Birth Injury Lawyer Sault Ste. Marie

Servicing Sault Ste. Marie and all of Ontario

When you’re expecting, your mind naturally turns to imagining your future life with your child or children. Perhaps you envision watching them toddle along on the boardwalk, learning how to ski at Searchmont, counting the money they earn from their first lemonade stand, or carefully building a snow fort.

It’s doubtful that you’re imagining trips to physiotherapists, renovations to your home to make it more accessible, or the agony of seeing your child in severe pain. Tragically, this will be the reality for the loved ones of children who have sustained serious and preventable birth injuries due to obstetrical malpractice. In a matter of moments, a medical provider’s critical actions or inaction can change the course of a life forever.

A birth injury can occur at any stage of pregnancy, during labour and delivery, or in the period immediately following birth. While some of these injuries are simply unavoidable, despite the best efforts of medical providers, every year medical practitioners cause or contribute to serious and harmful birth injuries due to negligence or incompetence which breaches standards of care.

Common Types of Birth Injuries

Obstetrical malpractice may include:

Failure to properly administer or analyze standard prenatal tests and screenings. For example, failure to diagnosis spina bifida (when vertebrae to not fully enclose around the nerves in the spinal cord)
Misdiagnosis, delayed diagnosis or improper treatment of maternal or in utero infection, maternal health conditions, or fetal chromosomal abnormalities. For example, untreated infections lead to brain malformation and conditions such as Cerebral Palsy.
Substandard monitoring of maternal and fetal health during critical moments of a pregnancy, delivery or birth. For example, if heart rate monitoring detects fetal tachycardia (an abnormally high heart rate) it may be an indication of fetal asphyxia (oxygen deprivation) from conditions such as placental insufficiency.
Improper or incompetent technique causing injury. For example, during a forced extraction (using tools like vacuums or forceps) or during an otherwise traumatic or complicated birth (such as shoulder dystocia), nerve and soft tissue damage can occur.
Poor postpartum monitoring. For example, undiagnosed and untreated severe jaundice can lead to a neurotoxic condition called kernicterus.

Help For Those Who Have Been Hurt

Learning that a loved one has suffered a serious birth injury can be devastating, while discovering a medical provider’s negligence or incompetence caused or contributed to the harm can be infuriating. The emotional and financial costs associated with such an injury should not be yours to bear alone.

Howie, Sacks and Henry’s birth injury lawyers are ready to help you seek the financial resources you need and deserve in Sault Ste. Marie if you or a loved one is the victim of obstetrical malpractice. Our knowledgeable, skilled and experienced team is recognized as one of Canada’s top personal injury firms and we have cultivated the expertise you’ll need to navigate this complex and challenging area of law.

At HSH we understand how overwhelming the legal process can feel to our clients – especially at a time when they are dealing with the significant challenges that come with these kinds of injuries. Our birth injury lawyers do our utmost to reduce the stress you might be feeling, ensure you are comfortable and as engaged in the process as you’d like to be, and take on time-consuming tasks such as facilitating tests, evaluations and rehabilitation therapy scheduling whenever possible. With our proud reputation for compassionate, caring and kind client-centred service, you will see that you are always more than a file to us.

HSH birth injury lawyers also believe that distance and ability to travel should never prevent you from accessing high quality legal representation. We will be pleased to arrange to meet you in your own home in the Sault Ste. Marie area or at a nearby consultation office.

While no one can change what has happened in the past, we can work to access the financial resources you need and deserve to secure your loved one’s future. As your trusted supporter and advocate, HSH birth injury lawyers can be counted on to be on your side and by your side in Sault Ste. Marie throughout the claims process. Together, we can work to give you hope that better days are ahead.