Birth Injury Lawyer Kingston

Servicing Kingston and all of Ontario

When you learn you’re expecting a child, you may begin to think about searching for all the services you’ll need. Who will I have as my obstetrician, midwife or other medical provider? Should I get on a waiting list for daycare? Who can I line up as a babysitter when I need a break? What parent-child playgroups and activities should I sign up for.

Thinking about who you might choose if you require a lawyer is probably the last thing on your mind – and it should be! It’s safe to say that few, if any, soon-to-be parents anticipate they might need legal representation when they welcome a new life into the world and a new member into their family.

Yet, every year the joy that many new parents hope to experience with a delivery turns to sorrow, anger and grief when they learn a loved one has suffered a serious and preventable birth injury. While accidents and mistakes can happen to anyone, when a medical provider’s negligent actions or inaction breaches standards of care and causes serious harm to a pregnant woman, her fetus, or newborn child, it can be devastating.

In a matter of moments, obstetrical malpractice can change the course of a young life forever. A medical provider’s negligence or incompetence can result in pain, suffering, and disability. Serious birth injuries may require significant financial resources to cover the cost of care and to compensate for losses.

Howie, Sacks, and Henry’s birth injury lawyers understand that clients who seek our help in Kingston would give anything to be in a position where they didn’t need our services. But while we can’t change the past, we can offer our support as they heal and recover from these tragic circumstances.

Common Types of Birth Injuries

Birth injuries can happen at any time during pregnancy, labour, delivery or in the immediate postpartum period. A medical provider’s negligence or incompetence can result in:

misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of a serious medical condition
failure to perform necessary medical testing
poor judgment when managing maternal or fetal health causing injury
traumatic injury due to poor skill during delivery

Common birth injuries include:

Brain damage – Perinatal asphyxia, anoxia or hypoxia (oxygen deprivation), placental insufficiency (damage to the placenta or its failure to grow leading to inadequate oxygen and nutrients) or maternal or in utero infection can cause fetal distress (often indicated by fetal tachycardia) and permanently damage brain function. Traumatic injury during deliveries where there is forced extraction, or post-birth complications such as kernicterus (untreated jaundice) can also lead to significant brain injury. Conditions such as cerebral palsy may develop from these injuries.
Spinal cord injury, nerve damage, fractures – Misdiagnosis of spina bifida (vertebrae failing to close around nerves in the spine), undiagnosed or untreated infection, and birth trauma (including brachial plexus injuries from shoulder dystocia) can all cause serious damage to the spine and nervous system. Poorly facilitated forced extractions can cause similar damage or broken bones and scarring.

If You’ve Been Hurt, We Can Help

We put great trust in medical professionals who assist with pregnancies, deliveries and post-birth care. Usually these highly-trained and well-educated medical providers provide excellent care but if their negligence or incompetence has hurt you or a loved one, Howie, Sacks and Henry’s birth injury lawyers can help you in Kingston.

Our team has been recognized as one of the country’s top personal injury firms. We have developed expertise in this complex area of law and are able to take on even the most challenging cases and complicated conditions.

HSH birth injury lawyers will gladly meet you in your own home in Kingston or at a nearby consultation office to listen to your story, discuss your options and offer our advice. Distance and ability to travel should never be a barrier to accessing high quality legal representation.

We understand how stressful and overwhelming the legal process can be in the aftermath of a tragic accident. Our team prides itself on our reputation for bringing compassion, empathy and care to every client interaction. You will always be more than a case to us – you are a person who deserves respect, dignity and kindness during such difficult circumstances. As part of your support team, we are pleased to help facilitate appointments for testing, evaluations and rehabilitation and therapy to both strengthen your case and help with your or your loved one’s recovery and healing.

When you choose an HSH birth injury lawyer to be your trusted advocate with an obstetrical malpractice claim, you can be certain that we’ll be by your side and on your side in Kingston. Together, we can work to give you hope there are better days ahead.