The birth of your child is a precious moment that should not be interrupted by physician or hospital error, but unfortunately sometimes errors still occur even when births are planned carefully. In tragic cases where something goes wrong during a birth because of someone’s negligence, Joe Zarzaur can bring his experience and skill as a Pensacola birth injury lawyer to your case to help you get the justice you deserve.
Delivery can present obstetrical emergencies like shoulder dystocia and oxygen deprivation. If these obstetric emergencies are not dealt with in a reasonable manner by the delivering doctor, then serious life altering injuries can be inflicted on the baby. The worst of these is cerebral palsy and serious brachial plexus cases.
Other serious birth injuries include:
- Surgical error
- Cerebral palsy
- Erb’s palsy
- Injury/ Death of mother during child birth
- Brain injury due to lack of oxygen
- Nerve damage
- Skull or brain damage
Holding Someone Responsible for Your Child’s Birth Injury
Childbirth is a difficult process for both mother and baby. Advancements in medicine and technology have made the process a little easier than it was centuries ago. Science and technology allows doctors to monitor the fetus in ways that were not possible centuries ago. Science and technology have also created more interventions to make the process of childbirth easier and safer for mother and baby. Nevertheless, every pregnancy and childbirth comes with some risk. No matter how experienced and careful your doctor is, there is always a possibility that something will go wrong. If you or your child suffered a birth injury because of the negligence or carelessness of your doctor, you may be entitled to financial compensation for any resulting damages.
To hold your doctor or other health care provider legally responsible for your child’s birth injury, you must be able to meet the legal standard for proving medical malpractice. Medical malpractice is based on negligence. In order to prove medical negligence you must prove the following:
- The doctor failed to meet the required standard of care in the treatment of the victim. Every health care professional takes an oath to do no harm to their patients. They must keep up with advancements in their area of medicine through continuing medical examination requirements. It is the duty of every medical professional to keep up with the prevailing standard of care for treating their patients. In a medical malpractice case, the treatment the patient received will be assessed to determine if the doctor acted in a way that was expected of a medical professional of their skill in that particular situation.
- The doctor’s negligent care caused the patient’s injury. The patient must show that the injury was not within the necessary or reasonably foreseeable results of the medical intervention received if it was carried out according to the prevailing standard of care by a reasonably careful doctor with similar qualifications.
- The patient suffered actual damages from the injury. The patient must have suffered actual injury, harm, or losses, which must be proven. Losses that can be compensated for in damages include medical bills and other costs related to dealing with the injury.
How Can a Pensacola Birth Injury Attorney Help You?
A victim who wants to file a birth injuries malpractice case must do so according to Florida’s civil procedure rules. Florida requires that any person filing an action arising out of medical negligence must include a certificate of counsel with their complaint. The certificate of counsel is an attestation to the fact that they have conducted a reasonable investigation of the case and determined that there are grounds for a good faith belief that the doctor was negligent in treating the victim. This belief must be supported by a written opinion of an expert doctor with experience in birth injuries.
Zarzaur Law has the resources to ensure that this requirement is met. We have an on staff medical doctor that works with the firm in preparing your case for trial. Conducting a reasonable investigation of your case takes time, money, and expertise. Our Pensacola birth injury attorneys believe that every victim of medical malpractice must have a fair chance at getting compensation from the parties responsible for their injury. That is why we do not let a client’s ability to pay get in the way of receiving skilled legal support. Zarzaur Law is a pure contingency fee law firm. This means that if we take on your case, you pay nothing unless we win. Legal fees are the last thing we want to get in the way of holding your health care provider financially responsible for the damages you or your child suffered.
Be confident you have a legal expert on your side.
Do you have a birth injury case? You do not have to face it alone.