Birth Injury Lawyer Owen Sound

Servicing Owen Sound and all of Ontario

Although there have been many advances in obstetrical care and the medical field in general, pregnancy and birth still come with a certain degree of risk for both the pregnant woman and her fetus.

During the course of a pregnancy and especially during labour, medical providers will monitor both a woman and her fetus for any indication that either one may have a condition or symptoms that put them at a higher risk for an adverse outcome. If a heightened risk factor or abnormality is identified, obstetrical standards of practice and care provide practitioners with a series of steps to assess the situation and criteria for when and how to intervene.

With the stakes very high – ranging from debilitating injury, to permanent disability, to death – medical providers must be vigilant, cautious and rely on the judgment they’ve developed from extensive training. Usually these standards of care are met. But in instances where a medical provider’s negligence or incompetence breaches these standards and causes serious harm, it’s called obstetrical malpractice.

Obstetrical Malpractice And Common Birth Injuries

Obstetrical malpractice can cause or contribute to a preventable birth injury at any time during a pregnancy, labour and delivery, or in the period immediately following birth. Examples of negligent actions, inaction or incompetence causing damage include:

failure to manage maternal medical conditions (for example, untreated infections);
improperly administering medications or tests (for example, failing to properly test for spina bifida);
inaccurately reading results and misdiagnosing or delaying diagnosis of a serious medical condition (for example, overlooking symptoms such as fetal tachycardia that may indicate placental insufficiency, cord compression, or fetal asphyxia, anoxia or hypoxia);
using poor technique or excessive force during delivery (for example, causing a brachial plexus injury by forcibly pulling a baby’s head following a shoulder dystocia);
and neglecting to provide sufficient postpartum care (for example, not identifying or monitoring severe jaundice which can lead to a neurotoxic condition called kernicterus)

Common types of serious and preventable birth injuries include brain damage (and related conditions such as cerebral palsy), spinal cord injuries and nerve damage, fractures, scarring and complications from meconium aspiration syndrome.

Helping The Injured

Preventable birth injuries can result in pain, suffering, lifelong disability or even death. The emotional toll on loved ones and the significant costs of ongoing care can be devastating. You should know that you are not alone.

Howie, Sacks and Henry’s experienced birth injury lawyers are ready to help you in Owen Sound if you or a loved one has been hurt by negligent or incompetent obstetrical care. As one of the country’s top personal injury firms, we are well known for our knowledge, skill, and expertise in the complex are of law and we have the ability to take on even the most challenging cases.

An HSH birth injury lawyer will be pleased to arrange to meet at a location most convenient for you – whether in your own home in the Owen Sound area or at a nearby consultation office. We believe distance and ability to travel should never deter you from accessing high quality legal representation.

When we meet, we will listen to your birth story with great empathy, outline your legal options, and advise you on how you may want to proceed. We will also be pleased to help facilitate and schedule testing, evaluations and therapies you will need for both your case and your recovery.

With our reputation for compassionate and attentive care, you can be certain that an HSH birth injury lawyer will always see you as more than file. We respect our clients, endeavor to treat them with dignity, and understand that during a time of great stress and grief they deserve a staunch legal advocate who sees them as a person, first and foremost.

No one can change the mistakes made in the past that led to a tragic birth injury. But with an HSH birth injury lawyer on your side and by your side in Owen Sound, together we can seek the financial resources you need and deserve for your pain, suffering and losses. Let us join you on the road to recovery, rehabilitation and healing.