Birth Injury Lawyers Serving Philadelphia
ABC Law Centers: Birth Injury Is All We Do
The birth of a child should be a moment of pure joy for your family. Across Philadelphia, this profound milestone happens nearly every day. However, when a trusted medical professional makes a preventable mistake during labor or delivery, that celebration can instantly turn into a period of extreme uncertainty and fear.
If your child suffered a serious injury during birth, you are likely filled with questions, fear, and concern for your child’s future. You deserve answers and a clear path forward. The first step is understanding your legal rights with the help of an experienced birth injury lawyer serving Philadelphia. At ABC Law Centers, we understand the challenges your family is facing. Our team is here to listen to your story, provide answers, and help you explore your options with compassion and dedication.
Why Choose ABC Law Centers for Your Philadelphia Birth Injury Case?
Choosing the right lawyer for a birth injury case is one of the most important decisions you will make for your child’s future. These cases are highly complex, requiring a deep understanding of both intricate medical details and Pennsylvania law. A general practice law firm may not have the knowledge or resources necessary to navigate these challenges effectively.
ABC Law Centers is not a general practice law firm. Our firm was created with one mission: to help children who were injured at birth due to medical negligence.
Here is what sets our firm apart:
- Exclusive Focus: Since 1997, our practice has been dedicated exclusively to birth injury cases. This singular focus allows us to devote our full attention and resources to this complex area of law, giving your family’s case the sophisticated attention it deserves.
- A Record of Success: Our attorneys have secured multi-million-dollar verdicts and settlements for families like yours. These results provide the financial security needed for a lifetime of care, therapy, and opportunity for children with birth injuries.
- Nationwide Experience, Local Partnerships: While our attorneys are licensed in Michigan, Ohio, and Georgia, our firm helps families across the United States, including in Pennsylvania. We perform the primary legal work on every case we accept. To best serve our clients in Philadelphia, we partner with trusted local counsel, ensuring your case benefits from both our firm’s focused experience and local procedural knowledge.
- Compassion and Understanding: A lawsuit is probably the last thing you want to think about. Our team approaches every family with empathy and respect. We are here to lift the legal burden from your shoulders so you can focus on what matters most—your child.
We provide a free consultation to listen to your story, and you will never pay legal fees unless we recover compensation for you.
Common Birth Injuries Caused by Medical Malpractice
Medical malpractice can lead to a range of devastating and life-altering conditions for a newborn. Our firm has extensive experience helping families whose children were diagnosed with:
- Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE): A brain injury caused by a lack of oxygen and blood flow to the brain. This can be caused by a delayed C-section, umbilical cord problems, or failure to respond to fetal distress, among other complications.
- Cerebral Palsy (CP): A group of disorders affecting movement, muscle tone, and posture, often caused by brain damage from HIE or other birth trauma.
- Newborn Seizures: Seizures in a newborn are a critical sign of brain injury and may indicate conditions like HIE.
- Erb’s Palsy / Brachial Plexus Injuries: Damage to the network of nerves that controls the arms and hands, often occurring when a baby’s shoulder gets stuck during delivery (shoulder dystocia) and the doctor uses excessive force.
- Periventricular Leukomalacia (PVL): Damage to the brain’s white matter, which can lead to developmental delays and cerebral palsy.
- Kernicterus: A type of preventable brain damage caused by untreated severe newborn jaundice.
- Skull Fractures: These injuries may occur from the improper or forceful use of delivery instruments like forceps or a vacuum extractor.
Examples of Medical Negligence During Childbirth
Medical negligence is when a healthcare provider’s actions (or inaction) falls below the accepted standard of medical care. Examples of such negligence include:
- Failing to monitor and respond to signs of fetal distress, such as changes in the baby’s heart rate.
- Delaying a necessary emergency C-section.
- Improperly administering delivery-assisting drugs like Pitocin or Cytotec, leading to overly strong or frequent contractions.
- Failing to diagnose and treat maternal conditions like preeclampsia or uterine rupture.
- Using forceps or a vacuum extractor with excessive force or improper technique.
- Failing to manage a high-risk pregnancy appropriately.
- Not providing adequate resuscitation to a baby who is not breathing at birth.
Do I Have a Birth Injury Case?
If your child was diagnosed with a serious condition after birth, you may be replaying the events of your delivery over and over, wondering if something went wrong. It is a question that no parent should have to ask, but one that demands an answer.
While every situation is unique, there are several “red flags” that might suggest medical negligence played a role in your child’s injury. Consider if your experience involved any of the following:
- Was your baby blue, gray, limp, or not breathing at birth?
- Did your child need resuscitation or have to be put on a ventilator?
- Did your baby receive cooling therapy (hypothermia therapy)? This is a treatment specifically for HIE.
- Did your child have seizures within the first days of life?
- Were your baby’s APGAR scores very low?
- Was there a long, unexplained wait for an emergency C-section?
- Did your baby have to spend weeks or even months in the Neonatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU)?
Even if none of these signs seem to fit, you may still have a case. Sometimes, the evidence of a birth injury only becomes clear as a child grows and begins to miss key developmental milestones. If you have any suspicion that a medical error caused your child’s condition, it is important to have the medical records reviewed as soon as possible. Our team can help you find clarity and determine if you have grounds for a legal case.
We're here for your family - for free.
If you worry your child’s condition is due to medical malpractice at birth, give us a call. Our team is here to answer your questions and help you understand your legal options. We exclusively focus on birth injury, so we understand what families like yours go through during this tough time.
Who May Be Held Liable in a Philadelphia Birth Injury Lawsuit?
Identifying the responsible parties is a critical step in a birth injury lawsuit. It requires a meticulous investigation of medical records to pinpoint exactly where the standard of care was breached. Often, multiple parties may share responsibility for the harm caused.
In Philadelphia and throughout Pennsylvania, the following parties are frequently named as defendants in birth injury cases:
- Obstetricians (OB-GYNs): The primary physician overseeing the pregnancy and delivery is often the main point of contact. Negligence may include failing to recognize fetal distress, delaying a C-section, or mismanaging a high-risk pregnancy.
- Nurses and Midwives: Labor and delivery nurses and midwives are responsible for monitoring the mother and baby, administering medication, and alerting physicians to developing problems. A failure to act promptly can be a form of negligence.
- Hospitals and Medical Centers: A hospital in Center City or a medical facility in West Philadelphia can be held liable for its own institutional failures. This may include insufficient staff training, a lack of proper equipment, or a failure to establish and enforce safety protocols.
- Anesthesiologists: The anesthesiology team is responsible for administering anesthesia, such as an epidural. Errors in dosage or timing can cause harm to both mother and baby.
- Other Medical Specialists: Pediatricians, neonatologists, or radiologists might also be involved in the care of a newborn. A failure to diagnose or treat a condition like severe jaundice or an infection after birth may constitute malpractice.
The team at ABC Law Centers works with leading medical experts to thoroughly analyze every detail of your child’s birth to identify all parties at fault and build the strongest possible case for your family.
It is common for parents to question their own actions, wondering if they did something wrong during pregnancy or delivery. In most cases, these fears are unfounded and should not stop you from seeking answers. The responsibility for providing a safe delivery rests with your medical team.
What Damages Are Available in a Philadelphia Birth Injury Lawsuit?
No amount of money can ever undo the harm your child has suffered. However, a successful birth injury lawsuit can provide the financial resources necessary to ensure your child has the best possible quality of life. This compensation, legally known as “damages,” is intended to cover both past and future costs associated with the injury.
In Pennsylvania, damages are typically divided into two categories:
- Economic Damages: These are the tangible, calculable financial losses your family has incurred and will continue to incur. This may include compensation for:
- Medical bills (hospital stays, surgeries, doctor visits)
- The cost of future medical care and lifelong treatment
- Physical, occupational, and speech therapy
- Mobility aids and adaptive equipment (wheelchairs, home modifications)
- Special education needs and tutoring
- In-home nursing or 24-hour attendant care
- Loss of the child’s future earning capacity
- Non-Economic Damages: These damages are meant to compensate for the intangible, personal losses that do not have a specific price tag. This includes the child’s:
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress and mental anguish
- Loss of enjoyment of life
Our goal is to ensure your settlement or verdict covers every need your child will have for the rest of their life, giving your family peace of mind and security.
What is the Deadline for Filing a Birth Injury Lawsuit in Philadelphia?
Every state has a strict deadline for filing a medical malpractice lawsuit, known as the statute of limitations. In Pennsylvania, the rules can be complex. Generally, a medical malpractice lawsuit must be filed within two years of the date the injury occurred.
However, for injuries to a minor, Pennsylvania’s laws provide an important exception. The two-year clock does not start running until the child reaches the age of 18. This means you generally have until your child’s 20th birthday to file a birth injury lawsuit. While this may seem like a long time, it is crucial to act much sooner to recover the compensation your child needs as soon as possible.
Building a strong case requires gathering evidence, consulting with medical experts, and conducting a thorough investigation, all of which take time. The sooner you contact an attorney, the better your chances of preserving critical evidence and building a successful case.
How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Birth Injury Attorney Serving Philadelphia?
At ABC Law Centers, we believe that every family deserves access to justice, regardless of their financial situation. We handle all birth injury cases on a contingency fee basis.
This means you will never pay any upfront costs or out-of-pocket fees. We cover all the expenses of investigating and litigating your case, from hiring top medical experts to court filing fees.
We only get paid if we win a settlement or verdict for you. Our fee is a percentage of the compensation we recover on your behalf. If we do not win your case, you owe us absolutely no fees. This arrangement allows you to pursue the justice your child deserves without any financial risk to your family.
How the Lawyers at ABC Law Centers Can Help You
Navigating the aftermath of a birth injury is time-consuming and complicated. When you partner with ABC Law Centers, we handle every aspect of the legal process so you can focus on your child. Our dedicated team will:
- Conduct a Free Case Evaluation: We will listen to your story with compassion and review the details of your child’s birth to determine if you have a case.
- Investigate What Happened: We will obtain and thoroughly review all your child’s medical records. We work with leading medical experts to identify exactly where and how the standard of care was violated.
- Build a Powerful Case: Our attorneys will gather all necessary evidence, document your child’s current and future needs with life-care planners, and construct a case designed to secure maximum compensation.
- Negotiate with Insurance Companies: We will handle all communications and negotiations with the hospital’s and doctor’s insurance providers, protecting you from lowball settlement offers and fighting for the full value of your claim.
- Take Your Case to Court: While most cases settle, we still prepare every case as if it will go to trial. If a fair settlement cannot be reached, our experienced trial attorneys are prepared to advocate for your child’s rights in a Pennsylvania courtroom.
Take the First Step Toward Justice With ABC Law Centers
Your child’s future is too important to leave to chance. You deserve a legal team that understands the unique challenges of these cases and is committed to fighting for your family’s well-being. At ABC Law Centers, our firm’s work is exclusively dedicated to helping children with birth injuries. We have the experience, the resources, and the dedication to help you secure the justice and financial support your child needs to thrive.
Don’t wait to get the answers you deserve. Contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation. Let us carry the legal burden for you, so you can focus on your family.