiate a fair pretrial settlement with the liable party.
- Represent you at trial: Your lawyer will schedule court dates and present your case in court if negotiations do not lead to a settlement in your favor.
- Update you: This is your lawsuit, and you deserve to know what is happening at all times. We will let you know about any case developments, no matter how big or small.
- Answer your questions: We know the law can be complicated and even intimidating. We are happy to address any and all concerns you bring to us.
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We’re Proud to Serve Families Impacted by Birth Injuries
The team at the Fitch Law Firm LLC has more than 30 years of experience protecting the rights of Ohio families. We fight for your interests when going up against insurance companies and medical facilities that protect themselves. That’s because we care about you and your family getting the justice you deserve when a negligent party harmed you.
We’ve recovered millions of dollars in compensation for our clients thanks to our compassionate and focused legal counsel. Here are the results of some cases we were able to settle for victims of medical malpractice:
- $2,650,000 for a birth injury and lack of care of the mother during labor
- $1,550,000 for a failure to diagnose
- $1,200,000 for a failure to diagnose
While we can’t guarantee the same financial compensation, we promise that we’ll bring the same level of attention and passion to your family’s case as we did for our past clients.
Frequently Asked Questions About Newborn Anoxic Brain Injury Cases
Your Dayton newborn anoxic brain injury lawyer from the Fitch Law Firm LLC can answer any questions you have about your child’s unique brain injury and the case you may have against liable parties. However, we’ll answer some common questions about these cases to get you information now:
How Do You Determine Whether a Medical Professional Is Liable for My Child’s Injury?
Not all newborn brain injuries due to a lack of oxygen are the fault of a medical professional. However, we can investigate your child’s brain injury to determine whether a medical professional’s negligence caused the injury. In order for us to establish a medical professional’s liability in a birth injury case, we must prove that:
- The doctor or other health care provider did not use the same level of skill and care for their specialty, training, and experience as compared to another in their profession.
- Their failure to provide this level of skill and care directly caused your newborn’s injury.
- The child and your family suffered damages, such as medical bills and physical harm.
We will use the following to determine liability:
- The mother’s medical records during pregnancy
- The child’s medical records
- Expert witness testimony from medical professionals with the same level of experience and specialization, if applicable
- Witness testimony of any other medical professionals, such as the diagnosing physician or staff that witnessed the malpractice
We may also apply this logic to a medical device manufacturer whose defective product caused your child’s birth injury. For instance, we may have expert witnesses like medical doctors to verify that the birth injury was caused by the defective product, not another medical professional’s negligence.
Who Can Be Sued for Newborn Anoxic Brain Injuries?
Some of the parties we may be able to hold accountable for the negligence that caused your child’s lack of oxygen injury include:
- Doctors, nurses, physician’s assistants, nurse practitioners, or other licensed medical professionals
- The health care facility where the injury occurred
- A medical device manufacturer
In many cases, we will file a complaint against both the negligent medical professional and their employer, the hospital, clinic, or private practice.
Reach Out to the Fitch Law Firm LLC
Finding out your child suffered a birth injury is always devastating, but it is even more so when that injury was the result of your health care provider’s careless actions or inaction. The Fitch Law Firm LLC wants to help your family get the justice—and the monetary compensation—you deserve.
Get in touch with our Dayton, Ohio office to learn more about how a Dayton newborn lack of oxygen brain injury lawyer may be able to help you fight for your rights. The call is free and comes with no obligation.
Call or text 614-545-3930 or complete a Free Case Evaluation form
