Tempe Birth Injury Lawyer
Experiencing the birth of a child is a beautiful moment. Bringing a child into the world is one of life’s greatest joys and gifts. Sadly, births don’t always go as planned, and when a mother or child suffers a personal injury, the aftermath can be devastating. When a medical professional you trust breaches that trust, it’s a heartbreaking situation.
At Feller & Wendt, we have a legal team specializing in birth-related injuries to help families seek justice. Our birth injury attorneys don’t believe that there’s such a thing as a minor birth injury. All injuries suffered during pregnancy, labor, or delivery because of medical negligence demand justice. Our Tempe birth injury lawyers at Feller & Wendt are equipped to handle all types of birth injuries to a child, mother, or both.
Did Your Tempe Obstetrician Breach Their Duty of Care?
When a doctor handles a pregnancy, labor, and/or delivery in a way that deviates from the required standard of care and fails to meet their professional responsibility as a doctor, they may be held liable for breaching their duty of care. Notable errors made by an obstetrician that is unacceptable and not within the standard of care include the following:
- Failing to detect oxygen asphyxia
- Failing to diagnose pregnancy-related issues (gestational diabetes, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, etc.)
- Not weighing the risks associated with a vaginal delivery and recommending a C-section
- Failing to diagnose possible birth defects
- Failing to insert an epidural correctly
- Prescribing medications that could harm an unborn baby
Not all birth injuries are caused by a doctor’s or another medical professional’s error. Therefore, not all injuries merit a birth injury claim. A successful and valid birth injury claim must be able to prove that a medical professional involved in the care of the mother or child acted in a manner outside the required level of reasonable care.
The job of the defense attorneys protecting doctors, nurses, medical professionals, and hospitals in these cases is to do everything they can to prove the birth injury is not due to their negligence. To do their job, defense lawyers must point the blame away from the medical professional and hospital. They will try to claim that any injuries suffered by the mother or child resulted from the patient failing to follow medical instructions during pregnancy. Defense lawyers must fight to protect their clients. Therefore, you need a skilled birth injury lawyer in your corner to fight for your rights against these defense lawyers.
The Burden of Proof in a Tempe Birth Injury Cases
A birth injury is an injury that an infant or mother suffers during the birthing process as a result of medical complications. In some cases, these injuries are unavoidable and may be considered a risk associated with the delivery process. These risks are things that parents are made aware of by their doctor.
However, not all birth injuries fall under the assumption of risk umbrella. Many birth injuries are not natural or a part of the overall delivery process. These are typically the result of a doctor, nurse, or hospital negligence and can lead to the infant or the mother incurring irreversible, or even fatal, side effects and symptoms.
The key issue to a birth injury claim is understanding the burden of proof. The burden of proof for a medical malpractice claim is that the evidence must prove that it’s more likely to be true than false. Generally, proving a birth injury claim requires demonstrating proof of the four main elements of negligence.
Duty of Care
In Arizona, a medical professional must exercise the same amount of care as another reasonable and prudent provider with the same education and experience. It must establish that the defendant owed a duty of care by proving a doctor-patient relationship at the time of the birth injury.
Breach of Duty
A breach of duty of care occurs when the medical provider in question failed to use the amount of skill and care expected of someone in their position.
Causation
Causation is building a connection, supported by evidence, between the medical provider’s failure to fulfill the standard and your or your child’s injuries. Medical malpractice must be the proximate, or main, reason your or your child’s birth injuries occurred.
Damages
You must be able to establish the compensable damages you are claiming were caused by the medical malpractice. Compensable damages can include tangible and intangible losses, such as medical expenses, pain and suffering, losses of income, and your or your child’s lost quality of life.
It can be challenging to prove a birth injury claim in Arizona. You need to be able to navigate all of the state’s laws related to medical malpractice—including a requirement to obtain a signed affidavit of merit from a medical expert. Feller & Wendt is a dedicated personal injury law firm. Our birth injury lawyers take care of every step involved in your case, from beginning to end. We can ensure you have the legal support and services you need to protect your rights and best interests.
Contact an Experienced Tempe Birth Injury Lawyer Today
Medical malpractice cases are subject to several deadlines, which is why it’s always best to reach out to a Tempe birth injury lawyer as soon as you can. At Feller & Wendt, we will start the process of your claim as soon as possible, helping ensure that your claim is completed by the time the statute of limitations expires on your right to file a birth injury lawsuit.
Parents trust their doctors to safely deliver their child from beginning to end, which is why it’s so devastating when they or their child end up injured due to medical negligence. At Feller & Wendt, we are committed to holding negligent medical professionals accountable for their actions. You can schedule a consultation by calling (480) 702-2277 or ask for more information about how we can help you by completing our contact form.
