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Atlanta birth injury lawyers

Atlanta Birth Injury Lawyers

Accomplished representation for parents and children when medical malpractice occurs during pregnancy or delivery in Georgia

The birth of an infant is a time for celebration as families welcome a new baby into the world. Unfortunately, for many families, the excitement quickly turns to tragedy when the labor and delivery process results in injury. The lawyers of Harris Lowry Manton LLP understand the physical, mental, and financial challenges that birth injuries place on families. This is why we aggressively work to secure maximum compensation. When a joyous occasion turns into a nightmare, look to our seasoned Atlanta birth injury lawyers to fight for your rights.

How can we help?

Get a Free Consultation from a Georgia Birth Injury Lawyer: Don't Hesitate to Seek Help

Birth injuries vs. birth defects

Birth injuries are usually due to medical negligence while the mother is in labor or during the birth of the baby while birth defects occur before a fetus is born. Birth injury negligence usually involves failing to prevent complications from occurring or failing to take necessary steps when complications, such as oxygen loss, do arise.

Birth defects may or may not be due to medical malpractice. Birth defects occur during the mother’s pregnancy. For example, physicians may be liable if they prescribe (or fail to prescribe) certain medications during the pregnancy and those actions result in a birth defect. According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, one in 33 babies are born with a birth defect.

Both birth injuries and birth defects can change a newborn’s life, physically and emotionally, forever.

What are common birth injuries in Atlanta?

Our Atlanta birth injury lawyers handle all types of serious injuries that are caused by medical malpractice. Some of the many types of birth injuries we handle include:

  • Cerebral palsy. This injury often occurs when a baby’s brain doesn’t get the oxygen it needs before or during labor. Cerebral palsy (CP) is a collection of brain and nervous system disorders. Symptoms and complications include difficulty with movement and balance, learning disorders, speech challenges, and vision and hearing complications.
  • Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE). This birth injury may occur if a baby doesn’t get enough blood or oxygen. HIE often occurs during prolonged deliveries, if the placenta ruptures, the umbilical cord becomes stuck, or the mother has problems with her blood pressure. HIE can permanently affect your child’s brain function; and cause developmental delays, cerebral palsy, infections, and other problems. HIE can also be fatal.
  • Brachial plexus injuries. This birth injury “happens when these nerves are stretched, squeezed together, or in the most serious cases, ripped apart or torn away from the spinal cord.” Brachial plexus often occurs due to challenges moving the baby’s shoulder. Brachial plexus injuries can result in the inability of your child to use his/her muscles in their arm, hand, or shoulder. Your child could lose the feeling in his/her arm or live with intense pain.
  • Shoulder dystocia. This birth injury occurs when one or both of a baby’s shoulders are stuck in the mother’s pelvis during childbirth. Shoulder dystocia can cause brachial plexus injuries, a fractured collarbone, upper arm bone fractures, a compressed umbilical cord, and other complications.
  • Erb’s palsy. This is a brachial plexus injury that affects your child’s ability to use his/her hand, wrist, and arm.
  • Umbilical cord injuries. Other possible birth injuries include a prolapsed umbilical cord that can affect the ability of your baby to receive the oxygen and nutrients he/she needs, which can cause CP, seizures, development disorders, motor disorders, and other complications.
  • Scalp bruises and forceps marks. These birth injuries occur when Atlanta obstetricians fail to use vacuum extractors and forceps properly.
  • Other birth injuries include:
    • Caput succedaneum
    • Cephalohematoma
    • Subconjunctival hemorrhage
    • Facial paralysis
    • Skull fractures
    • Brain trauma
    • Infections

What causes birth injuries in Atlanta?

At Harris Lowry Manton LLP, our lawyers have the experience and professional medical relationships to show what conduct or omissions caused your newborn to suffer a birth injury. We’re skilled at showing that healthcare providers failed your child in the following ways:

  • Improper use of forceps or vacuum extractors during the delivery
  • Waiting too long to order a Cesarean section (C-section)
  • Failing to monitor the health of the mother
  • Failing to monitor the health of the fetus
  • Failing to recognize and respond to known complications
  • Failing to understand the signs of fetal distress
  • Medication mistakes
  • Failing to handle umbilical cord complications
  • Failing to monitor and treat infections

Some of the questions we’ll review with you that may suggest your doctor was medically negligent include:

  • What medications did you take during your pregnancy?
  • Which of those medications did your doctor prescribe?
  • How long was your labor?
  • Did anything happen during the delivery that suggested something was wrong?
  • What type of delivery did you have – vaginal or Cesarean?
  • Was the delivery a breech delivery?
  • How did your baby appear when you first saw him/her?

The best course of action is to contact our Atlanta medical malpractice lawyers the moment you suspect something is wrong with your child. We’ll review everything that happened during the pregnancy, labor, delivery, and post-delivery with you and with experienced birth doctors.

What maternal injuries are common during labor and delivery?

It’s not just the newborn that may suffer injuries during or immediately after a delivery. At Harris Lowry Manton, LLP, our Atlanta medical malpractice lawyers also represent mothers who are injured during the delivery and before and after the delivery. Some of the maternal injury claims we handle include:

  • Medication errors
  • Prolapsed uterus
  • Ruptured uterus
  • Inverted uterus
  • Untreated infections
  • Postpartum hemorrhaging
  • Vaginal or perineal tearing
  • Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)
  • A fracture of the pelvis
  • Nerve injuries

We also represent mothers who suffer preeclampsia complications.

How do you fight for children and mothers who suffer birth injuries?

We understand how your world has been turned upside down. You expected a fully healthy baby. Now your child will have daily challenges. Our Atlanta attorneys:

  • Work to understand what did and didn’t happen in the delivery room and in the other stages of the pregnancy
  • Obtain all relevant medical records
  • Formally question every medical provider who participated in or who has information about the delivery
  • Review your child’s immediate and long-term needs
  • Identify which medical providers are responsible and file medical malpractice and wrongful death claims against those providers
  • Thoroughly prepare the liability and damages parts of your case
  • Negotiate with the insurance carriers for the medical providers
  • Persuasively argue your claim before arbitrators [check] and Atlanta juries

How much is my child’s Atlanta medical malpractice claim worth?

Harris Lowry Manton LLP is respected by former clients, insurance companies, and the legal community for our impressive record of results in birth injury cases. Our Atlanta birth injury lawyers demand compensation for all your child’s (or a mother’s) current and future:

  • Medical expenses, including surgeries, hospital care, physical therapy, emotional counseling, speech therapy, other types of rehabilitative care, assistive devices, and medications.
  • Daily physical pain and emotional suffering
  • Loss of bodily function
  • Inability to enjoy life’s pleasures
  • Any scarring or disfigurement

Many children with birth injuries require a lifetime of medical care because they have learning disabilities, neurological disorders, physical pain, and emotional challenges.

We work with physicians who are skilled at diagnosing, treating, and managing the specific types of birth injuries your child has. These doctors can identify the likely complications your child will experience and every way your child’s life is a struggle.

We also file a wrongful death claim if your child was stillborn. In egregious cases, we seek punitive damages, such as when doctors perform deliveries while intoxicated.

How long do I have to file a birth injury claim in Atlanta?

In Georgia, birth injury claims generally must be filed within two (2) years from the date of the delivery or the date your child died. Some exceptions may apply. The best course of action is to contact us as quickly as possible from the moment you suspect your child suffered a birth injury. The sooner you contact us, the faster we can investigate what happened, speak with physicians who understand your child’s birth injuries, and answer all your questions.

Do you have an Atlanta birth injury lawyer near me?

We meet parents at our Atlanta office located in Brookhaven at 1418 Dresden Dr. NE, Suite 250.  We’ll meet with your child away from the office when necessary. Discussions by phone and video are also available.

We’ll answer all your questions and fight for your child’s future.

Get a Free Consultation from a Georgia Birth Injury Lawyer: Don't Hesitate to Seek Help

When the negligence or carelessness of a hospital or medical professional causes your child to have a birth injury, you deserve justice. Our experienced Atlanta birth injury attorneys are recognized by top rating organizations for our record of success fighting for families. At Harris Lowry Manto, LLP, we have the experience and resources to fight to hold medical providers accountable for medical malpractice. To assert your child’s rights and help secure your child’s ability to maximize his/her potential, call us or complete our contact form to schedule a free initial consultation.

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