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Michigan Birth Injury Lawyers


Birth TraumaLearn More About Birth Injury and Birth Trauma at the Buchanan & Buchanan Law Firm in Grand Rapids, Michigan.

The delivery of your baby is supposed to be one of the most special days of your life. But when something goes wrong during the labor and delivery process and your child is born with severe birth injuries, you have the right to learn the truth about what happened and what help is available for your child. We can help you.

Severe Birth Injuries: You have Questions, We Have Answers

It never ceases to amaze and disappoint us how poorly doctors and hospital staff communicate with our clients, especially after an unexpected and tragic event like a severe birth injury. Many of our best clients initially came to us for help because they were not getting straight answers, and in some cases no answers at all. We understand your frustration in simply wanting to know whether your baby’s injury was caused by a preventable mistake (i.e., medical malpractice) or one of life’s natural and unavoidable catastrophes. We have successfully answered that question for many parents, and we are in the best position to answer it for you, too.

Our Unique Medical Advantage: An In-House Medical Doctor and Registered Nurse

Birth injury cases require the utmost in attorney skill and experience. We have also successfully handled many birth trauma cases and, in fact, teach a medical malpractice course in law school. But that’s just half of the equation.

Birth injury claims require medical expertise, too. They demand the guidance, from beginning to end, of skilled and experienced medical personnel. We have a medical doctor (Raymond E. Beckering, Jr. MD, University of Michigan Medical School educated and Mayo Clinic trained) and full-time registered nurse (Helen J. Hicks MSN, a former client with over 25 years of clinical nursing experience) on our professional staff.

With the exceptional skills of Dr. Beckering and Helen, we understand the medical issues involved in birth injury claims because we speak the right language: medicine. Appropriate cases are initially reviewed internally by Dr. Beckering and Helen at no cost to you. If we take your claim, Dr. Beckering and Helen will continue to guide us all the way through settlement or trial.

Types of Actionable Birth Injuries

The two most common types of birth injuries we see caused by medical malpractice are: cerebral palsy and injury to the brachial plexus (Erb’s Palsy).

Cerebral palsy (CP) is defined as a chronic movement or posture disorder. “Cerebral” refers to the brain, while “Palsy” refers to a physical disorder such as a lack of muscle control. Cerebral palsy is not caused by problems with the muscles or nerves, but rather with the brain’s inability to adequately control the body. In other words, cerebral palsy is a type of brain injury.

Cerebral palsy is a nonspecific term in that the debilitating medical condition can be caused by many different things, some of which are preventable mistakes (i.e., medical malpractice) and others are natural and unavoidable catastrophes of life (e.g., infections or genetic abnormalities). To answer the question of whether your baby’s cerebral palsy was the result of medical negligence will require us to careful review the labor and delivery records. It would be our privilege to review the matter for you and your family. To start the evaluation process and obtain a free initial consultation, simply fill out the “Contact Us Now” form to the left.

When we review your labor and delivery records, one of the first things we will study is the fetal heart monitor strip that recorded your contractions and your baby’s heart rate. Here, we are looking for signs of oxygen deficiency as revealed by your baby’s heart rate — signs that may have been missed by the obstetrician or nursing staff’s failure to appropriately monitor your labor. Once the tell-tale signs of inadequate oxygenation occur, your baby must be delivered expediently (often by cesarean section) to prevent permanent brain damage from the resulting acidosis (i.e., hypoxia, anoxia, and ischemia) – commonly referred to by doctors as hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE).

Brachial Plexus Injuries

The brachial plexus is a network of nerves that send signals from your spine to your shoulder, arm, and hand. A brachial plexus injury occurs when these nerves are stretched or, in the most serious cases, torn during the delivery process. It is sometimes referred to as an Erb’s palsy, and can happen as a result of your baby’s shoulder being pressed down forcefully while his/her head is pushed up and away from that shoulder. This occurs during labor and delivery when the shoulders become stuck, a condition called shoulder dystocia, and your doctor and the hospital staff inappropriately maneuver your baby in response.

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171 Monroe Ave. N.W.
toll free: 800.272.4080
email: mail@buchananfirm.com
Grand Rapids MI 49503
voice: 616.458.2464
fax: 616.458.0608

The above is not legal advice. That can only come from a qualified attorney who is familiar with all the facts and circumstances of a particular, specific case and the relevant law.

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