Atlanta Birth Asphyxia Lawyer

Has your child been injured by birth asphyxia in Atlanta, Georgia? Georgia Baby Safety can help when you contact us at (404) 721-1050. We offer a free consultation with an Atlanta birth asphyxia lawyer, giving your family the chance to learn about your options and understand what comes next after such a critical medical emergency.

Birth asphyxia can lead to severe physical or cognitive complications when a child is deprived of oxygen before, during, or shortly after delivery. If negligence played a role, you may be able to pursue financial accountability for the preventable harm your child has suffered. Reach out today to discuss your potential birth asphyxia claim.

Why Choose Georgia Baby Safety To Handle Your Birth Asphyxia Claim in Atlanta, GA?

Birth injury litigation isn’t easy. Georgia’s medical malpractice laws are designed more for the benefit of doctors and hospitals than for the children who suffer needless and severe physical injuries when mistakes are made. That’s why families in Atlanta, GA, turn to Georgia Baby Safety for help. 

Our Atlanta birth injury attorneys are knowledgeable, aggressive legal advocates who fight for justice when medical providers make costly errors.

Here’s why clients choose us:

• Georgia Baby Safety is a leader in birth injury litigation. Our award-winning Atlanta trial attorneys have over five decades of combined experience.
• Our team has successfully recovered hundreds of millions of dollars in damages from medical specialists, hospitals, and insurance companies.
• We’re consistently recognized as top birth injury attorneys in Georgia by Super Lawyers, Martindale-Hubbell, and Georgia Trend Magazine.
• We offer compassionate, personalized legal representation and custom-built strategies that are designed to maximize each client’s individual chances of success.
• Our team has the resources required to go toe-to-toe with powerful healthcare conglomerates and win life-changing monetary awards.

Take the time you need to focus on helping your child recover from their catastrophic birth asphyxia injuries, and count on our dedicated attorneys to take charge of your fight for maximum compensation. 

We won’t rest until your child and your family have been made whole. Contact our office today to schedule a free consultation with an Atlanta birth injury lawyer.

What Is Birth Asphyxia?

Birth asphyxia is a medical emergency that refers to a lack of oxygen and blood flow to the brain that occurs shortly before labor, during labor, or right after a child is born. 

Several factors can contribute to birth asphyxia, including:

• Prolonged labor
• Compressed umbilical cord 
• Umbilical cord wrapped around the child’s neck (nuchal cord)
• Uterine rupture
• Infection
• High maternal blood pressure
• Maternal anemia
• Placenta previa
• Insufficient placenta
• Placental abruption
• Maternal hemorrhage
• Medical errors

Any of these things can reduce or cut off the blood supply to the child, which, in turn, can deprive the child of oxygen that’s critical for survival. The longer a child goes without oxygen moving through their body, the more likely it is that they’ll suffer permanent brain damage or die from their birth asphyxia injury.

What Are the Signs of Birth Asphyxia?

It’s always important to monitor a mother and child before, during, and after birth so that any signs of birth asphyxia can be identified and treated promptly.

Some of the most common signs of birth asphyxia include:

• Rapid heart rate
• Slowed heart rate
• Meconium in the amniotic fluid
• Difficulty breathing
• Abnormal eye movement
• Low muscle tone
• Hypotonia
• Weak reflexes
• Blue tint to the skin and lips
• Organ failure
• Consistently low Apgar score
• Seizures

The sooner the source of the limited blood flow is identified, the less likely it is that the child will suffer long-term trauma or succumb to their injuries.

How Can Medical Negligence Cause a Birth Asphyxia Injury?

While some cases of birth asphyxia can arise due to unavoidable and unforeseeable complications during birth, others are directly related to medical mistakes made by healthcare providers – including OBGYNs, surgeons, nurses, anesthesiologists, and hospital staff.

A child might be deprived of oxygen and suffer birth asphyxia injuries if a medical professional:

• Fails to monitor for signs of fetal distress
• Disregards maternal complaints or concerns
• Uses a medical device or tool improperly
• Fails to order a timely C-Section
• Misdiagnoses a condition or fails to order necessary diagnostic tests
• Fails to provide appropriate treatment, such as therapeutic hypothermia, to reduce the risk of permanent brain damage
• Administers anesthesia improperly

These mistakes can be made when healthcare providers are distracted or fatigued, when there are lapses in communication between members of a patient’s medical team, or when hospital policies and procedures don’t prioritize patient care.

What Can Happen to a Child Who Suffers Birth Asphyxia?

Birth asphyxia can lead to a wide range of serious health issues, including:

• Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE)
• Cerebral Palsy
• Epilepsy
• Speech delays
• Visual or hearing impairment
• Developmental delays
• Learning disabilities
• Respiratory problems
• Orthopedic issues
• Mental health conditions, including depression, anxiety, and ADHD

Birth asphyxia can also be fatal and result in a child’s wrongful death if the condition is not treated in a timely manner.

What Is My Birth Asphyxia Case Worth?

Every child who experiences birth asphyxia will have a different story to tell. The trauma will affect each child’s life in a different way. So, the amount of money that can be awarded in a birth asphyxia lawsuit will depend on what makes your child’s situation unique. 

Factors that may influence your case’s worth include: 

• How long was your child deprived of proper blood flow and oxygen?
• What medical treatments were necessary to restore blood flow to your child?
• How long was your child hospitalized after birth because of the asphyxia injury?
• What complications has the birth asphyxia caused?
• Will your child likely struggle with a permanent physical, emotional, or cognitive impairment because they were deprived of oxygen at birth?
• How will the birth asphyxia injury affect your child’s ability to work and earn a living when they get older?
• Will the birth asphyxia injury reduce their life expectancy at all?

The more dire the consequences, the more you might be able to expect to receive in damages when your birth injury lawsuit is resolved.

What Compensation Can I Get if I Win My Birth Asphyxia Lawsuit?

Birth injuries such as asphyxia can cause hardships that last a lifetime. When your child’s injury is the result of medical negligence, you’ll reserve the right to sue your physician and the hospital where you delivered to demand compensation for the full extent of your economic and non-economic damages. 

Economic damages you could recover include: 

• Current and future medical bills
• Rehabilitation and therapy
• Medical devices and equipment
• Out-of-pocket costs, such as those paid for medical travel and lodging
• Lost income and wages while you cared for your child
• Your child’s future loss of income and earning capacity
• Nursing assistance

Non-economic damages could compensate you for: 

• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress
• Disfigurement
• Loss of enjoyment of life
• Reduced quality of life
• Chronic physical pain
• Post-traumatic stress disorder

Punitive damages may also be awarded if your child’s birth asphyxia injury lawsuit goes to court. In these situations, an Atlanta jury can decide that additional damages are warranted to punish a defendant and deter the kind of reprehensible actions that contributed to the child’s devastating injury. 

However, they may only be awarded in light of clear and convincing evidence of intentionally harmful actions, fraud, or gross negligence.

What Does It Cost To Hire a Birth Asphyxia Attorney in Atlanta?

Your family has gone through enough. You deserve to have an experienced legal advocate in your corner without having to worry about the cost of fighting for justice. That’s why Georgia Baby Safety litigates birth asphyxia cases on a contingency fee basis.

Pay nothing to hire our personal injury law firm until we’ve won compensation for your family. When we secure a settlement or verdict at trial, our fees are deducted from that life-changing monetary award. You pay nothing out of pocket.

How Long Do I Have To File a Lawsuit After My Child Suffered a Birth Asphyxia Injury in Georgia?

Most medical malpractice lawsuits in Georgia are subject to a two-year statute of limitations. However, in situations where a child is injured at birth because of a medical error, the statute of limitations can be tolled until the child’s 5th birthday.

If your child suffered an asphyxia injury at birth because of a medical error, you’ll have until their 7th birthday to file a civil lawsuit for damages. If a birth asphyxia injury was fatal, you’ll have two years from the date of your child’s passing to bring a wrongful death claim against the hospital. 

You must file your birth asphyxia lawsuit before the filing deadline passes. If time runs out, you lose the ability to recover compensation.

Schedule a Free Consultation With an Experienced Atlanta Birth Injury Lawyer

Call Georgia Baby Safety for help if your child suffered a birth asphyxia injury because of medical negligence in Atlanta, GA. You may have the right to seek compensation for related medical expenses, disability, and suffering. 

Our Atlanta birth asphyxia lawyers can offer the assistance and legal strategies you’ll need to maximize your recovery. We’ve helped clients and families win hundreds of millions in compensation. Now, you can benefit from our decades of combined experience and winning reputation, too. 

Contact our law office in Atlanta to get started with a free case review.