If your child recently suffered an injury at birth in Phoenix, Arizona, don’t hesitate to call Feller & Wendt, LLC at 480-702-2277 for a free consultation. Birth injuries can happen when healthcare providers and hospitals make mistakes. Our experienced Phoenix birth injury lawyers can help you assert your family’s right to compensation and hold them accountable for their negligence.
Backed by 70+ years of combined experience and a multi-million-dollar track record of success, our law firm is a trusted legal advocate for victims of catastrophic injuries and families in Arizona. Now, our award-winning Phoenix trial attorneys are ready to fight for your family in the wake of a devastating birth injury.
Why Hire Feller & Wendt, LLC if Your Child Was Injured at Birth in Phoenix, AZ
Parents turn to Feller & Wendt, LLC for help when their children have suffered serious, avoidable injuries at birth in Phoenix, AZ, because we’re compassionate, honorable, aggressive legal advocates with a proven ability to win high-stakes legal disputes. We’re a veteran-owned personal injury law firm that’s committed to standing up to powerful healthcare systems and insurance companies on behalf of everyday people.
It’s why our Phoenix personal injury attorneys are recognized as:
- Best Lawyers’ “Best Law Firms”
- Best Personal Injury Attorneys by Expertise.com
- Top 25 Brain Injury Trial Lawyers
- One of the “10 Best” Law firms for Client Satisfaction by the American Institute of Personal Injury Attorneys
- Law Firm of the Year by the American Institute of Legal Professionals
- America’s Top 100 High Stakes Litigators
Our knowledge of Arizona medical malpractice law, experience handling cases against powerful hospital systems, and winning legal strategies can be the difference between your recovering a lowball settlement or a life-changing monetary award.
What Is a Birth Injury?
A birth injury refers to an injury suffered by a child during pregnancy, in labor, or immediately after birth. Some birth injuries happen for reasons beyond a healthcare provider’s control, sometimes related to diagnosed maternal health issues, premature birth, low birth weight, higher-than-average birth weight, or unusual positioning in the uterus. Other times, however, birth injuries are the direct result of medical negligence.
Medical negligence refers to avoidable mistakes in the care, treatment, and evaluation of a patient. Medical errors that frequently contribute to birth injuries include:
- Failing to diagnose a medical issue or complication during pregnancy, such as breech positioning, umbilical prolapse, or atypical vital signs (e.g., decreased or elevated heart rate, low oxygen levels)
- Improper use of medical instruments during delivery, including vacuum or forceps
- Failing to monitor a mother and/or child’s vitals during labor and directly after birth
- Failing to order a timely Cesarean section (C-Section)
- Failing to adapt when problems with the uterus or umbilical cord are discovered
- Improper administration of labor-inducing medications like Pitocin or anesthetics
These mistakes can happen when OBGYNs, nurses, anesthesiologists, and other healthcare professionals are distracted, fail to communicate well, make mistakes when charting, or ignore a mother’s concerns about her health or the health of her child.
When a mistake causes a child’s injury or wrongful death, it can give rise to a birth injury lawsuit, in which the family can seek damages for medical care, lost wages, and other losses.
Representing Families in All Types of Birth Injury Cases in Phoenix
At Feller & Wendt, LLC, we’re ready to fight for families in birth injury cases involving:
- Cephalohematoma
- Erb’s Palsy/Brachial Plexus injuries
- Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
- Brain injuries
- Cerebral Palsy
- Cuts and lacerations
- Broken bones
- Caput Succedaneum
- Nerve damage
- Spinal cord injuries
- Paralysis
- Eye injuries
- Internal organ damage
If your child was injured at birth because of a healthcare provider’s negligence, call our medical malpractice attorneys in Phoenix for help right away. We understand how difficult this time can be for a family, and we’re here to give you the time you need to rest and recover by taking the lead on your birth injury lawsuit for you. Contact us to learn more about our experience handling birth injury cases and to discover why there’s no one else you’ll want in your family’s corner during this challenging time.
How Do I Win a Birth Injury Lawsuit in Phoenix?
Birth injury lawsuits are typically a matter of negligence. So, if you file a case, you’ll have the burden of proving that your child’s birth injury happened because a healthcare provider (or hospital system) deviated from accepted standards of care.
You’ll need to establish:
- Your child was owed a duty of care
- This duty of care was breached because the healthcare provider failed to exercise the level of care, skill, and knowledge expected of them within their specialty
- The provider’s actions were a direct and proximate cause of your child’s birth injury
- You’ve suffered damages
In other words, you need to show that your child probably would not have been harmed if they’d been treated by a different provider because that other provider would have done things differently.
What Could My Birth Injury Claim Be Worth?
It’s going to depend. No two birth injury cases are the same. Value ultimately depends on the specific facts and circumstances of each situation.
Here are a few things that will have to be considered:
- What type of birth injury did your child suffer?
- Will your child recover from the injury?
- Will your child suffer a permanent impairment or disability?
- How long will your child need to be hospitalized or receive specialized medical care because of their birth injury?
- Will the birth injury affect their ability to work or generate an income when they get older?
- What costs will your family have to accommodate your child’s birth injury or disability?
- How will the birth injury affect your child’s overall quality of life?
- Have you lost income because you’ve missed work to take care of your child?
The more the birth injury affects your child’s life – and the longer those consequences linger – the more your medical malpractice lawsuit might be worth.
What Damages Can Be Awarded in a Phoenix Birth Injury Case?
In Arizona, the plaintiff in a birth injury lawsuit can request economic damages and non-economic damages for:
- Current and future medical bills
- Disability
- Rehabilitation
- Nursing care
- Lost future wages
- Lost parental income
- Out-of-pocket costs
- Funeral expenses if a birth injury is fatal
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Chronic pain
- Disfigurement
- Scarring
- Reduced quality of life
- Embarrassment
Punitive damages can also be awarded when certain circumstances are present. Arizona allows a jury to order punitive damages to punish a doctor or hospital for intentionally harmful actions, fraud, or gross negligence.
How Much Does It Cost To Hire a Birth Injury Attorney in Phoenix?
It won’t cost anything out of your own pocket to hire Feller & Wendt, LLC to handle your birth injury lawsuit. Our Phoenix personal injury attorneys represent families on a contingency fee basis.
This means:
- We front the costs of pursuing your birth injury case, and
- You pay us nothing until we’ve recovered compensation on your behalf.
Our attorney fees are deducted from the settlement or jury award we recover for you. It varies, but standard attorney fees for these types of cases typically range between 30 and 40 percent of the total, less any costs we’ve invested in litigation on your behalf.
If we don’t win your birth injury case, you owe us nothing.
What’s the Statute of Limitations for Birth Injury Lawsuits in Arizona?
You’ll usually have two years from the date of a birth injury to file a personal injury lawsuit with a court in Arizona. The statute of limitations can be tolled if there’s a reasonable delay in discovering a birth-related injury.
It’s important to contact an experienced birth injury attorney in Phoenix as soon as you suspect that your child was injured at birth. Once the statute of limitations runs out, you’ll lose the right to pursue compensation from the healthcare provider, the hospital, a medical device manufacturer, or another responsible party.
Schedule a Free Consultation With an Experienced Phoenix Birth Injury Lawyer
Don’t struggle with the consequences of a birth injury in Phoenix, Arizona, alone. Protect your family’s best interests and demand justice by calling Feller & Wendt, LLC for help. Our Phoenix birth injury attorneys are compassionate and skilled legal advocates with over seven decades of combined experience.
We stand up for everyday people in the wake of devastating trauma, fighting to help them recover much-needed compensation as they get their lives back on track. Our case results include more than $100 million in damages. We’re ready to fight for the best results for your family, too.
Contact our law office to schedule your free consultation now.
