Was your baby harmed during delivery or newborn care in Forest Park, GA?
At Moriarty Medical Malpractice Lawyers, we assist families in understanding their rights after a birth injury in Forest Park.
If your baby was injured during delivery or in the first days of life at a hospital near Forest Park, a lapse by the obstetric or newborn care staff may be responsible. Our Forest Park, GA birth injury lawyer can examine the labor, delivery, and nursery records to pinpoint what went wrong and when.
Moriarty Medical Malpractice Lawyers evaluates the care given to both mother and baby, from the delivery room through the newborn nursery. Our attorneys represent families across Clayton County. Schedule a free consultation.
Birth Injury Lawyer Forest Park, GA
A birth injury claim arises when an obstetric or newborn care provider falls short of the accepted standard of care and a mother or child is hurt as a result. These claims can involve labor, delivery, or care in the nursery or NICU.
Georgia’s infant mortality rate was 6.3 per 1,000 live births in 2022, according to the state’s Title V needs assessment. Most of those deaths have causes unrelated to negligence. Some newborn deaths and many lasting injuries, however, follow preventable errors, for example, a slow response to a prolapsed umbilical cord. Missed infections, untreated jaundice, and delivery-instrument injuries can also cause lifelong harm. Our birth injury attorney in Forest Park, GA can assess the care given at each stage of the birth.
Types of Birth Injury Cases We Handle in Forest Park
Birth injuries can occur before, during, and after delivery, and some don’t become apparent for months. Our birth injury lawyers in Forest Park handle cases arising at every one of these stages.
- Umbilical cord emergencies. A prolapsed or compressed cord can cut off the baby’s oxygen within minutes. We examine how quickly the delivery staff recognized the problem and moved to deliver.
- Failure to treat. Staff may recognize signs of fetal distress or maternal bleeding but delay the treatment those signs require. These claims focus on the gap between the warning signs and the response.
- Shoulder dystocia injuries. When a baby’s shoulder becomes lodged during delivery, improper maneuvers can injure the nerves of the arm. The delivery note should describe each maneuver and the force used.
- Newborn infections. Group B strep and other infections can pass to a baby during birth. These claims examine whether the mother was screened and whether antibiotics were given during labor when indicated.
- Hospital negligence. Understaffed labor units and poor communication between nurses and physicians can delay care for mother and baby. The hospital may be responsible along with the physicians and nurses involved.
- Untreated newborn jaundice. High bilirubin that goes unmonitored can cause kernicterus, a form of brain damage. We review the bilirubin testing done before discharge and the follow-up instructions given to parents.
- Low blood sugar in newborns. Hypoglycemia that isn’t detected and corrected can cause seizures and brain injury. The nursery records show when glucose was checked and how staff responded.
- Emergency room malpractice. An expectant mother who arrives with bleeding or severe abdominal pain needs a prompt obstetric evaluation. We examine whether that evaluation took place before she was sent home.
- Resuscitation errors. A newborn who isn’t breathing effectively needs prompt, correct resuscitation. We compare the delivery-room response with the baby’s condition at birth.
Why Choose Moriarty Medical Malpractice Lawyers as My Birth Injury Lawyer in Forest Park, GA?
Results for Malpractice Clients
Our firm’s verdicts and settlements total more than $200 million.
- $30 million, awarded by jury verdict
- $13.5 million recovered for a client
- $8.8 million in a claim against medical providers
- A $4.5 million medical negligence recovery
Our birth injury attorneys in Forest Park handle these claims on contingency, and families don’t owe attorney fees unless we obtain compensation.
Litigation Background for Birth Injury Claims
Daniel J. Moriarty completed his undergraduate studies at Notre Dame with honors and earned a law degree from Texas. He started practicing in 2012 and spent six years defending doctors and hospitals, which gives our firm insight into how obstetric providers defend delivery-room decisions and the fetal monitoring and nursing records central to those cases. He has represented patients and families harmed by medical negligence since 2018. His appellate work includes Georgia’s state appeals court and the federal Eleventh Circuit. Families in Clayton County can rely on that background when our medical malpractice lawyer in Forest Park, GA evaluates a birth injury claim.
Understanding Birth Injury Cases
What Are Important Aspects of a Birth Injury Case?
A birth injury case usually depends on events that unfolded over minutes or hours, and on whether the records capture them accurately. Our birth injury lawyers in Forest Park examine the documentation for gaps and inconsistencies.
- Screening decisions made weeks before delivery can matter. ACOG guidance summarized by the National Library of Medicine calls for group B strep screening at 36 to 37 6/7 weeks, with antibiotics during labor for positive cases.
- Newborn care is part of the claim. The CDC has encouraged bilirubin checks before a baby leaves the hospital, along with appropriate follow-up care.
- Some harm becomes clear only as a child grows. Developmental delays and learning problems are among the later-appearing birth injuries that may trace back to delivery.
- The mother’s injuries count too. Hemorrhage, severe tears, and uterine injuries caused by delivery errors can support her own claim.
- Causation is frequently disputed. The defense may attribute a child’s condition to genetics or to events before labor, so the medical review must address those possibilities.
Damages, Liability, and Compensation for Birth Injury Cases
Liability consists of four elements: a duty owed by the obstetric and newborn care providers, a departure from the accepted standard, an injury caused by that departure, and resulting losses. Birth injuries linked to negligence often require years of care, and that shapes how damages are calculated.
- Future medical care. Therapy, surgery, equipment, and home nursing the child may need over a lifetime.
- Lost earning capacity. The income the child may be unable to earn as an adult.
- Pain and suffering. The physical pain and limitations the child experiences.
- The mother’s losses. Medical costs, lost wages, and pain from her own delivery injuries.
Our Forest Park, GA birth injury lawyer can gather assessments from the child’s treating physicians to document these needs.
What Should You Bring to Your Birth Injury Consultation?
The most useful records often come from two places: the mother’s labor and delivery chart and the baby’s nursery or NICU chart. Families can request some records directly, including newborn screening records, which the state provides at no cost.
- Prenatal lab results, including any group B strep test
- Delivery and discharge summaries for mother and baby
- Nursery or NICU paperwork, including bilirubin and glucose results if you received them
- Evaluations from specialists who have treated your child since birth
Our Forest Park birth injury attorney can then explain which parts of the delivery and newborn care deserve closer examination.
What Is The Birth Injury Case Timeline?
Birth injury cases often take longer than other malpractice cases because the child’s long-term needs must be understood before damages can be valued.
- Records from the prenatal clinic, hospital, and NICU are gathered.
- Obstetric and neonatal physicians review the care.
- The lawsuit is filed, and in Clayton County the State Court clerk maintains the case filings.
- Both sides exchange records and depose the delivery staff.
- The case resolves through settlement, mediation, or trial.
For a child injured before age five, O.C.G.A. § 9-3-73 generally allows the child’s claim to be filed until the seventh birthday and bars it after the tenth birthday. A mother’s claim for her own injuries is subject to the usual two-year limit under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-71.
Reach Out to Moriarty Medical Malpractice Lawyers to Schedule a Consultation
Contact us and ask for a free consultation with our Forest Park birth injury lawyer. Moriarty Medical Malpractice Lawyers doesn’t charge families attorney fees unless the claim results in compensation. We can explain how the filing deadlines apply to your child and to you, and describe what an investigation would involve.