Birth Injuries
Birth injuries can be tragic for they can result in brain damage from a loss of oxygen and permanent injuries including cerebral palsy and Erb’s Palsy. We have successfully represented children and their parents in cases involving:
- failure to timely recognize fetal distress
- difficult forceps deliveries and vacuum extractions
- brachial plexus injuries caused during delivery
- failure to recognize and treat high risk pregnancies
- failure to timely perform C-section
- exceptionally long labor and difficult delivery
We have experience in helping parents of disabled children suffering from severe birth injuries including cerebral palsy, mental retardation, seizures and other permanent injuries. There are many resources available to provide help for parents of severely injured babies. We can help parents obtain the financial assistance to provide for their child. We are experienced and knowledgeable in establishing Special Needs Trusts for permanently injured children that allows them to keep all of their public benefits while using the settlement money for specialized medical treatment, equipment and other necessities.
If your baby has been permanently injured, contact us for a review of the facts of your case. We can obtain necessary medical records and have them reviewed by experienced physicians at no cost to you. We have achieved successful results in birth injury cases in San Francisco, Oakland, San Leandro, Hayward, San Jose, Walnut Creek, Concord, Stockton, Modesto, Sacramento, Monterey, Santa Cruz and Santa Rosa.
Examples of our birth injury cases include:
Failure to recognize fetal distress – Confidential settlement
During a long labor, the nurses in the hospital failed to recognize signs of fetal distress. The obstetrician was not present in the hospital and the nurses did not attempt to call him until the baby’s heart rate dropped and remained low for over 10 minutes. When the physician was informed of the fetal distress, he did not immediately take action to deliver the baby, resulting in an extended period of oxygen deprivation. The long period of deceleration of the fetal heart rate caused severe hypoxic ischemia, resulting in seizures and brain damage. The settlement funds were used to provide dependent care for the child throughout his life.
Trauma during delivery results in Erb’s Palsy – Confidential settlement
A female baby was permanently injured when the physician pulled on her arm during delivery, causing a severe brachial plexus injury and Erb’s Palsy. The physician failed to arrange for a Cesarean section when it became obvious it was going to be a difficult delivery. The baby was left with a winged scapula and limited movement in her left arm. She will never be able to raise her arm above her shoulder and has a permanently weakened arm.
Negligently performed tubal ligation -- $1,000,000
Our clients decided they could not financially afford another child and requested their obstetrician to perform a tubal ligation after the birth of their second child. The physician negligently failed to ligate one of the fallopian tubes and failed to inform the parents. When the mother became pregnant, the physician advised the parents that he had performed the ligation on only one fallopian tube. The baby was born with autism that required significant costs to provide for the child throughout his life. The mother lost her job because of the unwanted pregnancy and the parents suffered severe emotional distress. After depositions of the parties, the case settled for $1,000,000.
