Attorneys In Jacksonville Recover Damages For Parents Whose Infants Have Suffered Birth Injuries

Holding Medical Personnel Accountable For Negligence During Delivery

Welcoming a child into the world should be the happiest, most blessed event in a parent’s life. But when that elation turns to despair because your infant was injured during delivery—and that injury was caused by the negligent actions of obstetricians, nurses or other medical personnel involved in your baby’s birth—you have the right to hold all negligent parties accountable. And we can help, representing you with the compassion and care you deserve while not backing down in our fight against the medical establishment and its insurers to recover the damages you are entitled to under the law.

At Fallgatter Catlin & Varon, P.A., our Jacksonville medical malpractice attorneys have more than 80 years of combined experience representing parents whose children have suffered birth injuries. We know that such injuries can affect children for the rest of their lives, saddling parents with astronomical medical bills and the need for extensive, sometimes life-long care. We battle the big insurance companies employed by hospitals and physicians in seeking full and fair compensation, through settlement or at trial, because we understand that nothing is more important to you than your child’s welfare.

Birth Injuries That Are All Too Common

Giving birth should be the most natural thing in the world. Despite advances in medical knowledge and technology, however, birth injuries still happen. And while not all of these are the result of medical malpractice, some can be traced to the negligent actions of medical personnel. The most common birth injuries cited in malpractice cases include the following:

• Cerebral palsy, resulting in impaired movement and motor function, can be caused by oxygen deprivation, improper use of forceps or vacuum extractors, failure to treat an infection, and the failure to discover a prolapsed umbilical cord, among others.
• Brachial plexus injuries, such as Erb’s palsy and Klumpke’s palsy, are injuries to the network of nerve groups that travel from the spinal cord to the shoulders, arms, and hands. These are sometimes caused by shoulder dystocia in which the baby’s shoulder is trapped during delivery behind the mother’s pubic bone. In the most severe injuries, the infant’s nerves are severed and cannot be repaired.
• Irreversible brain damage from oxygen deprivation or reduced blood flow.
• Spina bifida, congenital malformations of the tissue that develops into the spine and brain, which can lead to varying degrees of disability.
• Injuries that lead to developmental delays in fine and gross motor skills, cognitive function, and social skills.

Medical malpractice can cause birth injuries and increase their severity. We hold medical personnel liable for your infant’s birth injuries when those professionals have failed to:

• Anticipate potential birth complications based on existing information
• Observe or respond quickly to entangled umbilical cords
• Use forceps or vacuums properly
• Respond adequately to bleeding
• Detect fetal heartbeat abnormalities
• Perform cesarean sections when medically necessary

If your child has been injured during birth and that injury can be traced to the negligence of doctors, nurses, or other hospital staff, we are ready, willing and able to fight for your right to recover damages.

Contact Us For Help With Your Medical Malpractice Claim

At Fallgatter Catlin & Varon, P.A., our Jacksonville personal injury attorneys have the skills, access to medical experts and experience to handle even the most complex medical malpractice cases, including those stemming from birth injuries. Contact us online or call our office today at (904) 353-5800 for a free consultation with one of our medical malpractice attorneys. There are no fees unless we succeed.*

• In some cases, clients will be asked to pay the costs associated with providing services. These costs, which will be fully explained, never include fees for a lawyer’s time.

Medical malpractice takes various forms. The following represent some of the more common types of medical malpractice:

Infections resulting from treatment Improper operation of medical devices Restraint injuries Errors in blood transfusion Inaccurate x-ray readings Surgery performed on the wrong organ or limb

Surgical errors Pressure ulcers Over-medication Improper medication Failure to diagnose Delayed diagnosis Wrong diagnosis