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If your family has recently experienced a devastating and unexpected birth-related tragedy, let our West Virginia birth injury attorneys put their experience to work for you. We can answer your questions and guide you through the legal process, beginning with a free consultation. Call our birth injury lawyers in West Virginia at (304) 367-1862 or contact us online today.
Licensed health care professionals involved in the childbirth process often do an excellent job of caring for their patients. However, they can and do make mistakes. When this happens, children can suffer serious injuries during the birthing process that may impact them for life. Manchin Injury Law Group in Fairmont helps families in North Central West Virginia who have been harmed by birth injuries and medical negligence of all types.
Hiring an experienced birth injury lawyer in West Virginia to advocate for you, your child and your family is one of the best things that you can do after this type of tragedy. The right attorney can efficiently and effectively handle your case while you focus your full attention on your child’s needs and future. A birth injury lawyer can help you build a compelling case against one or more parties and fight for maximum financial compensation for your bills and losses.
An attorney can help you using a variety of tailored legal services, such as:
Cases involving medical negligence or malpractice are difficult and expensive to litigate. They involve nuanced laws in West Virginia that generally require some legal expertise. If you want to give your family the best odds of a successful birth injury case, hire an attorney who has the experience, resources and abilities that you need for strong litigation. When your child’s future rests on the outcome of a claim, don’t risk representing yourself. Hire a West Virginia personal injury attorney to advocate for you.
A birth injury describes physical harm to an infant before, during or shortly after the birthing process. A birth injury claim is a civil lawsuit that may be available to a family if a birth injury was caused by the negligence of a health care practitioner during labor or delivery. Negligence refers to a failure to use a normal or reasonable amount of care. The standards of care are higher for medical professionals. Any breach or violation of the duty of care – an action or omission that falls short of the accepted standards – could give a family grounds to file a birth injury lawsuit in West Virginia.
Birth injuries are injuries to an infant during the birthing process, often as a result of a negligent doctor or health care professional. A birth defect, on the other hand, is a health condition or illness that a child develops while still in the womb. Birth defects can arise as a congenital disorder, an outcome of the mother taking certain substances that harm the baby or for no known reason at all. A birth defect can impact any body part and may or may not be possible to correct.
Although a birth defect is not the same thing as a birth injury, your family may still be able to file a lawsuit for a birth defect depending on the circumstances. If a physician prescribed you a certain drug to take during your pregnancy that gave your baby a birth defect, for example, you may have grounds to file a cause of action against the doctor and/or the manufacturer of the drug. Discuss your child’s particular diagnosis with a birth injury attorney to determine your legal options.
A birth injury can lead to serious and long-lasting symptoms and health problems for a victim. Depending on the nature and severity of the injury, a child could experience pain, discomfort, scarring or disfigurement, physical or mental developmental problems, learning disabilities, and many other issues. Some of the most common types of birth injuries involved in lawsuits in West Virginia are:
Some birth injuries are immediately apparent upon the birth of a child. Others do not show symptoms until the child gets older. In West Virginia, the deadline (statute of limitations) for a birth injury lawsuit is two years from the date that you discovered or should have discovered the injury through reasonable diligence. If you do not take legal action within two years of discovering your child’s birth injury, you may give up the right to recover financial compensation from a negligent health care provider.
Many birth injuries in West Virginia are preventable and caused by the negligent, careless or wanton actions of health care providers and hospitals. Although complications during birth are normal, if a physician fails to handle complications correctly, this can cause a birth injury. In these situations, the parents of the injured child may have the right to file birth injury lawsuits in pursuit of financial compensation.
Common causes of birth injuries and traumas include:
These are all examples of medical negligence and malpractice. If you believe that your child’s birth injury was caused by the wrongful acts of a health care practitioner or facility, contact an attorney about your family’s right to file a lawsuit. You may be entitled to financial compensation from one or more parties.
Identifying who is legally and financially responsible for your child’s birth injury is something that our attorneys can do for you. We will conduct a comprehensive investigation of your case to determine if a doctor or another party should have done something differently to prevent the injury. The party or parties that may be liable include:
Finding out that your child suffered any type of injury or harm during birth is devastating as a parent. Holding someone responsible for causing the injury can provide your family with justice, answers and closure. Find out who may be responsible for your child’s birth injury by contacting Manchin Injury Law Group.
It is important to hire an attorney that has on-the-job experience with your type of case. This can give you an edge during insurance claim negotiations or a lawsuit. At Manchin Injury Law Group, our West Virginia medical malpractice lawyers have experience handling cases that involve:
We have years of experience litigating birth injury cases throughout West Virginia. We are well aware of the obstacles that your family may face in the pursuit of justice and can overcome them using personalized legal strategies.
Your family may have gone through a great deal of pain, suffering, emotional distress and financial costs because of the mistakes of a doctor, nurse or surgeon. Although no amount of compensation can ever “right” this kind of wrong, our birth injury lawyers will do whatever they can to obtain a fair financial recovery on your behalf. We will build the strongest claim possible for compensation for medical devices, needed surgeries, home nursing care and other specialized services.
For example, we will consult with a variety of medical experts, economists, accountants, actuaries and other specialists to arrive at a reasonable and accurate estimate of future care and expenses for your child and family. Then, we will go up against an insurance company using proven negotiation strategies to pursue maximum financial compensation. If the case cannot be settled fairly, our West Virginia birth injury attorneys will not hesitate to pursue justice aggressively and seek fair compensation through the courts.
The legal term for financial compensation is damages. While the injuries and losses that your child and family have suffered cannot be erased by a monetary recovery, obtaining fair and full financial compensation could help your family move forward. A successful settlement or judgment award can pay your family for related costs, address your noneconomic losses and hold a negligent health care provider accountable for wrongful acts.
A successful birth injury lawsuit in West Virginia could result in the following damages:
The losses that your family can list on a birth injury claim, as well as the value of your case, are topics that need to be discussed with an attorney before you accept a settlement. Even when a claim involves an innocent infant being injured by negligence, an insurance company will try to minimize your payout to protect its own profits. A West Virginia birth injury lawyer can help you demand maximum compensation.
If your child was recently diagnosed with a birth injury in West Virginia, there are steps that you should take to pursue justice. Do not allow a physician, hospital or insurance company to take advantage of you by being unprepared. If possible, take the following actions:
At Manchin Injury Law Group, our birth injury lawyers provide compassionate and personalized legal services that can allow your family to concentrate on healing while an experienced professional handles the rest. We will guide you through all of the steps required to file a lawsuit.
For answers to questions that you may still have about birth injuries, medical malpractice and how our birth injury attorneys in West Virginia can help, call us at (304) 367-1862 or contact us online. The consultation with our experienced team of West Virginia personal injury lawyers is free. There is no cost or obligation to hire us, and we do not charge any legal fees for handling cases unless we obtain a verdict or settlement on your behalf. Our West Virginia birth injury attorneys can help you seek justice for your injured child and pave the way to a brighter future.
Talk to our Fairmont lawyers about your personal injury or wrongful death claim today by contacting us online, or by calling us at (304) 367-1862.
We offer a free initial consultation at our office in the Manchin Professional Building — our home since 1983 — conveniently located in Fairmont.
If you are unable to visit our firm, we can come to your home or hospital room.
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