Cleveland Birth
Injury Lawyers

What Our Clients Say

Why File a Birth Injury Claim?

Raising a healthy child is expensive. But, when you’re raising a child who sustained a birth injury, you have additional medical expenses for rehabilitation, therapy, and even life-long, daily care. The cost can be overwhelming.

You shouldn’t be left with the burden of medical expenses when someone else’s actions caused your child’s injuries. The Cleveland birth injury lawyers at Nurenberg, Paris, Heller & McCarthy are here to hold the person responsible for your or your child’s injuries financially accountable.

Available Compensation for Birth Injury Victims

If a doctor or other healthcare provider caused your or your child’s injuries, you may be able to collect damages—or financial compensation—to help cover the costs of:

• Daily Care: Your expenses may include medical treatment, nursing care, handicapped vehicles, housing needs, and more.
• Loss of Earnings Capacity:
Many children who sustain birth injuries are unable to work or will have difficulty working when they become adults.
• Pain and Suffering:
Children with birth injuries often endure pain and disability.

The Statute of Limitations
Birth injury cases are unique in that their statute of limitations—or allotted time victims have to file for damages after injuries—gives minors and their families a longer time to file a claim than with most personal injury cases involving adults.
How to Recognize Birth Injuries

Birth injuries can significantly impact a newborn’s life and development, making early recognition and intervention critical. Parents should know exactly what to look for so that opportunities for early interventions aren’t missed. Some of the initial signs of birth injury include:

• Unusual physical appearances such as misshapen limbs or head
• Feeding difficulties
• Excessive crying
• Limpness in the arms or legs
• Difficulty breathing, seizures, or an abnormal response to stimuli

Long-Term Effects of Birth Injuries

Birth injuries can lead to various long-term challenges as well. The following issues may require ongoing care and support:

• Physical: Mobility issues, muscle weakness, and coordination difficulties
• Cognitive: Learning disabilities, speech delays, and difficulties with memory and concentration
• Emotional: Behavioral issues, anxiety, and difficulties with social interactions

Managing these long-term effects requires a comprehensive approach. Resources and support are available to help families handle these challenges, including specialized medical care, educational programs, and emotional support services.

We just can’t say it enough: Early intervention and consistent support can significantly improve the quality of life for children with birth injuries.

Legal Rights of Parents in Birth Injury Cases

Parents have specific legal rights when a birth injury occurs. Understanding these rights is essential for protecting both the child and the family’s future. They include:

• Right to Information: Parents have the right to access all medical records and information related to the birth, any injuries, and treatment.
• Right to Legal Representation: Parents can hire an attorney specializing in birth injury cases to help them through the complex legalities.
• Right to Seek Compensation: If the injury resulted from medical negligence, parents can pursue compensation for medical expenses, ongoing care, and emotional distress.
• Right to a Fair Trial: Parents have the right to present their case in court and seek justice through a fair trial process if a settlement is not reached.

To protect their rights and the rights of their child, parents should follow these steps:

1. Document Everything: Keep detailed records of all medical treatments, diagnoses, and any communications with healthcare providers.
2. Consult With an Attorney: Seek advice from an attorney experienced in birth injury cases to understand the options available.
3. File a Claim: If advised by the attorney, file a legal claim within the statute of limitations to ensure the case is heard.
4. Gather Evidence: Collect all necessary documentation, including medical records, expert testimonies, and witness statements, to support the case.

Stay Informed: Make sure to choose a communicative attorney to help you keep up with the legal process each stage of the case.

You Need an Attorney with Experience in Birth Injury Cases

Birth injury cases are some of the most sensitive and costly legal battles any attorney will face. Evaluating the painstaking details of your doctor’s actions to try and determine who or what is responsible for your child’s condition is challenging.

At Nurenberg, Paris, Heller & McCarthy, we have several attorneys who have years of experience handling birth injury cases, including Bill Jacobson, Jonathan Mester, Pamela Pantages.

Our law firm has been helping injured victims for more than 90 years, and we have the knowledge of the law and the necessary resources to handle your case. The birth injury attorneys at our firm have helped many families like yours, and we can help you, too. Call or complete a free initial consultation form to contact our legal team now.

How Our Cleveland Birth Injury Lawyers Handle These Case

Because birth injury cases are often associated with medical negligence—or a healthcare provider’s failure to exercise reasonable care—it’s important that we carefully prepare and evaluate your medical records before your case is filed.

Even if you think that your actions as a mother were partially responsible for the injury, you shouldn’t feel discouraged—you still have legal rights. Contact an Ohio birth injury lawyer at Nurenberg, Paris, Heller & McCarthy today to find out if you may have a case.

Understanding the Birth Injury Claim Process

When the legal team at Nurenberg, Paris, Heller & McCarthy is investigating and preparing your case, we will:

• Obtain Medical Records.
In order for a birth injury lawyer to obtain your and your child’s medical records, you will have to sign a medical authorization form that gives us access to those records
• Evaluate the Medical Records.
Once the medical records are in our possession, we will read and review your prenatal records and your child’s records and look for any evidence that the injuries you or your child suffered could have been prevented.
• Consult Experts
After reviewing the medical records, our law firm will seek the professional opinions of medical experts, such as nurses, obstetricians, pediatricians, pediatric neurologists, economists, life-care planners, and others.

Elements We Look for to Win a Birth Injury Case

If the evidence we collect during the investigation and preparation process shows that you have a strong case, your birth injury attorney will file a claim on your behalf. In order to prove that negligence was a factor in your case, we must show that:

• The doctor handling the delivery failed to meet the standard of care as another reasonable doctor in that situation would.
• Because of the doctor’s actions or failure to act, the mother or baby sustained an injury.

Nurenberg, Paris, Heller & McCarthy has investigated and pursued many birth injury cases, and we know all the factors that can establish whether negligence caused injury to you or your child.

Common Birth Injuries

Some of the most common birth injuries are also the most life-altering and long term. Here are just a few of the most common birth injuries.

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy (CP) is a group of neurological disorders that affect movement, muscle tone, and posture. It is caused by abnormal brain development or damage to the developing brain, which affects a person’s ability to control their muscles. It can be caused by:

• Brain bleeding
• Brain infections
• Head injuries
• In-utero exposure to mothers’ infections
• Severe jaundice (yellowing of the skin or eyes)
  
  

Symptoms of cerebral palsy include:

• Abnormal gait (limb movement)
• Abnormal motor movements
• Lack of coordination
• Lack of intelligence
• Muscle weakness
• Seizures
• Speech problems
• Tight muscles and joints
• Tremor

Erb’s Palsy (Brachial Palsy)

The bundle of nerves surrounding the shoulders is known as the brachial plexus. When these nerves are stretched during birth, it can cause Brachial palsy—or Erb’s palsy. This disorder results from trauma during the birthing process, often as the result of improper treatment of a shoulder dystocia (a condition that occurs when one or both of a baby’s shoulders get stuck inside their mother’s pelvis during labor).

Symptoms of a brachial plexus injury in newborns include:

• Flexed arm held tight to the affected side of the body
• Lack of Moro-reflex (startle response) on the affected side of the body
• Lack of movement in upper or lower arm or hand
• Weak grip on the affected side of the body

Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)

Often the result of asphyxia during traumatic births, HIE is a life-threatening brain injury that can lead to severe complications, including:

• Apnea
• Coma
• Damage to other organs (kidneys, heart, liver) caused by low blood pressure
• Difficulty feeding
• Hypotonia and muscle weakness
• Low blood pressure
• Seizures
• Stroke

Conditions That Can Cause Birth Injuries

Giving birth is one of life’s most exciting and wonderful moments, but it is also a delicate and precarious time for mother and baby. If complications arise during delivery, they must be handled carefully to ensure the health and safety of mothers and infants.

• Uterine Rupture:
When the wall of the uterus tears during childbirth, this condition is known as uterine rupture. If the tear extends through the entire uterine wall, the results can be fatal for both the mother and child. Uterine rupture typically occurs early in the labor process and can be detected and avoided by constant monitoring of the birthing process.
• Shoulder Dystocia:
If an infant is too large for the mother’s pelvis or is in an abnormal position during birth, one of the shoulders may become caught during delivery. This condition is known as shoulder dystocia and can result in nerve damage, including Erb’s palsy, if not properly managed.

To learn more about even more about these and other birth injury causes, here are some other helpful resources:

• Birth Injury Causes
• Uterine Rupture
• Shoulder Dystocia

If you believe that you or your child is suffering from a birth injury that was caused by the negligence of your healthcare provider, our Cleveland birth injury lawyers can help you get the compensation you need to cover the costs of medical expenses.
Our legal team will consult medical experts, such as nurses, obstetricians, pediatricians, pediatric neurologists, and more, to help you determine what happened and how your child’s life will be affected.

Contact us today—we have more than 90 years of experience fighting for the rights of injured Ohioans, and we’re ready to help you, too.