A birth injury can change your child’s life and leave your family facing medical care, therapy, and other challenges you never expected. You may also have questions about what happened during labor or delivery and whether a medical provider could have prevented the injury.
Sweet James attorneys have a proven track record of helping accident victims across the country recover from life-changing events. A Riverside birth injury lawyer from our firm can review your child’s medical records, investigate what happened, and help your family understand its legal options.
We have over 600 five-star reviews on Yelp and Google. Reaching out to our team early can help preserve important records and other evidence before it becomes harder to find. Reach out to us to schedule a free consultation with a California birth injury lawyer today.
How Can Our Riverside Birth Injury Lawyers Help?
A Riverside birth injury attorney can review what happened before, during, and after your baby’s delivery to determine whether medical care may have contributed to the injury. This can include reviewing fetal monitoring records, medical charts, staff notes, medication records, and other evidence.
A lawyer may also look at important decisions made during labor and delivery, including:
- How providers responded to signs of fetal distress.
- Whether a C-section was performed when needed.
- How forceps or a vacuum device were used.
- How complications such as shoulder dystocia were handled.
- Whether warning signs were properly recognized and addressed.
Birth injury cases can involve a large amount of medical information and may require expert testimony. A Riverside birth injury lawyer from Sweet James can help gather important records, work with medical experts, and build a claim. They can also explain your legal options and the types of compensation you may be able to seek for your baby’s injuries and ongoing needs.
Seeking Compensation for Birth Injuries
A birth injury can create costs that continue long after your child leaves the hospital. Depending on the facts of the case, compensation may include:
- Medical expenses: Hospital care, doctor visits, medications, testing, and other medical treatment.
- Therapy and rehabilitation: Physical, occupational, speech, or other therapy your child may need.
- Long-term care: Future medical care, equipment, home changes, and other support may be part of the claim.
- Lost wages: A parent may lose income after taking time away from work to care for an injured child.
- Pain and suffering: Noneconomic damages may apply when allowed under California law and subject to any applicable limits.
Economic damages cover financial losses that can usually be tied to a specific cost, while noneconomic damages address losses such as pain, suffering, and physical impairment. A Riverside personal injury lawyer can help you understand what types of compensation you may be entitled to.
Common Types of Birth Injuries
Birth injuries can affect a baby’s brain, nerves, bones, or other parts of the body. Some injuries may cause lasting disabilities and require years of care. Common birth injuries include:
- Cerebral palsy: A group of conditions that can affect movement, balance, and muscle control.
- Erb’s palsy: Nerve damage that can cause weakness or loss of movement in an arm.
- Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE): Brain damage caused by a lack of oxygen or blood flow around the time of birth.
- Fractures: Broken bones can happen during a difficult delivery, especially when too much force is used.
- Brain bleeds: Bleeding inside or around the brain can cause serious problems and may require ongoing care.
- Caput succedaneum or cephalohematoma: These conditions can cause swelling or bleeding under the baby’s scalp after delivery.
A birth injury case may depend on medical records, fetal monitoring strips, delivery notes, medication records, and other evidence that can show what happened. Contacting a Riverside birth injury lawyer from Sweet James early can help preserve these records and give your family more time to investigate the care your child received.
Understanding California’s Legal Framework for Birth Injury Claims
Under California law, a Riverside birth injury lawsuit for a minor generally must be filed within three years from the date of the injury. However, if the child was under six at that time, the claim generally must be filed within three years or before the child’s eighth birthday, whichever provides more time.
This means families should not assume that a child can simply wait until age 18 to bring a birth injury claim. California also follows a pure comparative negligence rule. This means a person’s damages can be reduced based on the percentage of fault assigned to that person. Thus, if a court found a parent or other claimant 20% responsible, the damages could be reduced to 80%.
A Riverside birth injury lawyer from Sweet James understands California’s laws and can help you make an informed decision about what steps to take next.
Reach Out to Our Birth Injury Law Firm Serving Riverside Today
You do not have to figure out what went wrong during your child’s birth on your own. Sweet James can review the medical records, discuss your child’s diagnosis, and help you understand whether you may have a legal claim. We offer free consultations and handle qualifying injury cases on a contingency-fee basis, so you do not pay attorney fees unless there is a recovery.
A birth injury case can involve years of medical care and important legal deadlines, which is why early action can matter. Gathering records and other evidence while it is still available may make it easier to investigate the care your child received.
If you believe a medical provider’s mistake caused your child’s birth injury, consider speaking with our birth injury malpractice group serving Riverside, CA, as soon as possible. A free consultation can help you understand your options and the deadlines that may apply to your child’s claim.
