Birth Injury Lawyer London

Servicing London and all of Ontario

When you hear a family member or loved one in London has given birth, you’ll undoubtedly have many questions. How is she doing? How is the baby doing? How was the labour? Most often you’ll be relieved to hear that both mother and baby are doing well and hopefully the labour was mercifully short, like a sprint to the finish line, rather than long and exhausting, like an epic marathon.

Sometimes, however, there are unanticipated problems that affect the health of the mother or newborn and we are shocked to learn that not all is well. And often these problems are due to a lengthy, complicated or otherwise traumatic labour.

Birth Injuries During Pregnancy and Labour

A birth injury can occur at any time during a pregnancy, labour, or immediately following a delivery. Some of these injuries are unavoidable, but others are preventable and may be directly related to a medical provider’s negligent action or inaction that breached the standard of care and caused serious harm.

Obstetrical malpractice during a pregnancy can include a misdiagnosis or delayed diagnosis of conditions such as fetal tachycardia (abnormally high heart rate) and placental insufficiency (damage to the placenta that prevents sufficient oxygen and nutrients from reaching the fetus) and poor management of maternal health that may lead the developing fetus to experience conditions such as perinatal asphyxia, anoxia or hypoxia (oxygen deprivation) that damage tissue or the brain.

During the birthing process, these and other types of birth injuries can occur if the labour is exceedingly long or improper technique or procedures cause trauma to the infant. For example, shoulder dystocia occurs if the baby’s shoulders become trapped behind the mother’s pelvic bone. If medical practitioners do not act quickly to attempt a variety of techniques to facilitate the birth, a newborn’s brachial plexus (the network of nerves between the neck and shoulders) may become stretched and permanently damaged.

In rare cases, shoulder dystocia make affect a newborn’s access to oxygen and cause brain damage. In other cases, as medical practitioners work to remove the baby with extraction tools, trauma may cause a spinal cord injury.

Help for Those Hurt By Obstetrical Malpractice

An newborn who has sustained a serious birth injury begins life with much uncertainty. The extent of an injury may not be immediately known and as the child develops she or her loved ones may face significant challenges due to associated disabilities.

Discovering your child has been injured by improper care from a medical provider can be devastating, and you may not know where to turn or what you’ll need to do to get her the help she needs. Howie, Sacks and Henry’s birth injury lawyers are ready to help you in London as you seek compensation and damages for the harm that has been done.

As one of Canada’s top personal injury firms, HSH is recognized by its peers for our experience and expertise in this complex and challenging area of law. Our skilled birth injury lawyers will use their extensive knowledge of the medical system to advise you on your legal options and facilitate the kinds of testing and assessments that will strengthen you claim, and help you to access resources that will help with rehabilitation and disability management.

We believe that your ability to travel should never be a barrier to high quality legal representation and advocacy. An HSH birth injury lawyer will gladly meet with you in your own home in the London area or at a nearby consultation office. With empathy, kindness and compassion, we’ll listen to your story and offer the kind of support that shows we understand this emotionally exhausting experience.

If you or a loved one has experienced a traumatic labour and you believe a medical practitioner’s negligence caused or contributed to a birth injury, trust the team at Howie, Sacks and Henry to by on your side and by your side as you seek the financial resources you deserve for your pain, suffering and loss.