Ocala Birth Injury Attorneys

Whittel & Melton Ocala Birth Injury Attorneys
352-369-5334
Do Not Delay. Call Today. Ocala Birth Injury Lawyers

Being a parent is an incredible experience, and we know first-hand the joy of bringing a child into the world provides to your family. It can be equal parts exciting and terrifying bringing a new child into the world as you start to think about what it takes to care for a newborn baby. For first-time parents, it can be overwhelming right away, and for parents that have done this before, new challenges will present themselves.

Despite all the feelings associated with the birth of a new baby, if something goes wrong during labor, the possibility of a birth injury can bring up an entire new set of worries. Birth injuries usually carry a big financial strain and if the baby suffers permanent damage, they may require special needs, medication, surgeries, and therapy from health care professionals for the foreseeable future.

Aside from the financial problems this may place on you and your family, the most important thing for you and your family to do is focus on recovering and moving forward with proper healthcare to treat and remedy any injuries. Our Ocala Birth Injury Attorneys at Whittel & Melton know the uncertainty a birth injury places on your entire family. We have experience handling injury and death cases all over the State of Florida, and our attorneys know how important it is to identify birth injuries specifically caused by medical negligence on the part of obstetricians, nurses, midwives, other healthcare providers, birthing centers, and hospitals. We will seek financial compensation for you so that you can focus on treating these injuries and moving forward with your life. You deserve to hold those responsible for your suffering accountable for their negligence or malpractice, so we urge you to let us help you fight for justice. Call us today at 352-369-5334 or contact us online for a free consultation.

How Can We Help You With Your Birth Injury Claim?

At Whittel & Melton, we are a full-service legal firm composed of former prosecutors, former assistant attorney general, retired military, a Board-Certified Specialist recognized by the Florida Bar and many other awards. We handle all types of injury claims, including medical malpractice claims and birth injury claims in Ocala, Florida and surrounding communities.

We are a law firm that prides itself on providing our clients with the highest quality legal representation and personal attention to meet our clients’ needs. We will listen to you and do our best to meet your goals, so that you can have one less thing to worry about. We are experienced handling injury, death and medical malpractice cases throughout the state of Florida, inclusive of Marion County and Ocala, which has provided us with the knowledge and experience to understand how these cases work and how to win them.

If you or someone you love has suffered from a birth injury at the hands of a doctor, obstetrician, midwife, doula, or other healthcare professional, please contact our Ocala Birth Injury Attorneys at Whittel & Melton at 352-369-5334 or contact us online. We are available 24 hours a day to speak with you about your claim.

What is a Birth Injury?

A birth injury is any type of harm that happens during the labor and delivery process, or even shortly after birth. It is possible or birth injuries to happen that are not the fault of your doctor or other healthcare professionals, like the attending nurses. However, many birth injuries arise due to a medical professional failing to provide standard care. When preventable birth injuries occur, this lays the groundwork for a medical malpractice lawsuit, which allows the family suffering with a birth injury to pursue financial compensation to cover the costs related to the child’s needs to proper medical care.

Ocala Birth Injury Attorneys at Whittel & Melton – handling birth injuries, including:

• Cerebral palsy – this is a consequence of brain injuries caused by lack of oxygen during birth. This injury can limit all of a baby’s abilities for life, and your newborn may have problems with hearing, talking, walking and general body control. This is one of the most devastating injuries a newborn may suffer, and usually these types of injuries are life long, but certain treatments can vastly improve an injured child’s quality of life.
• Brachial plexus injuries
• Erb’s palsy
• Klumpke’s palsy
• Brain damage – usually caused by asphyxia and problems during the delivery process. This usually happens when the baby is born breech (feet first) and may cause lifelong disabilities.
• Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) – This happens when the baby lacks proper oxygen during birth, due to longer labors, which may result in vision and hearing problems.
• Developmental delays
• C-section delays or errors
• Shoulder dystocia
• Kernicterus
• Infant Cephalohematoma – This injury occurs when there is bleeding inside the skull which may cause brain damage. This can be diagnosed early and treated by doctors who specialize in the proper medical care.
• Errors in detecting fetal distress
• Failing to diagnose gestational diabetes
• Failing to diagnose preeclampsia (gestational hypertension)

What Acts of Medical Malpractice or Hospital Negligence in Ocala Can Lead to Birth Injuries?

Labor and delivery are hard enough on its own, and all mothers worry about having a safe delivery and healthy baby. Medical providers have years of education and hands-on training to help patients handle any complications that could arise, but even the best providers can make mistakes that result in devastating consequences to the physical and mental health of a mother or baby.

Many birth injuries that occur to a mother or baby resulting in serious harm are caused by medical malpractice. Some mistakes are more common than others, but the following are usually what lead to a dangerous birth injury:

• Allowing a mother to labor for too long
• Failing to detect a breech birth
• Failing to monitor oxygen intake of the baby, which could lead to oxygen deprivation
• Performing an improper cesarean section
• Failing to properly monitor mother and baby during labor
• Misusing medical equipment
• Failing to properly handle shoulder dystocia during birth

What Are Ocala Birth Injuries that Happen Due to Medical Malpractice?

Medical malpractice can bring about numerous birth injuries, including cerebral palsy and facial paralysis as a result of a doctor improperly using medical devices, such as forceps or vacuum extractors. Erb’s palsy can happen when a doctor or nurse fails to handle shoulder dystocia, which is when the baby gets stuck behind the mother’s pubic bone which can result in nerve damage to hand, shoulder, or arm. This is a preventable brachial plexus injury that can be remedied by a medical professional through proper diagnosis and safe and effective remedies. Epilepsy can also happen as the result of medical negligence when an infant is deprived of oxygen for any amount of time. The results can be a physical or intellectual disability, coma, shock, or worst case, death. Oxygen deprivation and asphyxia in a baby happens when medical staff fail to monitor a baby during the labor and delivery process or when the baby is left in the birth canal for too long.

What Are Other Causes of Birth Injuries in Ocala That Could be Compensable?

Medical tools and equipment that are fault or misused can be the cause of many birth injuries, such as vacuum extractors, forceps, and Pitocin. Forceps and vacuum extractors have been used for years to help deliver babies, but they can be too strong and place too much pressure on a baby’s body leading to lacerations or nerve damage. Pitocin, a drug that is used to induce labor, has some dangerous side effects that can result in fetal distress, so this is often used as a last resort by doctors.

Who Can Be Held Responsible for Birth Injuries From an Ocala, Florida Hospital?

A birth injury can easily occur, but this does not mean it should. The doctor, hospital, nurses, other medical staff, and medical facility may be responsible if a birth injury has occurred. Our Ocala Birth Injury Lawyers at Whittel & Melton can help you understand if your birth injury is the result of medical malpractice or negligence. If your case merits a lawsuit, we can help you seek compensation for medical costs, lost wages, pain and suffering, diminished quality of life, mental anguish, emotional distress, and disability. The compensation that you are entitled to is unique to each case, just like all birth injuries and how they come about are unique. If you have not seen your birth injury discussed here, we strongly recommend that you reach out to us to learn more about how we can help you navigate the legal system and fight for justice on your behalf.

Get Started with a Free Consultation from an Ocala Birth Injury Lawyer Today
Call Us in Ocala at 352-369-5334

Our Ocala Birth Injury Lawyers at Whittel & Melton work hard to expose medical malpractice and negligence that has resulted in birth injuries. Your child deserves proper compensation to cover their lifelong care. We have the resources and experience needed to be successful in birth injury claims, so we urge you to contact us as soon as possible to learn more about what we can do to help with your situation.