Can prenatal care be named as cause for birth injury lawsuits in Michigan?

Michigan – August 24, 2022

Birth injuries can be short lived or last a lifetime. Many common injuries resolve quickly without residual damage to the baby, while other birth injuries will last a lifetime causing extensive care needs and expenses that a family may not have bargained for. Sometimes a birth injury may not present itself until a child’s formative years when symptoms appear. Loved ones of birth injury victims may wonder: “Where can I find attorneys near me?” to assist with guidance and necessary litigation to cover related medical costs, wage loss, or pain and suffering due to lifestyle adjustments and living space changes necessary to accommodate a child with a birth injury.

Medical malpractice.

Medical malpractice that results in birth injuries can create a lifetime of serious complications that render individuals and families with heavy physical, emotional, and financial burdens.  When an injury can be tracked back to the care of professional nurses, or doctors who make mistakes before, during and after the delivery of an infant, it is imperative to speak to a Michigan birth injury lawyer who can consult with a team of experts to review the records, and exam the child to ascertain the extent of the physical damages and any residual effects an injury may have caused.

Prenatal care can cause birth injuries.

Birth injuries are severe injuries that happen during the labor and delivery of a child, or at some point in the prenatal care provided by a medical professional that manifests in injury at birth such as:

• Gestational diabetes –  could cause large birth weight, hypoglycemia, and stillbirth of the baby.
• Group B Strep – can cause serious illness in newborns called Group B Strep disease.
• Preeclampsia – can cause damage to organs, and health risks to both mother and child.
• Problems with placenta – can cause severe birth injuries, or death of the child. One of the most common issues is placental abruption.

Necessary litigation.

Parents who are subjected to sustained physical, emotional, and financial stressors resulting from a birth injury may have no choice but to file a lawsuit for monetary compensation to assist with their burden. If medical negligence or malpractice can be proven in accordance with Michigan standards of medical care, compensation may be available to cover compensatory damages that include economic damages for:

• Past and future medical expenses,
• Healthcare costs including occupational therapy, behavior counseling, specialized education, in-home healthcare, modified vehicles, and housing situations,
• Lost wages for time away from work to care for child,

And non-economic damages for:

• Pain and suffering,
• Emotional pain and anxiety,
• Loss of companionship,
• Loss of enjoyment of life.

Professional standard of care.

 Certain medical standards are recognized by medical professionals as being acceptable medical treatment undertaken by prudent health care professionals under the same, or similar conditions referred to as “the standard of care.” Patients have rights to expect delivery of consistent and specialized methods in their standard of care. Negligence must provide four elements to include:

• A health care professional owed a duty of care to a patient,
• A health care professional deviated from a professionally acknowledged standard of care,
• A patient suffered damages,
• Damages were the direct result of the health care professional’s deviation.

Injury caused by negligence.

Birth injury lawyers must prove that deviations from the professional standard of care resulted in the birth injury and caused a loss of income, substantial and residual pain, continuing suffering and hardship, extraordinary and sometimes exorbitant past and future medical bills related to treatment, all of which must add up to considerable damage amounts to be worthwhile to litigate. An experienced Michigan birth injury lawyer at Meyers Law PLLC will explain the importance of the burden of proof involved in the formal legal action and proceed to work with insurance companies and medical care providers toward recoverable damages.

Meyers Law, PLLC

Phone: 313-961-0130

Address: 3200 Greenfield Road Suite 260

Dearborn, MI 48120

Source.

1. https://uscode.house.gov/view.xhtml?path=/prelim@title28/part6/chapter171&edition=prelim
2. http://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(p2jxovfq54opcaupacn2cpyp))/mileg.aspx?page=getobject&objectname=mcl-500-3135
3. https://www.legislature.mi.gov/(S(ifnp424pigq3fjtq1e2esjhd))/mileg.aspx?page=getObject&objectName=mcl-600-1483