A birth injury (or birth trauma) is an injury an infant sustains during the birthing process or soon afterward. Some birth injuries are minor bruises or effects that fade away quickly, but unfortunately, others cause substantial, lifelong disabilities that can radically change the child's life before it has a chance to start. That includes cerebral palsy, Erb's palsy (a brachial plexus injury), brain damage and broken bones. If your child has suffered one of these or another serious birth injury, Suthers & Thompson may be able to help.

The most serious forms of birth trauma arise from restrictions to the child's oxygen supply. Babies in the womb receive blood and oxygen from their mothers through the umbilical cord, and that cord can be twisted or pressured during birth. If this is not detected and stopped quickly, the baby's brain will be starved of oxygen, leading to the death of brain cells. Unfortunately, the result is brain damage or cerebral palsy, a spectrum of disorders ranging from severe mental disability to trouble with motor skills. Other birth injuries occur when doctors use too much force to remove the child from the womb, especially when he or she is stuck behind the mother's pelvis. Among the injuries this can cause are broken bones and Erb's palsy, a condition in which one of the child's arms is completely or partially useless due to nerve damage. In addition to blighting a brand-new life permanently, these injuries can be devastating for new parents. They can also be extremely expensive to treat over the child's entire lifetime, quickly overwhelming the income of an ordinary family.

Experienced medical professionals and institutions know about these risks, monitor for them and take quick action when necessary. But if they fail to see the problems or make mistakes in responding, they may be guilty of medical malpractice -- medical care that falls below the accepted standard of care in your community. If medical malpractice is responsible for your child's birth injury, you have the right to hold the careless medical professionals who caused it responsible for the destructive physical, financial and emotional results. Suthers & Thompson is experienced with cases of birth injury and medical malpractice in Georgia and South Carolina. We work routinely with qualified experts throughout the United States who can assess the future costs of caring for a catastrophically injured child.

If you believe your family is a victim of birth trauma, we would like to help. To tell us about your case and learn more about your legal options at a FREE consultation, please contact Suthers & Thompson today at 1-800-320-2384 or contact us online through our confidential evaluation form.