Stamford Birth Injury Attorneys

The attorneys at Slager Madry, LLC handle cases across Connecticut for mothers and children injured during childbirth. They have litigated these cases in courts throughout the state, including in Stamford, Waterbury, Hartford, Danbury, and New Haven.

Pregnancy and childbirth should be a reason for celebration, and it usually is. Unfortunately, there are instances where medical professionals make mistakes during childbirth, and those mistakes can have catastrophic consequences. Negligent prenatal management or mismanagement or other mistakes during labor and delivery, including the failure of doctors to proceed with a cesarean section delivery when required, can cause trauma and permanent injury to both mother and baby.

Our Firm Has a Track Record of Success

There are countless firms in Connecticut vying to represent you, but they’re not all created equally. You deserve a legal team that does more than simply talk or make promises. At Slager Madry, we believe our results speak for themselves. In recent years, we’ve recovered multiple million-dollar settlements and verdicts in cases where negligent medical care caused a serious injury. Let us draw on our experience to help you achieve the outcome your family deserves.

What Are the Medical Standards for Childbirth in Connecticut?

There are carefully studied standards of care that hospitals in Connecticut and across the country use to ensure safe labor and delivery of a newborn. When an infant is delivered in a hospital, doctors and nurses carefully monitor his or her heartrate and oxygenation using fetal heart monitors, which provide real-time assessment of fetal wellbeing. If a fetus is struggling before delivery, it usually is evident on the fetal heart rate monitoring. Observing and interpreting these monitors are critical responsibilities of doctors and nurses who manage labor and delivery and are trained to detect dangerous signs that a fetus could be struggling. 

In situations where a fetus is in danger, the standard of care requires medical professionals to inform the parent(s) and recommend interventions that may include caesarian section delivery, rather than risk serious injuries to the newborn, including neurological injuries. Failure to perform required interventions and caesarian section delivery when required so can have grave consequences, causing a child to suffer developmental delays, cerebral palsy, and even death.

Other times, medical professionals can be overly aggressive at the time of the actual delivery, where alternative interventions are required for the safety of the child and mother. For example, it can be appropriate to assist in delivery using a vacuum extraction device to assist in delivery, when certain conditions are met. To use such a device safely, however, it is important for a physician to ensure that a baby’s head is far enough down the birth canal and in an appropriate position for use of a vacuum extractor to help guide them out.

The vacuum extractor consists of a suction cup attached to a mechanical or electric pump. The cup is applied to a baby’s head and the pump provides traction to pull while the mother pushes to aid in delivery. At times, negligent performance of vacuum extraction can have grave consequences for a newborn, including skull fractures and other injuries to the head and brain.

Hear What Our Clients Have to Say About Working With Slager Madry

Want to hear first-hand what it’s like to work with Slager Madry? Our client testimonials spell out exactly how we’ll approach your case:

I will never forget how you heard me, and really listened to me when everything first transpired in the weeks following my father’s death. I was still so rattled and exhausted, but you believed me and understood what I was saying. I have never forgotten that. I felt that way from the very beginning and I am ever grateful that you listened to me with respect and compassion. Thank you for your continued work to bring some justice to the negligent and improper care that I will forever believe ultimately caused his death. In the meantime, I am just happy that the case remains in your hands. – Current Client

Time Limits Apply – Contact a Stamford Birth Injury Attorney Today for a Free Case Evaluation Before Your Window Closes

Our Attorneys Serve Mothers and Children Who Suffered Negligent Care

Children injured during childbirth often require lifelong care to ensure they can live happy and safe lives. The lawyers at Slager Madry LLC have special interest and experience handling these cases and have successfully represented numerous children and parents who have been seriously and permanently injured because of negligence by medical professionals during childbirth.

Slager Madry lawyers have also represented mothers who have been injured during childbirth due to negligent treatment. Many mothers receive an epidural to minimize pain and assist in labor. Improper placement of an epidural, while rare, can cause lasting neurological injuries, including paralysis for a mother.

Not every injury during the prenatal period, or during labor and delivery, is the result of negligent acts of another, but many are. Our attorneys can investigate and advise you whether the injuries you or your loved one suffered during pregnancy or childbirth should have been avoided and, if so, whether you can pursue legal claims.

You Or Your Child Could Recover Compensation After a Birth Injury in Connecticut

If you or your child has suffered serious injuries during childbirth in Stamford or another part of Connecticut, you could be entitled to a wide range of financial compensation. These awards are designed to cover your financial, emotional, and physical injuries. Some of the damages that may be available include the following:

Medical and Living Care Costs

If a child or mother is seriously injured during labor or delivery, they may require significant–even lifelong–care as a result. This care could include medical treatment costs, costs of physical, occupational, or speech therapy, costs of home nursing and health care, and in some cases even lifelong living facility costs for children who are seriously injured during childbirth. The costs can cause financial devastation to an entire family, and our legal system is designed to shift that risk to negligent actors whose conduct led to the injuries.

Pain and Suffering

Catastrophic injuries related to pregnancy and childbirth usually bring immense physical and emotional pain. Although no two people experience pain the same, the courts can award damages based on the extent of your or your child’s suffering. Our firm is experienced in proving how your pain impacts your quality of life.

Disability

Some childbirth injuries can result in permanent scarring or the loss of certain body parts or functions. There is both a physical and an emotional toll that comes with this type of permanent loss. Much like your pain and suffering, you could be entitled to damages based on how your life has been impacted by your disfigurement or loss of limb.

We Handle the Legal Complexity So You Can Focus on Your Child’s Care

There are many reasons why relying on the skill and experience of a Slager Madry birth injury lawyer is important. The cases are complex, and doctors and hospitals have tremendous resources to fight back. Having an attorney on your side can help even the odds. Slager Madry LLC can provide you with the same high-caliber legal representation that multi-million-dollar insurance companies, hospitals, and doctors have access to.

Our lawyers are experienced in handling complicated cases involving catastrophic injuries from childbirth. We will deal with every aspect of your case from start to finish, ensuring you have an advocate who always puts your interests first. Some of the ways we can help include:

Our Attorneys Will Investigate and Determine if Negligence Played a Role

Before you can negotiate a settlement or file a lawsuit, you will need a clear understanding of how the injury happened. A Slager Madry birth injury lawyer will carefully review the facts, starting with the medical records, all with two goals in mind: identifying the at-fault parties and determining the extent of your losses.

We Save You Time by Collecting and Compiling Your Medical Records

Building a case for negligence following a childbirth injury requires stacks of medical records, and a Slager Madry birth injury lawyer can help you gather them.

Our Attorneys Can Answer Questions About What Your Case is Worth

Another important part of any childbirth injury case is determining the types of damage you or your child has suffered. It is impossible to guarantee a specific outcome or predict what a settlement offer might include, but our attorneys can help you understand the types of damages that might be available.

We Deal with Insurance Companies So You Don’t Have To

Settlements do happen in these cases, but that does not mean they are worth accepting. Our firm can negotiate with the insurance company and advise you on what is fair and reasonable. It will always be your decision whether to settle your case, but we will provide you with all the information you need to make the right choice.

Taking Your Case to Trial When Needed

Our goal is to secure a fair settlement without the need for you to ever set foot in a courtroom. While many cases play out this way, there is always the potential that yours could go to trial. We prepare every case we take to trial and will ensure you are prepared while remaining open to a settlement until the last possible moment.

Understanding the Common Causes of Birth Injuries

Not every birth injury results from medical negligence. However, healthcare providers must carefully monitor both the mother and the baby and respond appropriately when complications arise. Some of the factors that prevent them from meeting these obligations include:

Physician Fatigue

Labor and delivery require healthcare providers to make important decisions quickly, and fatigue can interfere with that process. An exhausted physician may overlook changes in a patient’s condition or respond too slowly to a developing emergency. If fatigue contributes to a preventable mistake that causes your child an injury, the physician or another responsible party may face liability.

Inadequate Monitoring

Doctors and nurses use fetal monitoring to evaluate how a baby is tolerating labor. The team has an obligation to pay attention to concerning changes and investigate abnormal findings rather than simply relying on readouts from the monitoring equipment.

Failure to Respond to Fetal Distress

Recognizing fetal distress is only useful if the medical team responds appropriately. Abnormal fetal heart rate patterns and other warning signs may indicate that a baby is not receiving enough oxygen. An unreasonable delay can expose the baby to prolonged oxygen deprivation and potentially permanent injury.

Improper Use of Delivery Instruments

Forceps and vacuum extractors can assist with difficult deliveries, but these instruments require careful technique and proper patient selection. Any use of excessive force during this process can lead to life-altering injuries. Providers also have to recognize when an assisted delivery is no longer safe and a different approach, such as a cesarean delivery, is necessary.

You Have Limited Time to Pursue Legal Action

You have the right to file a personal injury lawsuit after you or your child is injured, but this opportunity will not last forever. The statute of limitations, the legal deadline that applies to most lawsuits, governs your case. If you wait too long to file, you could miss out on your chance to recover damages.

In general, you have two years from the date you learned of the negligence to file your lawsuit, but not more than three years after the negligence happened. There are a few exceptions that can increase or decrease the amount of time you have to take action, so it is important you seek advice from a qualified attorney experienced in this area to avoid forfeiting your ability to seek compensation.

If you miss this deadline to file your lawsuit, the court can permanently bar you from recovering compensation in the future. It would be wise to have a Slager Madry birth injury lawyer make sure you comply with this time limit.

Reach Out to a Stamford Birth Injury Attorney Today

Birth injuries caused by medical malpractice have the potential to change the course of your life forever. While no amount of money can ever turn back the clock or undo you or your child’s severe injuries, it can provide you with the resources you need to regain your quality of life.

A settlement could pay for your medical bills, compensate you for your pain, and replace your lost income. At Slager Madry LLC, we understand what is at stake after an injury during childbirth. Let a birth injury lawyer help you pursue justice. Contact us today for a free consultation.