Indiana Birth Injury Lawyers

• Thousands of babies and their mothers suffer serious birth injuries every year both in Indiana and throughout the United States, and the physical, emotional, and economic toll they take can be devastating.
• Fortunately, you may be able obtain compensation for a birth injury in the Hoosier State by pursuing a birth injury lawsuit, though you’ll usually need to prove that it was caused by medical malpractice.
• To help tip the odds in your favor, get in touch with Hensley Legal Group, PC, which has had decades of success with catastrophic injury cases, including $25 million* for a collision with an ambulance.

*SPECIFIC CASE RESULTS. NO TWO CASES ARE EXACTLY ALIKE.

Just like there may be no happier day in a parent’s life than the birth of a healthy child, there may be nothing more devastating than a birth that goes terribly wrong, and tragedies like these are far from rare in the modern world.

Every year, approximately 30,000 newborns across the country suffer birth injuries, around 80 percent of which are classified as “moderate to severe” and may inflict serious bone, nerve, or brain damage. Babies aren’t the only ones who can be injured in the birthing process either, since their mothers could be at risk of childbirth injuries too.

Although some birth injuries may be unavoidable even with medical care of the highest caliber, a birth injury lawsuit or claim could be pursued when a negligent medical professional needlessly hurts a baby or mother during childbirth. And while success isn’t guaranteed, you can improve your chances of getting the birth injury settlement or verdict you deserve if you partner with Hensley Legal Group, PC, a dedicated Indiana personal injury law firm whose experienced attorneys have been fighting on behalf of the wrongfully injured since 1998.

Hensley has been named one of the Best Law Firms in the United States by Best Lawyers® in recognition of its proven track record of securing noteworthy results for badly injured clients, including:

• $25 million* for a collision with an ambulance.
• $8 million for a delivery truck crash.
• $4.25 million for a pedestrian accident.

Additionally, attorneys at the firm have been honored with inclusion in the Million Dollar Advocates Forum, Super Lawyers, America’s Top 100 Attorneys, and the National Trial Lawyers’ lists of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers and the Top 40 Under 40, and they’d be equally honored to be there for your family at this time.

You can call us at (317) 472-3333, chat with us online, or fill out our contact form now for a free case review with a knowledgeable Indiana birth injury attorney.

*SPECIFIC CASE RESULTS. NO TWO CASES ARE EXACTLY ALIKE.

What Is a Birth Injury?

According to Stanford Medicine, “birth injury” (or “birth trauma”) is a term for “a wide range of injuries [affecting a] baby’s body function or structure” that are primarily caused by “an unfavorable event” during childbirth.

Birth injuries can have various causes. Some of them may stem from concerns related to the child or the mother, such as:

• Excessive infant size or maternal weight
• Not being head-first in the birth canal (“breached birth”)
• Unusual pelvic size or shape
• Insufficiently strong contractions
• Premature birth

Other birth injuries may be caused by the method of delivery, with injuries being especially prevalent during births that involve:

• Cesarean delivery
• Usage of vacuums, forceps, or other delivery devices

Birth injuries take the lives of about 4,000 American children per year, though a non-fatal birth injury could still demand prolonged treatment at a price that few Indiana families would be able to afford on their own.

Fortunately, if somebody else is to blame for a birth injury in Indiana, a birth injury lawsuit could be filed by the injured child’s representative (generally the parents or a legal guardian in some situations).

Birth Injuries vs. Birth Defects

Before we go over exactly how a birth injury could form the basis of an Indiana birth injury case, let’s examine the difference between birth injuries and birth defects, another category of grievous childhood afflictions.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention defines birth defects as “structural changes present at birth that can affect almost any part of the body, such as the heart, brain, or foot.” Because a birth defect “may affect how the body looks, works, or both,” it can be as physically, emotionally, and economically detrimental as a birth injury, if not more so.

Yet unlike a birth injury, which is sustained at the time of a child’s birth because of trauma during the delivery process, a birth defect is formed before the child has been born.

Most birth defects emerge within the first three months or trimester of pregnancy, when the baby’s organs begin to form, but other defects may develop during the second or third trimester, making it critical to monitor the baby’s health throughout the course of a pregnancy.

We don’t entirely understand what causes birth defects, although our genes, behavior, surroundings, and other factors seem to play a big role, and they can be more frequent when other members of the family have birth defects or when the mother:

• Smokes, drinks, or uses drugs while carrying the baby
• Takes medications that are unsafe for pregnant women, like isotretinoin
• Has uncontrolled diabetes
• Contracts a viral infection or a high fever

Regardless of why a birth injury may have happened, the fact that birth defects are not caused by medical professionals means that you will probably be unable to file suit for damages over them in the same way that you would over an Indiana birth injury, though there may be some exceptions.

For instance, if a doctor or other caregiver failed to diagnose a birth defect that would have been detectable in the womb or failed to adequately communicate about it, that could justify a claim if not doing so kept the parents from making informed decisions about the pregnancy.

Moreover, a case might be initiated against a party whose actions contributed to the development of a birth defect, such as the manufacturer of a drug with unreported side effects for pregnant women or a business that polluted the environment with chemicals linked to birth defects.

In light of these possibilities, the parents of a child with a birth defect might benefit from speaking with a capable Indiana birth injury lawyer.

What Are the Most Common Birth Injuries?

Every birth injury is unique, but some of the birth injuries that commonly provide grounds for birth injury cases in Indiana include:

Brain Damage

A baby’s brain cells can be damaged or destroyed by blood clots, lack of oxygen, intracranial hemorrhaging (bleeding in or around the brain), and other medical emergencies. Infant brain damage may take place because of an infection prior to pregnancy or trauma during delivery and could be indicated by:

• Scalp lacerations
• Abnormal vital signs (e.g. low oxygen levels and blood pressure)
• Muscle tremors
• Seizures
• Dulled reflexes
• Trouble eating or swallowing

Milder cases of brain damage can be resolved with timely medical care, but babies with more substantial brain damage could be left with major medical problems, such as…

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy is a group of neurological disorders caused by brain damage that can impact muscle tone and control, movement, coordination, balance, and posture throughout the body.

Though cerebral palsy mostly develops in the womb or during childbirth, it might not be diagnosed until the child is one to two years of age and displays such symptoms as:

• Delayed speech and/or growth
• Muscle spasms or stiffness
• Atypical eye movements
• Neurological impediments
• Compromised fine motor skills

Sadly, there is currently no cure for cerebral palsy, the costs of which have been estimated to be more than $1.6 million over the duration of a patient’s life.

Spinal Cord Damage

A baby’s spinal cord can be damaged by twisting or pulling during delivery. A child with spinal cord damage may suffer from:

• Sharp discomfort while moving the arms, legs, or spine
• Constricted breathing
• Impaired coordination that impacts feeding
• Tightness or spasticity of the muscles
• Limb weakness or paralysis

Detecting these symptoms early is key to accurately diagnosing and addressing an infant’s spinal cord injuries.

Shoulder Dystocia

Among the most detrimental childbirth injuries is shoulder dystocia, in which a baby’s shoulders or arms get stuck after the head has been delivered, often causing a broken clavicle, Erb’s palsy, or oxygen deprivation.

Shoulder dystocia is most likely when a birth is breached, when a child weighs more than 8 pounds and 13 ounces (fetal macrosomia), or when a mother’s pelvis has too little space or too small of an opening.

Erb’s Palsy

As we stated above, shoulder dystocia can cause Erb’s palsy (otherwise referred to as Erb-Duchenne palsy or brachial plexus palsy), which affects about two out of 1,000 babies born nationwide. Erb’s palsy occurs when the neck is stretched to the side during delivery, thereby injuring the brachial plexus, the network of nerves in the shoulder that sends signals for feeling and movement from the spinal cord to the arms and hands.

Causing loss of sensation, weakness, diminished hand, wrist, or elbow control, and sometimes paralysis of the arm, Erb’s palsy can be temporary or permanent, as can other brachial plexus injuries, whose distinct manifestations are influenced by the nerves that are injured.

Broken Bones

An infant’s bones can break during strenuous childbirth, and the clavicle may be particularly susceptible to fracturing when a delivery is breached, which could hinder the mobility of the arm on the side where the break is located.

While the broken bones of a newborn should heal fairly quickly, it is crucial to attend to them right away so that the child can steer clear of hurdles later on.

Facial Paralysis

Pressure from labor or from the misuse of forceps during delivery could damage a baby’s facial nerve such that the side of the face with the injured nerve might not move or the eye on that side might not close.

Chiefly becoming apparent when a baby cries, facial paralysis could heal on its own within weeks if the nerve is only bruised, though surgery may be necessary when the nerve is torn.

Cephalohematoma

When pressure is applied to the baby’s head during delivery, it can break blood vessels and cause cephalohematoma or “skull bleeding,” in which blood collects in the newborn’s skull and scalp and forms a raised lump within hours of the birth.

Most lumps tend to disappear gradually as the blood is reabsorbed by the body over a period of weeks or months, assuming that there aren’t any other complications, such as calcified or hardened bone deposits around the point of swelling, anemia, jaundice, or infection.

Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy

An infant whose brain doesn’t get enough blood or oxygen during childbirth because of heart disease, malformed lungs, fetal anemia, placental disruption, or infection could be stricken with a dire brain injury called hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), which is characterized by:

• Seizures
• Abnormal movements
• Inability to react to sights or sounds
• Lung, kidney, heart, or blood dysfunction
• Weakened crying

HIE can lead to cerebral palsy or developmental delays and may be deadly as well.

Stillbirth

The most heartbreaking birth injury by a huge margin is intrauterine fetal demise or stillbirth, in which a child dies in the womb at or after the twentieth week of pregnancy.

Stillbirth can have a number of causes, such as infections, umbilical cord prolapse, separation of the placenta, issues during labor, substance abuse, or genetic irregularities. However, it may not be obvious why certain babies are stillborn, and some stillbirths simply can’t be prevented, although other issues that can cause stillbirths may be repaired if you catch them soon enough.

As such, obstetricians and other caregivers have an obligation to watch out for anything that could put the baby’s life in danger and take the appropriate steps to ensure a healthy birth. If they don’t, our Indiana birth injury attorneys will be ready to hold them to account.

Mothers Can Also Suffer Birth Injuries

So far, we have discussed the birth injuries that babies may suffer, but mothers can also suffer birth injuries.

As any mother will tell you, childbirth is never easy. Bruising and swelling are to be expected under the best of circumstances, along with tearing of the perineum (the tissue between the vaginal opening and the anus), which is usually either first-degree (skin only) or second-degree (skin and perineal muscle) in nature.

Nonetheless, some births are more difficult than others, and the injuries that mothers may suffer can get worse the more difficult the births get or if mothers have to undergo more involved medical interventions, like:

• Episiotomies, where the perineum is cut to widen the birth canal; or
• Cesarean sections (C-sections), where the baby is delivered through incisions in the abdomen and uterus.

Aside from the damage associated with these procedures, mothers can suffer such punishing birth injuries as:

• Third-degree perineal tears (extending through the perineal skin, vaginal tissue, perineal body, and the anal sphincter)
• Fourth-degree perineal tears (extending through the areas above and into the rectal lining)
• Postpartum hemorrhaging
• Ruptures of the uterus
• Pelvic floor injuries
• Unplanned/emergent hysterectomies
• Infections
• Urinary/fecal incontinence
• Broken bones
• Preeclampsia, eclampsia, and HELLP syndrome
• Organ damage or failure
• Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

These and other birth injuries can potentially be lethal without prompt medical care. But as is the case with an infant’s birth injuries, a mother’s birth injuries might not be enough justification for an Indiana birth injury case, no matter how extreme they are, unless they arise from medical malpractice.

The Importance of Demonstrating Medical Malpractice

The reality is that Indiana birth injury lawsuits are essentially medical malpractice lawsuits (or wrongful death lawsuits if the birth injury is fatal), and not every negative health outcome is proof of medical malpractice.

Instead, a medical injury is only considered to be malpractice when a provider deviates significantly from the accepted protocols of the medical community (known as “the standard of care”) by not treating a patient like other competent providers would have in the same context.

If the malpractice in question harms the patient, the patient or his or her representative may be able to file a medical malpractice lawsuit – specifically, a birth injury lawsuit when the harm is injury to a baby or mother during childbirth.

Examples of medical malpractice that could bring about a birth injury include:

• Not screening for hazardous conditions while the mother is pregnant
• Applying too much force during delivery
• Using delivery tools incorrectly
• Waiting too long to perform a C-section
• Not monitoring the heart rate before or during delivery
• Neglecting to monitor oxygen levels after delivery
• Ignoring signs of fetal or newborn distress or illness, such as jaundice
• Performing transfusions without verifying blood type compatibility

Misconduct like this could constitute actionable negligence on the part of a medical practitioner, though your Indiana birth injury case may only be viable if you can further show that:

1. A duty of care was owed – Upon agreeing to take the mother and baby on as patients, the practitioner owed them a duty of care.
2. This duty was breached – The practitioner violated or breached this duty by deviating from the standard of care.
3. The breach caused injury – The practitioner’s breach of duty directly caused the birth injury.
4. Damages were incurred – The baby or mother incurred damages because of the birth injury.

If all four of these elements can be demonstrated, you might be eligible to file an Indiana birth injury lawsuit against the defendants who committed malpractice, though the list of defendants could be longer than you might think.

Who Is Liable for a Birth Injury in Indiana?

As with any sort of medical malpractice case, a host of individuals and entities may have provided negligent care during childbirth and might therefore be liable for a birth injury in Indiana, such as:

• Doctors
• Nurses
• Paramedics
• Anesthesiologists
• Pharmacists
• Technicians
• Hospitals
• Ambulance services
• Drug and medical device makers

Sometimes multiple defendants could share legal and fiscal liability for the same Indiana birth injury, and you could be forever barred from full recovery if you don’t go after every single one of them within the time allotted by law.

When Do You Have to File an Indiana Birth Injury Lawsuit?

The window in which you have to file a birth injury lawsuit or resolve a birth injury claim is driven by the Statute of Limitations. In Indiana, the Statute gives a plaintiff “until the minor’s eighth birthday to file” a lawsuit for a child’s birth injury and only two years to file suit over a maternal birth injury in most cases.

As you can see, the obstacles you may encounter if you try to get justice for a birth injury in Indiana can be intimidating, but no obstacle is insurmountable when you have the seasoned Indiana birth injury lawyers at Hensley Legal Group, PC in your corner.

What Our Indiana Birth Injury Attorneys Can Do for You

If you become one of the many Hoosiers every day who choose to hire Hensley, our Indiana birth injury attorneys will move swiftly to unearth the root causes of the injury and everyone at fault for it, then establish valid claims and/or file suit against each of them before the Statute expires.

Next, our firm will move swiftly to amass irrefutable evidence of medical negligence, subpoenaing provider and hospital records when warranted while teaming up with medical experts who can furnish insights into the relevant methods and procedures.

Once a rock-solid case has been assembled, our tenacious Indiana birth injury lawyers will enter into exhaustive negotiations with the defendants’ insurance carriers for a settlement that reflects the totality of your damages, including your:

• Medical bills
• Anticipated expenses
• Lost wages (secondary to parental leave)
• Pain and suffering
• Psychological trauma
• Reduced quality of living
• Mobility restrictions

If we don’t receive an offer that is worthy of your case, we aren’t afraid to take it to trial for a verdict that is, in stark contrast to many of our competitors, who seldom, if ever, venture into a courtroom.

Indiana may impose constraints on the funds awarded for birth injuries and other kinds of medical malpractice, but our Indiana birth injury attorneys will always strive to obtain the maximum amount of compensation available so that your family can move on to a rich and fulfilling future.

Get in Touch with Hensley’s Indiana Birth Injury Lawyers Today

Hensley Legal Group has been standing up for the innocent victims of negligence for nearly three decades, and there’s no more innocent victim than a child or mother who’s been injured at birth, so get in touch with Hensley’s Indiana birth injury lawyers today to learn how they can help.

You can schedule a complimentary consultation with one of our accomplished Indiana birth injury attorneys by calling us at (317) 472-3333, chatting with us online, or filling out our contact form.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is a birth injury?

A birth injury (also known as “birth trauma”) is an injury that is caused by an unfavorable event during childbirth.

While we mostly think of birth injuries as happening to babies, mothers can be injured during childbirth too, and the long-term costs associated with a child or maternal birth injury can be devastating for the average Indiana family.

What birth injuries can babies suffer?

A baby’s birth injuries can take a wide variety of forms that can negatively affect either the body’s function or structure.

Some of the most common birth injuries that babies may suffer include brain damage, cerebral palsy, spinal cord damage, shoulder dystocia, Erb’s palsy, broken bones, facial paralysis, cephalohematoma, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), and stillbirth.

What birth injuries can mothers suffer?

Childbirth is never easy, but mothers are more likely to be seriously injured during difficult births or if more elaborate procedures like episiotomies or C-sections become necessary.

Among the most frequent maternal birth injuries are third- and fourth-degree perineal tears, postpartum hemorrhaging, uterine ruptures, pelvic floor injuries, unplanned hysterectomies, infections, and urinary/fecal incontinence.

What is the difference between birth injuries and birth defects?

The chief difference between birth injuries and birth defects is that birth injuries are inflicted during or sometimes after childbirth, while birth defects develop within the womb prior to birth.

As such, you usually can’t file suit over a birth defect in Indiana the same way you would over a birth injury, though there may be exceptions with regard to failures to detect or inform about a birth defect or with actions that may have contributed to the defect’s development.

Can I file an Indiana birth injury lawsuit?

You can generally only file a birth injury lawsuit in Indiana when the injury is caused by medical malpractice.

Malpractice is said to occur when a provider deviates from the medical standard of care by not treating a patient like other competent providers would have in the same context. If medical malpractice harms a baby or mother during labor, an Indiana birth injury lawsuit may be possible.