Tampa Birth Injury Attorneys

Birth Injury Representation You Can Trust

When you trust a medical professional who causes injuries to your infant, you might be hesitant to trust other professionals. However, our goal at Boohoff Law, P.A., is to hold others accountable to a high standard of care. We are there to support you when you don’t receive the same care from your medical team.

We have an extensive legal team, including:

• Birth injury attorneys with extensive litigation experience
• Support staff who ensure each client’s case gets the full personalized attention and care it deserves
• Medical consultants who help to prove negligence in birth injury claims

While other firms might have a six or seven-figure outcome once in a while, Boohoff Law, P.A., recovers millions of dollars for clients every month in our multistate practice. We provide small-firm attention but have large-firm resources and experience.

Insurance companies and defense attorneys know we will be formidable advocates for our injured clients when we are on the case. This is especially true when the injured victim is an infant with a preventable birth injury.

If you need someone to assess your legal options in the Tampa area, your search is over. Look no further than the Boohoff team to handle your complex matter. Your family deserves full compensation, and we do not stop until justice is served.

Labor and Delivery Mishaps in Tampa

People give birth in many locations around Tampa, and each pregnant mother should choose the facility they feel most comfortable with.

Some women choose to give birth in a hospital setting, which might include:

• Tampa General Hospital
• St. Joseph’s Hospital
• HCA Florida South Tampa Hospital

Also, more and more women are choosing to have their babies in smaller, more personal settings. Birth centers can provide a more comfortable environment and respect more unique birth plans. These facilities often cannot provide epidurals or have the capacity to handle emergencies, but they can be beneficial for women with low-risk pregnancies.

Some birth centers in Tampa include:

• Barefoot Birth
• Labor of Love Birth Center
• Breath of Life Birth Center
• Sweet Child O’ Mine Birth Center

Whether you are in labor in a traditional hospital maternity ward or a more intimate birth center, things can go wrong. You rely on professionals to meet the standard of care necessary to prevent unnecessary injuries and complications.

When any medical provider engages in negligence and injuries result, patients can hold those providers accountable. Boohoff Law, P.A., has the resources to take on any type of medical facility – large or small. When our client’s interests are on the line, we never back down, even against doctors, hospitals, insurance companies, and their extensive legal teams.

If you believe you might have a birth injury case, start with a free discussion and legal assessment from our Tampa birth injury attorneys.

Risks of Birth Injuries

Some people have a smooth pregnancy and delivery without any concerns or complications. Others, however, know there are risks of possible birth trauma and injuries. Doctors providing prenatal care should always identify possible risks during pregnancy and plan ahead for the safest delivery, given the circumstances. Often, this might involve scheduling a C-section to head off risks.

Some factors that put you or your child at greater risk of birth injuries or complications include:

• Larger babies
• Medical conditions of the mother
• Premature labor
• The smaller pelvis of the mother
• Prolonged labor
• Breech presentation of the infant
• Maternal obesity

Always note that many people have such risk factors and still have a safe delivery without birth injuries. The danger happens when your doctor or medical team fails to identify risk factors or plan for them. Failing to properly account for potential risks is a form of medical negligence that often results in preventable birth injuries.

Common Birth Injuries

Birth injuries can happen in many ways, resulting in different types of harm to an infant. Mothers giving birth can also experience injuries due to medical negligence that can be costly with lasting effects.

Some birth injuries to an infant might include:

Cerebral palsy (CP)

This is a condition involving the abnormal development of a child’s brain that affects their muscle control. CP might develop due to a lack of oxygen supply to the infant’s brain during labor and delivery. Medical conditions, such as placental abruption, can cause CP. A baby’s oxygen supply might also be restricted due to umbilical cord placement, prolonged labor putting stress on the baby, and other situations.

Medical teams can often prevent cerebral palsy by properly monitoring the infant’s vitals during labor or ordering a C-section when health issues might affect the oxygen flow during birth.

Erb’s palsy (Brachial palsy)

A brachial plexus is a group of nerves facilitating the hands and arms. When you have a troublesome delivery, the baby might suffer shoulder dystocia, damaging the brachial plexus. This palsy often results from the improper pulling of the infant or using vacuums or forceps that affect the shoulder. Sometimes, the nerve damage is permanent, resulting in paralysis.

Brain injuries

An infant can suffer brain damage due to:

• Trauma to the brain, often from vacuum or forceps misuse
• Oxygen deprivation due to unaddressed fetal distress

In either situation, damage to the brain tissue might be permanent. Some infants have developmental delays and limited functioning for the rest of their lives due to brain injuries during birth due to medical errors.

Facial paralysis

Unnecessary pressure on the infant’s face or the use of forceps can cause damage to facial nerves. The baby might not have movement abilities on one side of their face, which might also prevent them from closing an eye. Bruised nerves might heal within a few weeks or months, but torn nerves often require surgery and additional medical treatment of the infant.

There are many additional birth injuries that can occur due to negligence. Some injured infants need additional medical care, resulting in longer NICU stays and piles of medical bills. Other babies have injuries that result in lifelong problems and disabilities.

It is devastating when your child suffers at all, especially so when an injury has permanent symptoms. You never get to realize the full potential your child might have had if their birth was injury-free. Your family might have extensive costs for care over their lifetime due to their birth injuries.

In all of these situations, you deserve justice for your child and compensation for your losses. You need help from a birth injury lawyer who represents children and families in the Tampa area.

Liability for Birth Injuries

You cannot hold doctors and hospitals accountable for every birth injury or complication that happens. Sometimes, these injuries simply happen, and no one is to blame. When doctors and medical staff do everything they should, they should not be legally liable for injuries. If they were, these professionals might be too nervous about performing their jobs without fear of legal action when something goes medically wrong.

That said, some birth injuries and other medical problems are the results of negligence on the part of doctors, nurses, or other staff. Medical negligence occurs when a particular medical professional fails to act as another similarly trained medical professional should ordinarily act under the same circumstances.

Examples of negligence that can lead to birth injuries include:

• Improper prenatal monitoring and failing to identify potential risks
• Not ordering bed rest when necessary during pregnancy
• Not ordering a C-section when necessary for high-risk pregnancies or when labor is unproductive for too long
• Not monitoring maternal or fetal vital signs during labor and delivery
• Improper use of forceps, vacuums, or pulling wrong on the baby in the birth canal
• Not addressing problems with the umbilical cord or placenta

When your doctor’s care falls below the prevailing standard, and you or your child suffers injuries, that doctor should be liable for medical malpractice.

Obtaining Compensation for Your Losses

To have a valid claim for compensation, you must prove liability, which means proving medical negligence and your losses.

Such losses for birth injuries can include:

• Past and future medical bills
• Costs of assistive devices
• Physical and mental pain and suffering
• Costs of shadows, special education specialists, therapists, or other assistance
• Permanent disabilities or disfigurement

Once we calculate the fair value of your losses, we begin the process of seeking the full compensation you need.