Birth Injury Lawyer Regina

Servicing Regina and all of Saskatchewan

Counting. With a pregnancy, you, your loved ones and the medical providers assisting you will be doing a lot of it. How many months along are you? How many more weeks until you’re due? How far apart are your contractions? And the final countdown – 3-2-1 push!

Keeping an eye on calendars and clocks is important when monitoring milestones in a pregnancy, but timing becomes especially important during critical moments when prolonged delays can mean the difference between life, death or serious injury and disability.

For instance, during active labour there may be periods of time when a fetus or newborn is deprived of oxygen. While the young brain can withstand a few minutes with limited oxygen, if the flow is not restored quickly it can lead to permanent brain damage. The fetal heart rate, which is closely monitored during active labour, can often be used to determine if lack of oxygen is causing the fetus distress. Obstetrical standards of practice ensure that medical providers know they must take certain actions, intervene in a birth to hasten delivery and oxygenate a newborn if these heart rate abnormalities are detected.

If a medical provider breaches these standards due to negligence or incompetence and a pregnant woman, her fetus or her newborn suffer serious harm as a result, it’s called obstetrical malpractice.

Obstetrical Malpractice and Preventable Birth Injuries

Obstetrical malpractice that causes or contributes to preventable birth injuries can occur at any point during a pregnancy, during labour or delivery, and in the period immediately following birth. Negligent or incompetent actions or inaction can occur if a medical provider:

fails to properly administer or analyze standard tests and screenings
does not sufficiently monitor and manage maternal or fetal health
misdiagnoses a serious medical condition or delays diagnosis to the point of causing harm
uses substandard technique or inappropriate force during a delivery or forced extraction (forceps, vacuums)
fails to monitor maternal and newborn health following delivery

Harm from these breaches in care can cause serious injury and permanent disability, including:

brain damage and conditions such as cerebral palsy (from perinatal asphyxia, hypoxia and anoxia, maternal or in utero infection, placental insufficiency, or head trauma during birth)
spinal cord injuries, nerve damage, fractures (from birth trauma, shoulder dystocias, or misdiagnosed spina bifida)
meconium aspiration syndrome (when first fecal matter mixes with amniotic fluid and is ingested by a fetus or newborn, obstructing airways and potentially leading to organ damage or infection)
kernicterus (untreated severe jaundice)

We Can Help If You’ve Been Hurt

Accidents and errors can happen to anyone, but when a medical provider’s negligence or incompetence causes or contributes to a preventable birth injury it can change the course of a life forever. You should not have to bear the pain, suffering, and costs associated with such an injury alone.

Howie, Sacks and Henry’s knowledgeable and skilled birth injury lawyers can help you in Regina if you or a loved one has been affected by obstetrical malpractice. Continually recognized as one of Canada’s top personal injury firms, our team has cultivated the expertise to handle even the most complicated cases in this complex area of law.

When you meet with an HSH birth injury lawyer in your own home in the Regina area or a nearby consultation office, we will listen to your birth story with great empathy. As a client-centred practice, we will always see you as more than a file and provide the compassion, kindness and attentive care you need and deserve during this difficult period in your life.

Once we explain your legal rights and outline various options, we’ll provide advice as you decide how to proceed. The HSH team will also be please to help arrange and facilitate the tests, evaluations and therapies you or your loved one will need to support both your case and your rehabilitation.

As you begin down the road to recovery and rebuilding your life after a tragic birth injury, trust an HSH lawyer to be on your side and by your side in Regina. Although we can’t change the past, we can help you access the financial resources you’ll need to secure your future and establish a good quality of life.