Birth Injury

Medical Malpractice Attorneys Serving the Savannah Area

For many families, the birth of a baby is one of the happiest moments of their lives. However, birth injuries may mar what should be a cause of celebration. They may result in lifelong medical problems that may be devastatingly expensive. Birth injuries include brain trauma, oxygen deprivation injuries, brachial plexus injuries, and broken bones. Birth injury cases are challenging to litigate, making it crucial to retain a medical malpractice attorney who has experience in this area. At the Suthers & Harper, our Savannah birth injury lawyers can vigorously represent you if you have a case.

Assert Your Rights Through a Birth Injury Claim

Birth injuries are a type of medical malpractice involving errors made during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or the post-delivery process that cause harm to an infant. They often involve an obstetrician’s or nurse’s failure to adequately evaluate the risks of a situation or complication during pregnancy or delivery. For example, if a doctor fails to warn a pregnant woman about known risks associated with taking a particular drug, and the drug causes a deformity, the doctor may be responsible. Similarly, if a nurse fails to adequately monitor a mother and alert a doctor to fetal distress, the nurse’s negligence may be responsible for cerebral palsy or another condition.

Sometimes many different people or entities contribute to a birth injury. Potential parties may include an obstetrician, a nurse, an anesthesiologist, a hospital, or even a pharmaceutical manufacturer. Georgia does not apply joint and several liability, so it is crucial to retain a birth injury lawyer who can work with credible experts to include all of the potential defendants. Each of these defendants will be responsible for the amount of damages that is proportionate to their degree of fault. For example, if a doctor is 40% responsible, a hospital is 60% responsible, and the damages are $1,000,000, you may be able to recover $400,000 from the doctor and $600,000 from the hospital.

The damages may be significant in a birth injury case. For example, some babies develop cerebral palsy due to medical malpractice during labor and delivery. A health care professional who uses forceps improperly, performs a vacuum assisted delivery but makes mistakes, or fails to detect a loss of oxygen at an important moment may cause cerebral palsy. This condition cannot be cured, and people who suffer from it may experience a loss of coordination and developmental delays.

In Georgia, you have only two years from the time of an injury to file your birth injury claim. If actions taken during the birthing process cause a child’s death, you have two years to file an infant wrongful death lawsuit. If you do not discover the birth injury within two years, however, you have up to five years to bring your case.

Consult a Birth Injury Lawyer in Savannah

Babies offer hope and joy to their parents. Birth injuries may be devastating to a family, both emotionally and financially. The Savannah birth injury attorneys at the Suthers & Harper may be able to assist you in a claim for compensation. Our firm also represents people who need an injury lawyer in Atlanta, Watkinsville, Norcross, Lawrenceville, Roswell, Athens, Marietta, Stone Mountain, Decatur, Pooler, Brunswick and Statesboro, among other areas of Oconee, Gwinnett, Clark, Cobb, DeKalb, Fulton, Chatham, Glynn, and Bulloch Counties. Contact us by calling 1.800.320.2384 or completing our online form to set up a free consultation.