All medical professionals owe a duty to their patients to follow their field’s accepted standards of care. When one of these professionals is assisting with a childbirth and causes a birth injury due to a failure to meet this duty, serious complications can arise for the child. We’re proud to stand with families in search of justice.
- Lawyers who focus on New Hampshire birth injury cases.
- 40+ combined years of courtroom experience.
- Millions recovered for families we represent.
We’re prepared to help your child get the financial support he or she needs.
If your family has recently been affected by a preventable birth injury, it’s important to seek the financial compensation you’re entitled to. Our experienced lawyers are committed to helping families like yours.
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Families across the country have come to see childbirth as a relatively safe medical procedure. While serious and even fatal birth injuries used to be commonplace just 100 years ago, in 2017 only about 7 in every 1,000 childbirths involves an injury. This number may seem low, but roughly 28,000 American families are still affected by birth injuries every year. In New Hampshire, this works out to about 87 annual birth injuries.
When a birth injury is caused by a medical professional’s mistake, it’s important for the victim’s family to seek the financial support their child needs. Our lawyers help New Hampshire families in this predicament file medical malpractice lawsuits for their child’s birth injury.
Common Forms Of Medical Negligence In Birth Injury Cases
Medical negligence is a legal term which basically means that a doctor, nurse, obstetrician, or other healthcare provider caused an injury by failing to follow the accepted methods and practices of their field. Establishing medical negligence is the most important part of any medical malpractice lawsuit.
Some common forms of medical negligence we see in birth injury cases include:
- Conducting a vaginal birth when a c-section could have prevented an injury
- Failure to identify and treat maternal health conditions, such as preeclampsia (high blood pressure)
- Failure to identify and treat signs of fetal distress, like a prolapsed umbilical cord
- Errors using vacuum extractors, forceps, and other assisted delivery tools
- Using excessive force during a difficult childbirth, resulting in nerve damage
- Prescribing a medication with harmful side effects for the developing child
In order to determine if medical negligence was the main cause of your child’s birth injury, it’s best to speak with an experienced New Hampshire birth injury lawyer who can have your medical evidence reviewed by a qualified medical expert.
Common Preventable Birth Injuries Caused By Medical Negligence
These medical errors can result in a wide range of birth injuries, from treatable injuries like bruising to lifelong ailments like cerebral palsy. Some of the most common injuries we see in birth injury claims include:
- Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy
- Erb’s palsy and other brachial plexus nerve damage injuries
- Cerebral palsy, spastic quadriplegia, and other related conditions
- Traumatic brain damage
- Learning and cognitive disabilities
Any birth injury that could have been avoided by more careful medical practice is eligible for financial compensation in a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Medical Malpractice Laws In New Hampshire
New Hampshire has their own set of laws and statutes that regulate medical malpractice claims. If you’re considering taking legal action for your child’s birth injury, it’s good to be aware of these laws. But you should speak with an experienced New Hampshire birth injury lawyer if you want to fully understand how they apply to your family’s case.
Time Limits For Malpractice Claims
Each state has their own deadline for filing a medical malpractice lawsuit – this deadline is known as the statute of limitations. The date of this deadline will vary depending on the unique circumstances of a case. In a birth injury case, it’s best to take legal action as soon as possible to make sure you get your child the financial support he or she needs for comfortable life.
Does New Hampshire Have Caps On Damages?
Many states have set limits on the amount of financial compensation you can recover in a medical malpractice claim. New Hampshire is not one of these states. Your financial compensation will be based on both the noneconomic (e.g. pain and suffering, loss of quality life, etc.) and economic (medical bills, lost wages, etc.) damages related to your case.
Prelitigation Screening Panels
In New Hampshire medical malpractice cases, both sides have the option to have the case reviewed by a prelitigation screening panel. Both parties must agree to have the case heard by this panel. An experienced lawyer can help you better understand how this option may apply to your case.
Filing A Birth Injury Malpractice Lawsuit
Filing a birth injury malpractice lawsuit is a complicated process. It requires a detailed understanding of your state’s malpractice laws and how to gather evidence, connections with qualified medical experts, and the courtroom skills to stand up to powerful insurance companies and their lawyers. In order to ensure that your family gets the full financial support your child needs and deserves, it’s important to speak with an experienced New Hampshire birth injury lawyer shortly following your child’s injury.
Our birth injury lawyers are proud to help families in this situation. We can help you better understand your family’s legal options in a free consultation, and only require payment at the end of the case if we help you secure financial compensation. Get in touch with us today to learn more about how to plan for your child’s future.