The Right Legal Representation for Your Seattle Birth Injury Case

An unexpected birth injury can affect your family in many highly personal ways. Doctors and insurance companies want to immediately put a dollar sign on your pain, but at Boohoff Law, P.A., we know how personal such injuries can be. While our goal is to recover the full compensation you need, we do so with the compassion and attention your family deserves.

Our law firm recovers millions for injury victims in Seattle, but we do so with close attention to each client’s needs and goals. We have the resources and results of a big firm but provide personalized service and attention to each client of a small law firm.

We have a skilled team of litigators, support staff, and consultants who work together for the benefit of each and every case. This includes medical consultants who are invaluable during birth injury and other medical negligence claims.

When you need legal help in Seattle, you want an attorney with your best interests in mind at all times. Look no further than Boohoff Law, P.A., for your birth injury case.

Where Birth Injuries Happen in Seattle

These days, pregnant women have many options for giving birth, though a hospital maternity ward is still the most common choice.

In the Seattle area, women might give birth at:

• University of Washington Medical Centers
• Virginia Mason Medical Center
• Swedish Hospital – First Hill Campus

There are other options than a traditional hospital setting for certain expectant mothers. If a woman has a relatively low-risk pregnancy and does not want a full epidural, they might choose to give birth in a smaller center.

Some birth center options in the Seattle area include:

• The Center for Birth
• Rainier Valley Birth & Health Center
• The Birthing Inn

No matter where you choose to have your baby, you should expect the same standard of medical care that will keep you and your child as safe and healthy as possible. Providers in any medical setting must meet a specific standard of care. Injuries can result when they fail to do so, and the provider should be accountable for losses to you and your family.

Boohoff Law, P.A., is ready to take on medical providers who are liable for birth injuries, whether a case involves a small private birthing center or a large hospital network. We fight for justice for patients who have suffered injuries and have the resources to challenge medical facilities and their insurance companies.

Never wait to discuss your legal options with one of our Seattle birth injury attorneys.

Types of Birth Injuries

Newborns can suffer many different birth injuries when healthcare providers are negligent. Some of the most common are below.

Erb’s Palsy

Erb’s palsy occurs when the brachial plexus nerves sustain damage during birth. The brachial plexus is a network of nerves that supplies the shoulders, arms, and hands. During birth, damage can occur when healthcare professionals put too much force on a baby’s neck or shoulders. Erb’s palsy can cause arm weakness, shoulder or neck pain, loss of feeling in the arms or hands, and numbness or tingling.

Cerebral palsy

Cerebral palsy is a disorder that often occurs because of a lack of oxygen to the brain during birth. Cerebral palsy typically affects people for the rest of their lives and can cause issues like abnormal movements, problems with coordination, poor fine motor skills, and intellectual difficulties.

Skull fractures and brain trauma

Newborns have extremely fragile skulls. When healthcare professionals use too much force during birth, it can result in skull fractures that require surgery to correct. Improper force can also result in brain injuries, affecting an infant’s development in many ways.

These are only a few examples of many possible birth injuries that can affect your child for the rest of their life and have costly effects on your family.

When is a Hospital or Doctor Liable in Birth Injury Cases?

If your child has suffered a birth injury, there is a strong chance you are wondering whether you can hold the hospital or doctor liable for the losses your family has incurred. To recover compensation under state law, birth injury victims must show that their injuries resulted from medical malpractice.

While every state is different, medical malpractice generally happens when a medical professional fails to use the degree of care that a reasonable medical professional of similar experience and training should ordinarily use. In other words, the injury has to result from something more than an “honest mistake” – it needs to be the result of professional negligence.

Examples of medical negligence with the potential to lead to birth injuries include:

• Failing to adequately monitor fetal vital signs during labor and delivery. This type of error can often lead to a lack of oxygen, resulting in cerebral palsy.
• Failing to properly use medical instruments. When medical professionals do not properly use instruments like vacuum tubes or forceps the way they are supposed to, it can result in serious injuries to newborns. Many skull fractures and brachial plexus injuries result from this type of negligence.
• Failing to recognize the need for a cesarean section. Healthcare professionals failing to recognize the need for a c-section can put the baby at risk of serious injury, including brain damage and birth asphyxia.
• Anesthesia errors. If an anesthesiologist administers too much anesthesia, it can cause serious problems during delivery, including oxygen deprivation to the baby.

Our legal team will review what happened and advise whether you can hold medical professionals liable for a birth injury.

Seeking Compensation for Your Losses

Navigating life after a birth injury can be challenging for you and your family. If your child suffered an injury, their entire future might be uncertain. You might not realize the full implications of their injuries for years to come, including how their injuries cause developmental delays and other impairments.

You need to work with a law firm that knows how to calculate the full value of your child’s birth injury, including economic and non-economic losses in the past and future.

Some losses from a birth injury can include:

• Medical bills from the initial care provided following the birth injury and up to the point of your claim
• The estimated costs of future treatment and care throughout your child’s life
• Costs of other assistance, including medical equipment, learning aids, home adaptations, assistants at home and school, and much more
• The loss of earning potential your child might have suffered due to their birth injury
• Physical and mental pain and suffering
• Permanent disfigurement, impairment, or disabilities from the birth injuries

Many of these losses are difficult to calculate. The Seattle birth injury attorneys at Boohoff Law, P.A., have the support of child, medical, and occupational experts who assist in these complex calculations.

If you accept a settlement that is less than your family needs for your current and future losses, you cannot go back and request more compensation in the future. Ensuring that you request and accept an adequate amount of compensation is critical to the well-being of your child and family.

You can rely on Boohoff Law, P.A., to conduct accurate calculations with supporting evidence, so you seek maximum financial recovery. Doing so will help ensure you have financial resources for you and your child for years to come.

Why You Need to Hire a Seattle Birth Injury Lawyer

You might know you have a birth injury case. You might also have an idea of what your claim is worth. However, neither of these means that an insurance company will cooperate and offer what you deserve.

Medical professionals and facilities want to avoid liability for medical negligence whenever possible. They also have insurance companies ready to minimize liability and payments to claimants. Further, proving liability for a birth injury involves the analysis and application of technical, medical, and legal standards to your set of circumstances.

This is not a situation you should ever attempt to navigate alone, especially when you are already under the stress of the birth injury itself and its effects on your child. The good news is that experienced Seattle birth injury attorneys are waiting to help you.

Our Washington birth injury attorneys can assist your family in many ways, including:

• Evaluating whether the birth injury resulted from medical negligence
• Identifying the liable parties, including doctors, nurses, hospitals, birthing centers, and more
• File all claims appropriately with insurance companies or in civil court
• Handle all communications and negotiations with insurance companies
• Advise whether settlement offers are sufficient or not
• Represent you in court when necessary to seek full compensation

Washington State has different laws regarding injury claims stemming from healthcare actions. Therefore, pursuing a birth injury claim is much different than pursuing another type of personal injury case, such as a traffic crash. You need a law firm with particular experience and knowledge of Seattle medical injury claims. You need Boohoff Law, P.A.