St. Louis Birth Injury Lawyers

Our St. Louis birth injury lawyers are here to help if your baby is a victim of medical malpractice. A birth injury to a child due to a negligent doctor, nurse or other healthcare worker is a traumatic experience. We understand you and your child are suffering. You deserve answers from the best birth injury lawyers in St. Louis. We are here to get them for you.

A child’s birth injury can happen during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or even after birth. Not all injuries are the result of a provider breaching the standard of care. However, some are. It is a birth injury lawyer’s job to investigate your particular case and determine if the provider met the required standard of care. If we determine the standard of care was breached and a medical error resulted in a birth injury, then we can file a medical malpractice lawsuit for your child.

Most often birth injuries happen while the mother is in labor. During labor, it is extremely important that doctors constantly monitor the mother and the baby to make sure both are well. This includes monitoring heart rate, oxygen saturation, blood pressure, dilation as well as a number of other factors.

Sometimes, natural child birth is not possible and a quick decision must be made to deliver the baby by cesarean section. This is a procedure where the baby is delivered by surgical intervention instead of through the birth canal. Many birth injuries occur when the decision to deliver the baby through cesarean section is not made in time. In these cases, the baby’s oxygen supply can be cut off, causing hypoxic brain damage or death. In some cases, the baby can be too large to pass through the birth canal and may get stuck.

Types of birth injuries we handle:

• Anesthesia errors
• Shoulder dystocia
• Oxygen deprivation
• Ataxic cerebral palsy
• Athetoid cerebral palsy
• Choreoathetoid cerebral palsy
• Diplegic cerebral palsy
• Dyskinetic cerebral palsy
• Dystonic cerebral palsy
• Epidural Hematoma cerebral palsy
• Grade 1 IVH Cerebral Palsy
• Hemiparetic or Hemiplegic cerebral palsy
• Hypertonic or Hypotonic cerebral palsy
• Non-spastic (Extrapyramidal) cerebral palsy
• Periventricular Leukomalacia cerebral palsy
• Spastic Quadriplegia
• Subdural Hematoma Cerebral palsy
• Kernicterus
• Spinal cord damage
• Erb’s palsy
• Brachial plexus injury
• Asphyxia from umbilical cord problems
• Brain injury / damage (TBI)
• Fetal acidosis
• Infant wrongful death
• Fetal monitoring errors
• Antepartum hemorrhage (APH) or bleeding during pregnancy
• Eclampsia
• Uterine rupture
• Bone fractures
• Cephalohematomasubconjunctival hemorrhage
• Intracranial hemorrhage
• Head trauma
• Paralysis
• Caput succedaneum
• Untreated newborn jaundice
• Placenta previa
• Placental abruption

Cerebral palsy- The most common birth injury

Many child birth personal injury cases have been filed for cerebral palsy. “Cerebral” refers to the brain and “palsy” refers to movement. This condition is the result of damage to the motor centers of the brain. Later in life, the development of the bones is severely retarded. Unfortunately, there is no cure for cerebral palsy.

There are four classifications of cerebral palsy.

1. Spastic cerebral palsy, and this is the most common type. This type of cerebral palsy is further classified into what portion of the brain is injured. What area of the brain is affected determines what corresponding motor development will be impaired.
2. Ataxic cerebral palsy refers to damage to the cerebellum, which causes instability. Walking is a challenge for persons affected with this kind of cerebral palsy. This is also the rarest type of cerebral palsy.
3. Athetoid cerebral palsy or “Non-spastic” cerebral palsy. This refers to a condition when different muscle groups having different muscle tone. Muscles are referred to as hypertonia when they are very tight and cannot be relaxed. Hypotonia refers to the state of a muscle when it exhibits abnormally low muscle tone and muscle weakness. People with this condition are often unable to sit or stand up normally and often have involuntary movements in their muscles. Simple daily tasks like opening up a jar are often too cumbersome for a person with this disorder.
4. “Mixed.” Sometimes, a person can have more than one type of cerebral palsy and this is referred to as “mixed.”It is estimated that cerebral palsy occurs in .2% of all births in the United States. This equates to approximately ten thousand babies per year.

Cerebral palsy is further classified into the location of the dysfunction. Monoplegia refers to one limb that has deficient movement. Diplegia refers to two limbs. Hemiplegia means one side or the other is affected. Triplegia refers to three affected limbs. Quadriplegia descirbes movement that affects all four limbs. Last, double hemiplegia is a condition where all four limbs are affected but the arms are compromised more than the legs.

Brachial plexus / Erb’s palsy injuries

Brachial plexus injuries, commonly called “Erb’s palsy”, occur when there is damage to the nerves that control movement to the arms. Like cerebral palsy, approximately .2% of all births result in brachial plexus injuries. These injuries are common when difficult deliveries result in undue pressure of the neck area of the child. This pressure can be a result of a medical professional pulling too hard on the baby’s neck during delivery. When the neck is stretched, nerves can be damaged or torn, causing the arm those nerves control to become non-functional.

There are four major types of brachial plexus injuries: avulsion, rupture, neuroma and stretch. The kind of injury your baby is diagnosed with will determine the severity of the condition in terms of permanent injury and treatment options. To diagnose cerebral palsy, doctors will take x-rays and maybe even an MRI to see if the nerves have been affected. Sometimes, surgery is necessary to correct this problem.

Statute of limitations issues for Missouri birth injuries.

The state of Missouri has a two year statute of limitations for medical malpractice. If your baby is alive and has injuries, the statute of limitations does not begin to run until the child turns 18. That means children ordinarily have until their 20th birthday to file a birth injury lawsuit.

What will your St. Louis birth injury lawyers do?

First, we will meet with you and find out what happened from your perspective. Second, we will request all medical records. We will review them in-house to determine if something appears to have gone wrong. If it passes that test, we will then hire an expert to review the records. After that happens, we can determine if you have a birth injury case.

After we have all the information, we will devise a plan and ensure your expectations are met.

Why hire The Bradley Law Firm’s birth injury attorneys?

First, we offer a free consultation. Second, we will never send you a bill unless we recover money for you or your child. Third, we have the experience, knowledge and resources to fight to win your case. Fourth, we are fathers ourselves. We know having an injured child is a gut wrenching experience. Contact us today and speak to our experienced St. Louis birth injury lawyers about your case for free. Most, importantly, we have the highest rating from other St. Louis lawyers and judges, as reflected in our Martindale-Hubbell AV rating.