Erie Birth Injury Lawyer

It is every parent’s worst nightmare to discover that an otherwise healthy child has a serious injury or health condition. It is even more upsetting to realize that someone else’s negligence caused the injury and that due care could have prevented the child’s harm. Sadly, this has been exactly the case for many parents in Erie, Pennsylvania. Birth injuries can affect both mother and child and cause lifelong problems. For legal assistance with these types of claims in Erie, come to Dallas W. Hartman P.C. for lawyers with decades of experience.

Elements of a Birth Injury Claim

Not all birth injuries stem from negligence. Some are unpreventable or are due to genetics. There are, however, birth injuries that occur because of a physician, nurse, or surgeon’s mistake or incompetence. At Dallas W. Hartman P.C., we can examine your claim and let you know if it has the hallmarks of medical malpractice. If the following are true, you most likely have grounds for a lawsuit in Pennsylvania:

• You have real damages. “Real” damages are those that are compensable with a lawsuit. They include personal injuries, property damage, medical bills, and pain and suffering.
• The defendant owed you a duty of care. Doctors take an oath when they begin their practices – to treat their patients with the care and skill that a reasonable doctor would in the same circumstances.
• The defendant breached the duty of care. The defendant must have breached his/her duties of care through negligence, recklessness, or wanton disregard for the safety of others.
• The defendant’s breach caused your damages. You must show causation between the defendant’s breach of duty and your (or your child’s) injuries.

Birth injury claims are difficult to prove and require certain prerequisites to even see a courtroom in Pennsylvania. For example, a claimant must file an affidavit of merit within 60 days of filing a claim. The affidavit must have an attorney’s signature, along with a statement from an expert medical witness supporting the claim of negligence. Retaining an attorney is always a wise decision in birth injury lawsuits.

Common Types of Birth Injuries

While just the type of injury is not enough to judge whether you have a malpractice claim, it can help you decide when to talk to a lawyer. If your child has suffered a brain-related injury, broken bone, muscle injury, brachial plexus injury, infection, shoulder dystocia, or injuries from delivery, speak to an attorney. Certain conditions and disorders can also arise from injuries suffered during labor and delivery. These include Erb’s palsy, cerebral palsy, and Klumpke’s palsy. If a doctor has diagnosed your child with these conditions, discuss the possibility of medical malpractice with an attorney.

Consult Our Erie Birth Injury Attorneys

Birth injury is a delicate subject matter. At Dallas W. Hartman P.C., our Erie personal injury attorneys meet with each of our clients one-on-one for conversations about the type of birth injury and how it affects the child in question. We need to gather an idea of the impact the injury has had on the child and parent’s lives so that we can convey the gravity of the situation to a judge or jury. We then investigate the circumstances of the injury to see if a reasonable doctor would have done something differently in the same circumstances to prevent the injury. Contact us to get started. Call us in Erie today! (814) 461-8844