Most birth injuries are avoidable. If your child has been injured during childbirth in Clearwater, it’s important to consider your family’s legal rights and options. Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers can help. Our award-winning Clearwater birth injury lawyers can help you take on a negligent OBGYN, hospital, and insurance company and fight for the maximum financial award you deserve.
Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers has been a trusted name in medical malpractice litigation in Clearwater, Florida, for more than 68 years. As leaders in birth injury disputes, our top-rated trial attorneys have helped injured children and their families win millions in settlements and jury awards. Our case results speak volumes, with hundreds of millions in damages recovered.
Put our experience, resources, and passion for justice to work for you during this difficult time in your life. Our experienced attorney handle all types of cases including motorycycle accidents, premises liability claim in Clearwater, FL, medical malpractice cases, dog bites, Clearwater commercial vehicle accidents, and more. Contact our law office in Clearwater, FL, at (727) 349-1728 to get started today. Your first consultation is free.
Table of Contents
How Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help If Your Child Has Suffered a Birth Injury in Clearwater, FL
A birth injury has the potential to change the course of your child’s life forever. Depending on the injury, it can be incredibly painful, limit their mobility, impact their ability to socialize and build a community of peers, and/or cause considerable cognitive deficits.
If your child suffered an injury before, during, or after birth because of a doctor’s negligence, your family deserves to be compensated.
Taking on a hospital or healthcare provider can be intimidating. Fortunately, our Clearwater personal injury lawyers are here to help you every step of the way.
Take this time to focus on your child and their recovery. Let our Board Certified, award-winning Florida trial attorneys handle the rest.
Count on us to:
- Carefully examine medical records pertaining to pregnancy, labor and delivery, and post-delivery care
- Determine how and why your child was injured at birth
- Identify all potentially liable parties
- Interview witnesses, hospital staff, and other parties with information relevant to your case
- Gather evidence needed to support a successful medical malpractice claim
- Prepare a pre-suit affidavit with testimony from expert medical professionals to demonstrate the legitimacy of your birth injury lawsuit
- Represent your child and family during all conversations with the hospital, healthcare provider, defense counsel, and insurance companies
- Aggressively seek a maximum settlement during negotiations
- Litigate your birth injury lawsuit before a Pinellas County, FL jury, if necessary
At Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers, we know that a child’s birth injury can be costly in many ways. As parents, you’re probably under a lot of financial stress right now. Asking for legal help should make things easier, not add to the problem. That’s why our birth injury attorneys in Clearwater are here to represent you on a contingency fee basis.
We don’t get paid unless you do. End of story.
Contact our Clearwater law office to learn more. We’re here to help 24 hours a day.
How Common Are Birth Injuries?
It’s estimated that 7 out of every 1,000 children born in the United States will suffer a birth injury. In Florida, that calculates to roughly 1,513 birth injuries statewide every year.
In Clearwater and surrounding areas in Pinellas County, an estimated 52 children will experience birth trauma or suffer a birth injury annually.
That’s one birth injury every week in and around Clearwater.
What Is a Birth Injury?
The phrase “birth injury” refers to avoidable physical trauma suffered by a child during pregnancy, in labor and delivery, or immediately after birth.
While some birth injuries are unavoidable, many more are the result of medical negligence. Doctors, nurses, and other healthcare providers make mistakes in treating a pregnant mother and/or child that cause debilitating, often permanent trauma.
Some of the leading causes of birth injuries in Clearwater include:
- Inexperienced providers
- Misuse of labor tools, including vacuums and forceps
- Failing to diagnose an infection or problem during pregnancy
- Failing to order a timely C-Section
- Failing to monitor a mother and/or child during labor
- Staff miscommunication
- Failing to listen to a mother’s concerns
- Provider fatigue
- Understaffed facilities
Obstetricians, anesthesiologists, and other healthcare providers involved in labor and delivery have more than a decade of education, training, and experience. We expect them to be able to provide a level of care that reflects that. When avoidable mistakes are made and children are hurt in the process, they must be held accountable.
Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers is here to help your family make that a reality.
Decades of Experience Advocating for Families in All Types of Birth Injury Cases
Since 1955, Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers has fought for families whose children have sustained serious birth injuries in Clearwater, including:
- Cerebral palsy
- Brachial palsy
- Caput succedaneum
- Cephalohematoma
- Traumatic brain injury
- Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE)
- Intracranial hemorrhage
- Brachial plexus injuries
- Wrongful death
You will have one opportunity to recover compensation for your child’s birth injury. You’ll want an experienced and respected legal team by your side as you navigate the legal process.
Put our considerable experience to work for you. Call our Clearwater, FL, law office to schedule a free consultation now.
What Do I Have To Prove To Win a Birth Injury Lawsuit in Clearwater?
Birth injuries are typically a result of medical malpractice or medical negligence.
Simply put, you have to demonstrate that a healthcare provider (or hospital) failed to provide care that met accepted standards within the medical community and, as a result, your child suffered an injury.
The injury must not be a reasonably foreseeable risk of the medical treatment received.
Specifically, you will have the burden of proving:
- The healthcare provider owed you a duty of care
- This duty of care was breached through some unreasonable conduct or a failure to act
- The healthcare provider’s conduct was the actual and proximate cause of your child’s birth injury, and
- You’ve suffered damages – such as medical bills, disability, or pain and suffering.
To win your case, you’ll need to have highly-regarded medical specialists offer testimony on your child’s behalf. When you work with Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers, you’ll get access to our expansive network of expert witnesses and trusted professionals. We’ll rely on them throughout your birth injury case and use their insight to help you get the result your family deserves.
What Damages Can Be Awarded to Clearwater Birth Injury Victims?
When filing a birth injury lawsuit in Clearwater, Florida, you can request both economic and non-economic damages for:
- Current medical expenses
- Reasonably necessary future medical bills
- Rehabilitation and therapy
- Disability
- Nursing assistance
- Out-of-pocket expenses
- Prosthetics and medical devices
- Pain and suffering
- Emotional distress
- Embarrassment
- Disfigurement and scarring
- Reduced quality of life
Birth injury lawsuits are different from other types of personal injury cases because children are front and center.
As a result, identifying (and valuing) damages can be challenging. Things can get even more difficult when faced with resistance from negligent providers and hospitals. Our personal injury attorneys in Clearwater will be your family’s fiercest advocate and biggest champion. We will do everything in our power and exhaust every resource available to help you achieve the best result possible.
Who Could Be Liable for a Birth Injury in Clearwater?
Liability for a birth injury can extend to anyone that assumed responsibility for the health of a child or mother during pregnancy, labor and delivery, and immediately after birth.
Depending on the specific circumstances of your case, liable parties might include:
- Obstetrician (OBGYN)
- Primary care physician
- Pharmacist
- Surgeon
- Anesthesiologist
- Nurse
- Nurse practitioner
- Hospital staff
- Hospital administration
- Midwife
Once our team understands how and why your child suffered an injury at birth, we will actively pursue compensation from anyone who played a role in the negligent medical care.
How Long Will I Have To File a Florida Birth Injury Lawsuit?
Two years. That’s the general rule of thumb for birth injury lawsuits in the state of Florida.
However, thanks to the state’s discovery rule, the statute of limitations does not begin to run until a child’s birth injury is discovered.
Regardless, you’ll only have a maximum of four years from the date an injury is inflicted to bring a lawsuit. This is true, even if your child’s injury hasn’t been diagnosed yet.
If you think something went wrong during your child’s birth or that they’re struggling to meet milestones for no reason in particular, seek out immediate medical attention. Prompt diagnosis will be essential if you want to be able to pursue compensation for your child’s injuries, pain, and suffering.
Schedule a Free Consultation With an Experienced Clearwater Birth Injury Lawyer
Demand accountability when your child suffers a birth injury in Clearwater, Florida. Better yet, call Perenich, Caulfield, Avril & Noyes Personal Injury Lawyers and let our award-winning legal team take on a negligent provider, hospital, and insurance provider for you.
Our Clearwater birth injury lawyers have over 300 years of combined experience handling complex cases like yours. We’ve won hundreds of millions for our clients. Now we’re here to fight for you and your family.
Contact us at (727) 349-1728 to arrange a time for a free consultation. We’re here to answer 24 hours a day.
