Michigan Neonatal Injury Lawyer and Birth Injury Attorney

Neonatal injuries occur due to adverse events at or after birth that are avoidable.[1] In cases where a birth injury is avoidable, medical malpractice is typically the cause, meaning that a traumatic injury could have been avoided had proper medical treatment been administered.

When a child sustains a neonatal injury, there can be lasting impacts, requiring lifelong medical treatment and care. This often comes at a significant cost, especially when a child incurs a severe injury. Most families do not have the financial resources to cover exorbitant care costs, nor should they be expected to cover such costs when the injury is due to a medical provider. When birth injuries occur due to medical malpractice, it often is necessary to take legal action to pursue damages from negligent care providers and medical facilities.

At Olsman MacKenzie Peacock, we have decades of legal experience and have successfully helped numerous families obtain compensation after traumatic birth injuries. If your child suffered a debilitating neonatal injury because of a physician’s negligent conduct, we want to help you seek justice and fair compensation. Call our office to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation. We can evaluate your case with the assistance of medical experts, explain your options for seeking compensation if it is determined that medical malpractice likely occurred, and help develop a plan that addresses the needs of your child and family.

What Is A Neonatal Injury?

Neonatal injuries are injuries sustained by infants at or shortly after birth. This term is often used interchangeably with “birth injury”; however, the term “neonatal” applies to injuries within the first 28 days of a child’s life. Thus, neonatal injuries are those occurring within the first month, while birth injuries refer to conditions directly connected to the childbirth process.

The following are some of the most common neonatal injuries:

Encephalitis
Meningitis
Improper resuscitation or assistance breathing
Cardiac arrest
Mismanaged breathing problems
Hydrocephalus
Sepsis
Stroke during or near the time of delivery
Botched or wrongful circumcision
Untreated or improperly treated meningitis
Untreated Jaundice/Kernicterus
Untreated hypoglycemia or low blood sugars
Seizures
Infections
Medication errors
Transfusion errors

Who Can Be Held Liable for a Neonatal Injury?

Legally, any person or entity involved in medical malpractice can be held liable to the extent of their percentage fault in the damages that result. As a result, depending on the facts, many different parties can be held liable for a neonatal injury. For example, liability could be found with:

A physician (if they were negligent or engaged in malpractice)
A nurse practitioner
Surgeons
Nurses and nursing staff
Pharmacists
Hospitals and other care facilities
Various other parties

What is Medical Malpractice?

Medical professionals have an obligation to recognize warning signs that a baby may be in distress and danger and to manage these high-risk complications carefully. Failure to adhere to the standards of sound medical practice constitutes negligence, and if this negligence causes harm, it is considered medical malpractice.

Our firm focuses on birth injury cases, including incidents of medical malpractice during late pregnancy, labor and delivery, or early infancy. As experienced birth injury lawyers, we are passionate about advocating for children who have disabilities and complex healthcare needs as a result of birth injuries.

What May I Be Able to Recover for My Child’s Neonatal Injury?

Neonatal injuries can be severe and have lifelong implications, such as critical developmental issues. As such, legal remedies typically involve financial damages awarded to compensate the victim for current and future losses associated with the injury. These amounts can be used to cover:

Medical bills
Rehabilitation
Doctor visits
Home care
Future medical expenses
Lost earning capacity

In cases where a child dies as a result of a medical mistake, a wrongful death claim may also be possible.

Calculating the full compensation due to a particular child or their family is complex, as it requires taking into account the astronomical costs that can be incurred over a lifetime. In birth injury cases, we retain medical, rehabilitative, and vocational experts to provide opinions on these matters, so that the true amount of damages can be calculated.

How Much Does a Neonatal Birth Injury Lawyer Cost?

Most of our neonatal injury clients do not have the financial resources to afford necessary medical care for their injured child, much less the means to pay for up-front legal fees. With this in mind, we represent our birth injury clients on a contingency fee basis, meaning we do not charge a fee unless we recover compensation. If (and only if) successful, we collect a percentage of the settlement or awarded damages. Thus, it not necessary for parents to come out-of-pocket to procure our services and representation.

We also advance all costs of litigation (such costs are normally repaid through a settlement or jury award). These costs are often significant, as it is necessary to retain medical experts (including physicians), and to incur deposition, court costs, and other expenses.

Should I Hire an Attorney for My Child’s Neonatal Injury Case?

Medical errors that cause neonatal injuries can impose crushing financial burdens on injured children and their families. Many parents wonder who will pay for the lifetime care of their child. Unfortunately, doctors, hospitals, and insurance companies rarely admit their mistakes. The only way to get to the truth and hold wrongdoers accountable to protect other families is through filing a lawsuit.

You deserve answers if your child suffered a neonatal injury. We can help get to the truth, and to pursue justice and fair compensation where medical malpractice occurred.

If your child sustained a neonatal injury, you will need a dedicated, experienced legal team who understand how to fight for your child’s rights against hospitals, physicians, and large insurance companies. At Olsman MacKenzie Peacock, we have the resources and in-depth knowledge needed to tenaciously and aggressively advocate for the full compensation your child and family deserves. We invite you to call our office to schedule a free consultation to get start started.

[1] Masoumeh Abedzadeh-Kalahroudi, et. Al., Incidence of Neonatal Birth Injuries and Related Factors in Kashan, Iran, NCBI, https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4460260/.

Neonatal Injuries