Tampa Birth Injury Lawyer

Understanding Tampa Birth Injury Lawsuits

Filing a birth injury lawsuit requires you to prove certain elements, including negligence and damages. These cases can be complex, so it’s important to work closely with a birth injury lawyer who knows Tampa medical malpractice laws and can use them to support your claims. Very specific laws apply to these claims and they were designed by the lawmakers to give negligent health care providers certain protections and benefits to make suing them difficult, expensive, and time-consuming.  It is virtually impossible for someone who is not a lawyer and who does not have experience in medical malpractice cases to navigate the laws protecting negligent healthcare professionals and to successfully bring a claim.

Proving Negligence in a Birth Injury Claim

An essential part of your case is establishing what a reasonably careful medical professional would have done under similar circumstances had he or she exercised the prevailing professional standard of care. Expert witnesses specializing in obstetrics or neonatology are required  testify on the appropriate standard of care and how it was breached in your case.  Indeed, affidavits from appropriate experts are required to even begin a medical malpractice case.

Examples of negligence by a medical professional in a birth injury case include, but are not limited to:

• Missed or delayed diagnosis of pre-eclampsia or fetal distress
• Improper usage of instruments causing facial paralysis, nerve damage, or skull fractures
• Misapplying forceps or using them when not medically necessary
• Failure to order a timely cesarian section (C-section)
• Excessive force during delivery (often injuring the brachial plexus)
• Administering the wrong medication
• Failing to monitor the mother’s response to medication
• Anesthesia errors during birth or C-section
• Inadequately monitoring the baby’s heart rate
• Failing to monitor the mother for excessive bleeding after delivery
• Failure to diagnose hypoxia, spina bifida, or cerebral palsy
• Failure to refer to a high-risk pregnancy specialist

Who Can Be Liable in Birth Injury Claims?

In birth injury claims, liability can extend beyond just doctors. Potentially responsible parties can include:

• Doctors: Obstetricians, pediatricians, and any doctor involved in prenatal care, labor, and delivery are primary parties.
• Nurses and Midwives: Nurses and midwives who fail to properly monitor the mother and baby, misinterpret vital signs, or make errors during delivery can be held liable for negligence.
• Hospitals and Medical Centers: Hospitals can be held vicariously liable for the actions of their employees under the legal doctrine of respondeat superior. Additionally, if the hospital itself is negligent in procedures, staffing, or maintenance of equipment that contributes to the birth injury, they may be liable.

An experienced birth injury lawyer can evaluate your situation and identify the liable parties to maximize your chances of securing compensation for your child’s injuries.