Was your child injured during birth in Stonecrest, GA?
At Moriarty Medical Malpractice Lawyers, we help families in Stonecrest pursue full recovery in birth injury matters.
If your child was injured during pregnancy, labor, or delivery in Stonecrest, the medical care surrounding the birth may be the cause. Our Stonecrest, GA birth injury lawyer will review the prenatal, labor, and newborn records and determine whether a provider’s error led to your child’s condition.
Moriarty Medical Malpractice Lawyers explains each finding to parents in plain terms, from the fetal monitoring strips to the neonatal notes. Our attorneys then pursue compensation for the care your child will need. Schedule a free consultation to talk through your family’s situation.
Birth Injury Lawyer Stonecrest, GA
A birth injury is physical harm to a baby, and sometimes to the mother, that occurs before, during, or shortly after delivery. It becomes a legal claim when a provider does not use reasonable care in monitoring or delivering the baby and that lapse causes the injury.
Nearly half of Georgia hospitals that completed a CDC level-of-care assessment were rated at a lower level than the hospitals had assigned themselves, according to Georgia’s Title V report. The state now verifies birthing hospitals through a maternal and neonatal designation program. Our birth injury attorney in Stonecrest, GA considers whether the delivering hospital had the staff and resources the pregnancy required.
Types of Birth Injury Cases We Handle in Stonecrest
Birth injury claims arise from prenatal care, labor management, and the delivery itself. Our birth injury lawyers in Stonecrest handle the following matters.
- Oxygen deprivation injuries. A baby who does not receive enough oxygen during labor can suffer permanent brain damage. We compare the fetal heart rate tracings with the times staff responded to signs of distress.
- Cerebral palsy. Some cases of cerebral palsy follow a preventable injury around the time of delivery. We consult neonatal and neurological reviewers to trace the child’s diagnosis back to the birth records.
- Brachial plexus injuries. Excessive pulling on the baby’s head or neck during a difficult delivery can damage the nerves that control the arm and hand. The delivery note and the timing of each maneuver are central to these claims.
- Assisted delivery injuries. Forceps and vacuum devices can cause skull fractures, bleeding in the brain, and facial nerve damage when misapplied. We review who used the instrument, how many attempts were made, and why a cesarean was not chosen instead.
- Delayed cesarean sections. When a baby shows persistent distress, a delay in moving to surgery can cause lasting harm. The records show when the decision was made and how long the operating room took to respond.
- Placental and uterine emergencies. A placental abruption or uterine rupture requires prompt recognition and delivery. Our review focuses on whether warning signs appeared before staff acted.
- Failure to diagnose. Preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, and infections can harm a baby when prenatal providers miss them. We examine each prenatal visit and the test results available at the time.
- Medication errors. Errors in dosing drugs used to start or strengthen labor can reduce blood flow to the baby. The infusion records show each dose and each rate change.
- Emergency room malpractice. A pregnant patient sent home from an emergency department despite warning signs may return in a far more serious condition. We compare the discharge decision with the symptoms recorded at the visit.
Why Choose Moriarty Medical Malpractice Lawyers as My Birth Injury Lawyer in Stonecrest, GA?
Clear Explanations for Families
Before law school, Daniel J. Moriarty spent time teaching high school students who were learning English, and our firm places a priority on explaining complex records clearly. He attended Notre Dame, graduating with honors, and later earned his law degree from UT’s law school. He began practicing in 2012, defended medical providers for six years, and has represented injured patients and families since 2018. His appellate experience includes the Court of Appeals of Georgia and the Eleventh Circuit. Our medical malpractice lawyer in Stonecrest, GA handles birth injury claims as a core part of the firm’s malpractice practice.
Results in Medical Malpractice Litigation
The firm’s clients have received more than $200 million through verdicts and settlements. Individual outcomes include:
- $8 million in a medical malpractice recovery
- A second $8 million result in a separate malpractice case
- $4.5 million in a medical malpractice claim
- A $4 million malpractice resolution
Our birth injury attorneys in Stonecrest accept these cases on a contingency fee basis, so families pay no attorney fees unless we recover compensation.
What Is Important to Understand About a Birth Injury Case?
What Should You Bring to Your Birth Injury Consultation?
Parents often have only part of the record, and that is enough to begin. Bring any of the following documents you have.
- Prenatal visit summaries and ultrasound reports
- Hospital discharge papers for both mother and baby
- NICU records and any newborn imaging results
- Diagnoses or therapy evaluations your child has received since birth
At the consultation, our birth injury lawyer in Stonecrest, GA reviews the pregnancy and delivery timeline and explains whether the records point to a preventable error.
What Are Important Aspects of a Birth Injury Case?
A birth injury claim involves two patients and records from several providers. Our birth injury lawyers in Stonecrest give particular attention to the following issues.
- Causation requires careful medical review. The CDC’s cerebral palsy research links most cases to events before or during birth and identifies risk factors including low birthweight and maternal infection. A claim must connect the child’s condition to a specific lapse in care, whether the diagnosis is cerebral palsy or another injury.
- Fetal monitoring is central. Heart rate tracings show when a baby was in distress and how long staff took to respond. A delayed response can lead to hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, a form of brain injury caused by reduced oxygen and blood flow.
- Hospital capability matters. Georgia organizes high-risk obstetric care through six perinatal regions, and Atlanta is home to one of the state’s Regional Perinatal Centers. A decision to transfer a mother, or a failure to transfer her, can become part of the claim.
- Prenatal care is part of the record. Untreated preeclampsia and gestational diabetes are among the prenatal malpractice errors that can harm a baby before labor begins.
Damages, Liability, and Compensation for Birth Injury Cases
Liability consists of four elements: the obstetric provider or hospital owed a duty of care to the mother and baby, that duty was breached, the breach led to the child’s injury, and the family incurred losses. When a baby is injured during an assisted delivery, the known risks of forceps use must be separated from an error in how the instrument was applied.
Birth injury damages often extend across the child’s lifetime and may include:
- Medical care and therapy costs
- Special education, home modifications, and assistive equipment
- The child’s reduced ability to earn income as an adult
- Pain, suffering, and the loss of normal life experiences
- The parents’ own expenses for the child’s care
Georgia’s Babies Can’t Wait program provides early intervention services for children under three. The evaluations from that program can help document a child’s developmental needs.
What Is The Birth Injury Case Timeline?
A birth injury case begins with the collection of prenatal, labor, and newborn records, followed by review from obstetric and neonatal physicians. Georgia gives children injured before age five additional time to file. Under O.C.G.A. § 9-3-73, a child’s claim generally may be filed until the child’s seventh birthday, and no claim may be brought after the child’s tenth birthday. A parent’s own claim for the child’s medical expenses follows the standard two-year period in O.C.G.A. § 9-3-71, so that part of the case may expire much sooner. Our Stonecrest, GA birth injury attorney tracks each of these deadlines from the first consultation. After filing, both sides exchange evidence and take depositions from the delivery staff, and many cases resolve through settlement before a jury hears them.
Reach Out to Moriarty Medical Malpractice Lawyers to Schedule a Consultation
Contact us to request a free consultation with our Stonecrest birth injury lawyer. Moriarty Medical Malpractice Lawyers represents families on a contingency fee basis. We will review the records you have and explain what a claim on your child’s behalf would involve. Parents may contact us whether the injury happened recently or several years ago, because the deadline for a child’s claim can extend beyond the usual two years.