Birth Injury Attorneys

Serving Maryland, Washington, D.C. & Virginia

Every healthcare professional has a duty to provide a standard level of care. This is particularly important when it comes to pregnancy, labor, and delivery. Your obstetrician, nurses, and anesthesiologist need to take care to provide an acceptable level of treatment while keeping you informed so you can make the right choices about your care. Any errors, acts of negligence, or instances of wrongdoing that result in substandard care can have disastrous effects for you and your baby.

If your child was diagnosed with cerebral palsy, if you had a difficult delivery and now your child is exhibiting signs of developmental delays, or if your child suffered physical trauma during birth, now is the time to talk to the skilled birth injury lawyers at Portner & Shure. We serve all of Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. and can determine whether you have a case. Your child may require a considerable amount of care and ongoing support – and we are here to pursue the compensation to provide for this.

Call (410) 995-1515 for a free, confidential consultation. We have the answers you need. We also offer our services in multiple languages, including Spanish, Korean, and Chinese, to better serve you.

What Is a Birth Injury?

Generally speaking, a birth injury may be described as any injury sustained by mother or baby during labor or delivery, or just after delivery. The fact that a birth injury occurred does not necessarily mean that malpractice was its cause. Some complications arise that even the most diligent and experienced doctor could not predict nor manage, and it is therefore important to distinguish between standard and substandard care.

As birth injury attorneys with extensive experience in this complex field, we can identify true medical errors that cause preventable injuries. We take on cases involving:

• Delayed C-sections
• C-section errors
• Anesthesia errors
• Fetal monitoring errors or negligence
• Failure to respond to fetal distress
• Mismanagement of shoulder dystocia
• Mismanagement or failure to respond to childbirth complications
• Failure to recommend C-section in high-risk delivery
• Improper use of forceps or vacuum extractor
• Failure to diagnose and treat severe jaundice
• Medication errors

If your doctor did not provide standard care and this caused you or your child harm, we can get to the bottom of it and determine how to prove fault. This will help us recover fair, complete compensation for your child – for his or her lifelong care.

Early Signs of Birth Injury Caused by Medical Malpractice

Some birth injuries can be treated effectively right away if they’re diagnosed, but these injuries often go unnoticed for months or years. These range from mild to severe, causing lifelong disability from brain damage or paralysis. That seems to be especially prevalent in Washington D.C. where infant mortality is the third highest in the country.

If you think your newborn baby has suffered a birth injury, there are some signs and symptoms you can watch for that are evident soon after birth, including:

1. Your Newborn’s Movements

Some of the early signs of birth injury can also be attributed to other health conditions that could be genetic or otherwise separate from medical malpractice, but these symptoms are often the first to arise:

• Sensitivity to light
• Lethargy
• Seizures
• Crying while arching back
• Trouble breathing
• Issues swallowing, eating, and sucking
• Constant fussiness with no reason
• Excessive high-pierced crying
• Excessive grunting
• Nausea
• Vomiting

Few tests can identify early signs of birth injuries. Cerebral palsy is a good example as it’s one of the most common birth injuries. Generally, severe cerebral palsy is diagnosed within the first two years.

2. Your Baby’s Overall Health

Sometimes an infant won’t exhibit the behavior and problems listed above, but certain aspects of their health could pinpoint medical malpractice or negligence. Early birth injury symptoms involving your baby’s overall health include:

• Vision changes
• Dizziness
• Fever
• Hearing loss
• Low heart rate
• Low blood oxygen levels
• Constant coughing
• Constipation
• Headaches
• Jaundice
• Wheezing
• Pale skin or waxy appearance
• Anemia
• Hypertension
• Hypotension
• Inflamed nasal passages

3. Muscle and Bone-Related Birth Injuries

Brain damage from lack of oxygen or nerve damage from forceful maneuvering through the birth canal can both result in muscular symptoms and bone injuries such as:

• A “claw-like” hand curl
• Fractured skull
• Weak movements
• Writhing
• Patchy back hair
• Favoring one side
• Missing or weak reflexes
• Stiff or loose muscles that can alternate
• A hand or arm bent in toward the body

In most circumstances, a newborn infant with serious injuries will show signs from each section, which will likely worsen as your baby grows. Birth injuries that don’t exhibit symptoms until later on are more likely to manifest as slowed development such as learning to sit up, crawl, and walk much later than other babies at that age.

If you suspect your child has suffered a birth injury related to medical malpractice, please contact our D.C. attorney as soon as possible at (410) 995-1515​ for a FREE case evaluation. Portner and Shure serve clients in the D.C. area including Maryland and Virginia.

For experienced and compassionate birth injury help in Virginia, Maryland, or Washington, D.C., call us at (410) 995-1515 or contact us online.