Bakersfield Birth Injury Lawyer

When medical negligence causes birth injuries, the ones who pay the price are innocent children. Birth injuries can have devastating, lifelong consequences for newborn babies and their families. If your child has suffered birth injuries that you believe were caused by medical error, contact Faulkner Law Offices as soon as possible. Our Bakersfield personal injury lawyers are dedicated advocates for birth injury victims.

Why Choose Us as Your Lawyer?

We are not intimidated by hospitals and large insurance companies and are willing to take your case to trial if necessary to seek justice for you and your child. We understand that no verdict can make a birth injury right, but it can hold negligent parties accountable and help secure compensation to give your child the best possible medical outcome.  When we take our cases to court, our attorneys have a courtroom success rate of more than 90%. We take a personal, client-centered approach to personal injury law, maintaining a direct line of communication, so you are free to voice questions or concerns as they arise. We operate on a contingency-fee basis, which means you pay us no fees until we win your case.

What Are Birth Injuries?

A birth injury is an injury to the infant that occurs during or around the time of birth. Some birth injuries occur as a natural result of labor and delivery, for example, bruising caused by passing through the birth canal. Other more serious birth injuries can result from errors made by medical professionals. According to the Diederich Healthcare 2018 Medical Malpractice Payout Analysis, nine percent of the nearly $4 billion paid out for medical malpractice claims in the U.S. in 2017 was for medical errors in obstetrics.

Types of Birth Injuries

Birth injuries can range from mild injuries that resolve on their own to serious, debilitating injuries with long-term consequences. Examples of birth injuries that may be caused by medical error include:

• Facial paralysis: Pressure on the baby’s face from the use of forceps during delivery can injure the facial nerve, causing paralysis. There is no movement and the eye cannot close on the side of the face with the injury. Surgery may be needed if the nerve was torn.
• Brachial palsy: This injury occurs when the group of nerves supplying the arms and hands (brachial plexus) is injured, usually when the doctor has difficulty delivering the baby’s shoulder. The child loses the ability to flex and rotate the arm. Tearing of the nerve can result in permanent damage.
• Fractures: The most common fracture during labor and delivery is a fracture of the baby’s clavicle (collarbone). Clavicle fractures occur most frequently when a medical professional has difficulty delivering the baby’s shoulder or during a breech delivery.
• Birth asphyxia: This injury occurs when the baby is not getting enough oxygen to the brain before, during, or immediately after birth. It can cause permanent injury affecting the brain, heart, lungs, kidneys, bowels, and other organs. Birth asphyxia is often preventable by closely monitoring the condition of the infant and taking appropriate emergency measures.
• Cerebral palsy: This condition is a disorder of movement, muscle tone, or posture caused by damage to the baby’s brain. A common cause of cerebral palsy is lack of oxygen to the brain during labor and delivery.

Contact Us Today

At Faulkner Law Offices in Bakersfield, we believe medical professionals should be held accountable for negligence that causes birth injuries. If your baby was injured at birth because of medical malpractice, contact our firm today. We are committed to pursuing the maximum possible damages for you and your child.