Birth Injury Lawyers in Hillsboro

Experiencing the birth of your child is one of life’s greatest gifts. However, in unfortunate cases when a child is injured during delivery, it can bring heartache and pain to the family. Birth injuries can happen for a number of reasons, but when a baby is injured due to the negligence of a doctor or other medical professional, it is crucial to seek the advice of an experienced attorney.

At Rizk Law, our compassionate attorneys understand how devastating this situation can be to the child and family. Our Hillsboro birth injury attorneys have experience taking on negligent medical professionals and are ready to build a case to hold them accountable. We are ready to work hard to pursue the justice you deserve. We know how to investigate these situations to determine fault for an injury and determine the fair value of the damages you suffered. While we understand that no amount of compensation can ease the devastation families experience, we know that recovering compensation can be an important part of families beginning to move forward.

Contact us at Rizk Law today for a free, no obligation consultation and we will review your case with the utmost care. Our trusted attorneys at Rizk Law work on a contingency fee basis, which means there are no upfront costs or attorney fees unless we are successful in recovering compensation for your claim.

Complete a Free Case Evaluation form today.

Types of Birth Injury

Birth injuries can cause physical disabilities or learning and behavioral delays that may last throughout the child’s life. In many cases, birth injuries are not recognized right away and are diagnosed only after a child fails to meet certain developmental achievements, such as sitting up on his or her own or experiencing delays in communication. It is estimated that between six to eight of every 1,000 children born in the United States suffer a birth injury.

Some of the most common birth injuries include the following:

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is a neurological disorder due to abnormal brain development that often occurs before the infant is born. This condition affects body movement, motor skills, and muscle coordination. There is currently no cure for this disorder. Cerebral palsy can lead to other medical conditions, depending on the severity.

Children with cerebral palsy can experience lifelong impairments such as:

Brachial Plexus Injuries

The brachial plexus is a network of nerves located near the neck that goes into the upper part of the arm. The nerves control movement and feeling in the fingers, hand, arm, shoulder and wrist. Children born with brachial plexus injuries experience weakness in the arms and loss of motion. In severe cases, the child will experience full or partial paralysis in the arm.

Perinatal Asphyxia

This condition occurs when the baby does not breathe normally just before, during, or after birth. In most cases doctors can be monitoring the baby’s vital signs and recognize if there is an alarming decrease in oxygen, which would result in the doctor calling for caesarean section (C-section). In other cases, a baby is born naturally and is limp or silent with perinatal asphyxia. In this scenario, the medical staff should work as quickly as possible to get the baby to breathe properly.

Caput Succedaneum

This condition occurs due to the swelling that happens to a baby’s scalp immediately after delivery. Though it may cause slight discomfort to the newborn, it is not a life-long condition. Caput succedaneum most often occurs after a long, difficult delivery when the physician uses forceps or vacuum extraction tools incorrectly or with too much force.

Symptoms of this condition include:

• Bruising or color changes around the scalp
• Scalp swelling from the baby’s midline to the suture lines
• Puffiness under the skin of the scalp

Intracranial Hemorrhages

These types of birth injuries are caused by bleeding within the skull or brain. They are often caused by hypoxia (oxygen deprivation) or trauma caused by blunt or excessive force during labor. It is important to diagnose this condition right away in order to provide the right treatments and avoid further damage.

Cephalohematoma

Cephalohematoma occurs underneath the infant’s skin in the periosteum of the skull bone and causes unnecessary pooling of blood from damaged blood vessels. Much like the latter condition, cephalohematoma most likely occurs during long births when doctors use extraction tools incorrectly or with too much force. This condition is mostly internal therefore, symptoms are more difficult to notice. If the newborn has an unnatural bulge on the head, it is crucial to have him or her inspected with an MRI and/or CT Scan.

Other forms of birth injury include:

If you believe your baby is experiencing symptoms due to a birth injury, contact our Hillsboro birth injury lawyers today for a free evaluation.

Call 503.342.0783 or fill out our Free Case Evaluation form today.

Causes of Birth Injuries

It is common for there to be complications in childbirth as it is a complex procedure. However, we trust that experienced doctors and medical professionals have the knowledge and skillset to know when the mother or baby is in danger. A medical professional’s failure to act quickly or efficiently can have significant effects on the newborn. If you believe your baby developed an injury due to childbirth, your doctor or other medical professionals may be at fault.

Some common ways birth injuries can occur due to medical negligence include:

If you suspect your physician or other medical staff are at fault for your baby’s birth injury, you will need to prove negligence to have a valid claim. Our Hillsboro birth injury lawyers can assist you in filing a claim.

Call us at 503.342.0783 to get started on your case.

Compensation Available for Birth Injury Cases in Oregon

If your baby was injured due to a preventable birth injury caused by negligence, you may be entitled to compensation.

The State of Oregon has placed certain limits on the amount of damages that can be paid out in medical malpractice cases like birth injury cases. Personal injury cases in Oregon have a limit of $500,000 on non-economic damages. This includes damages like loss of companionship, emotional distress, and pain and suffering that are difficult to measure.

However, Oregon has not placed a limit on economic damages a family may recover when filing a lawsuit for a birth injury. These damages could include the following:

• Lost wages from an inability to work
• Past and future medical expenses
• In-home health care expenses
• Physical therapy or rehabilitation costs

Our birth injury lawyers in Hillsboro at Rizk Law are ready to assist and help you determine the compensation you and your baby need.

Reach out to us today for a free, no obligation consultation.

Contact a Hillsboro Birth Injury Lawyer Today

Oregon’s statute of limitations for birth injuries says that claims must be filed within two years of the date the injury occurred or from the time the injury should have been discovered. However, no case can be filed more than five years from the date of the negligent act that caused the injury. This five-year limitation applies no matter when you discover you suffered an injury and may have grounds for filing a lawsuit.

For minors wanting to file a claim, the two-year deadline begins once the minor turns eighteen years old. However, the five-year maximum limit still applies. This means that the child must file a case within five-years of the injury, or within one year of his or her 18th birthday.

If you fail to file a lawsuit within the relevant time limit, you will lose the right to obtain compensation.

Our attorneys at Rizk law understand the time limitations involved. Contact a Hillsboro birth injury attorney today and we will determine if you have a case. If you do and want to move forward, we will get started on your case right away to pursue the compensation your child deserves.

Call us at 503.342.0783 or fill out a Free Case Evaluation form today.