When a child is born with a birth injury like cerebral palsy, families face not only emotional devastation but also overwhelming financial challenges that can last a lifetime. If your child suffered a birth injury in Georgia due to medical negligence, understanding your legal rights is crucial for securing the compensation needed for your child’s care and future.
What Are Birth Injuries and How Do They Occur?
Birth injuries are physical harm that occurs to a baby during labor and delivery. While some birth injuries are unavoidable due to natural complications, many result from preventable medical errors. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, birth injuries affect approximately 6 to 8 out of every 1,000 births in the United States.
The most common causes of preventable birth injuries include:
Oxygen Deprivation (Hypoxia): When a baby’s brain doesn’t receive adequate oxygen during delivery, it can result in permanent brain damage. This often occurs due to umbilical cord complications, prolonged labor, or failure to perform a timely cesarean section when fetal distress is detected.
Improper Use of Delivery Tools: Forceps and vacuum extractors, when used incorrectly or with excessive force, can cause skull fractures, brain bleeding, and nerve damage. Medical professionals must exercise extreme caution when using these instruments.
Medication Errors: Incorrect dosages of labor-inducing drugs like Pitocin can cause overly strong contractions, leading to uterine rupture or oxygen deprivation to the baby.
Failure to Monitor: Healthcare providers have a duty to continuously monitor both mother and baby during labor. Failure to recognize and respond to signs of fetal distress can result in catastrophic injuries.
Understanding Cerebral Palsy: A Lifelong Condition
Cerebral palsy is one of the most serious birth injuries, affecting movement, posture, and muscle tone. It’s caused by damage to the developing brain, often occurring during birth due to oxygen deprivation. In Georgia, families dealing with cerebral palsy face lifetime costs that can exceed $1 million per child.
There are several types of cerebral palsy:
Spastic Cerebral Palsy: The most common form, characterized by stiff muscles and awkward movements. Children may have difficulty walking, talking, or performing daily activities.
Dyskinetic Cerebral Palsy: Involves uncontrolled movements and can affect the entire body, making it difficult for children to sit, walk, or speak clearly.
Ataxic Cerebral Palsy: Affects balance and coordination, causing shaky movements and difficulty with precise motions like writing.
Mixed Cerebral Palsy: A combination of symptoms from different types, often resulting from multiple areas of brain damage.
The severity of cerebral palsy varies significantly. Some children may have mild symptoms and live relatively independent lives, while others require round-the-clock care for their entire lives.
The Financial Impact on Georgia Families
Raising a child with cerebral palsy involves extraordinary expenses that most families cannot bear alone. The lifetime costs include:
Medical Care: Regular visits to neurologists, orthopedic surgeons, and other specialists can cost tens of thousands annually. Many children require multiple surgeries throughout their lives.
Therapy Services: Physical therapy, occupational therapy, and speech therapy are often needed several times per week, which is a hefty fee per session.
Assistive Equipment: Wheelchairs, communication devices, and home modifications can initially cost a lot, in addition to ongoing replacement and upgrade costs.
Special Education: Many children require specialized educational services, tutoring, and adaptive learning tools.
Lost Income: Parents often must reduce work hours or leave their careers entirely to provide care, resulting in significant lost income over time.
Home Modifications: Ramps, accessible bathrooms, and other modifications are very costly.
Georgia’s Medical Malpractice Laws
Georgia law provides important protections for families whose children suffer birth injuries due to medical negligence. However, these cases are complex and require immediate attention due to strict legal deadlines.
Statute of Limitations: In Georgia, medical malpractice claims must generally be filed within two years of the date the injury was discovered or should have been discovered. For birth injury cases, this typically means two years from the child’s birth, though exceptions may apply.
Standard of Care: To prove medical malpractice, your attorney must demonstrate that the healthcare provider failed to meet the accepted standard of care that a reasonable medical professional would have provided under similar circumstances.
Causation: It must be proven that the medical negligence directly caused your child’s injuries. This often requires extensive medical expert testimony and review of medical records.
Damages: Georgia law allows families to recover both economic damages (medical expenses, lost income, future care costs) and non-economic damages (pain and suffering, loss of enjoyment of life).
Why You Need an Experienced Georgia Birth Injury Attorney
Birth injury cases are among the most complex in personal injury law. Healthcare providers and their insurance companies employ teams of lawyers and medical experts to defend these claims aggressively. Without experienced legal representation, families often receive inadequate settlements that fail to cover their child’s lifetime needs.
An experienced Georgia birth injury lawyer will:
Investigate Thoroughly: Review all medical records, interview witnesses, and consult with medical experts to build a strong case.
Calculate True Damages: Work with economists and life care planners to determine the full cost of your child’s care over their lifetime.
Handle Insurance Companies: Deal with aggressive insurance adjusters who may try to minimize your claim or deny liability entirely.
Prepare for Trial: While many cases settle, having an attorney prepared to take your case to trial often results in better settlement offers.
Taking Action: 4 Steps to Protect Your Family’s Rights
If you suspect your child’s birth injury resulted from medical negligence, time is critical. Here’s what you should do:
1. Preserve Medical Records: Request copies of all medical records related to your pregnancy, labor, and delivery. These documents are crucial evidence in your case.
2. Document Everything: Keep detailed records of your child’s medical treatments, therapy sessions, and how the injury affects your family’s daily life.
3. Avoid Talking to Insurance Companies: Healthcare providers’ insurance companies may contact you seeking statements. Politely decline and refer them to your attorney.
4. Consult an Attorney Immediately: The sooner you speak with an experienced birth injury lawyer, the better they can preserve evidence and protect your rights.
Hope for the Future
While a birth injury diagnosis can feel overwhelming, many children with cerebral palsy and other birth injuries go on to live fulfilling lives with proper support and resources. Securing adequate compensation through a successful legal claim can provide your family with the financial security needed to give your child the best possible future.
Remember, you’re not alone in this journey. Experienced Georgia birth injury attorneys understand the challenges your family faces and are committed to fighting for the justice and compensation your child deserves.
If your child suffered a birth injury in Georgia, don’t wait to explore your legal options. Contact our experienced birth injury attorneys at Chance, Forlines, Carter & King today for a free consultation to discuss your case and learn how they can help secure your family’s future.