Atlanta Premature Delivery Injury Lawyer
If your needs were not saught after during your pregnancy and this subsequently led to a preventable premature birth, then you could have grounds for a medical malpractice claim. An Atlanta premature delivery injury lawyer could help you recover the compensation you and your child may very well need. Reach out to a client-centered attorney who puts your needs at the front of every issue.
What Is and What Could Cause a Premature Delivery
Any birth that takes place more than 3 weeks before a baby’s due date is considered a premature delivery. Therefore, a baby born less than 37 weeks would be premature.
The causes of premature delivery are not always known. When certain conditions are present, premature delivery is more likely. If the mother has any of the following diseases, they could all lead to a premature delivery of the baby and poor nutrition of the baby:
- Diabetes,
- Certain heart conditions,
- Kidney disease, and
- High blood pressure.
However, there are still instances where a premature delivery is not caused by any preexisting condition, but could be attributed to the negligence of a medical professional. A good assessment of the mother could help determine whether the mother is at risk for premature birth. For example, with a woman who has had previous premature births or has a short or weak cervix that can be detected, the risk of greater for premature birth. The mom would attend regular prenatal care visits and is examined and monitored to determine whether or not the patient is at risk for a premature delivery. In those such instances when risk assessment is ignored, victims should connect with an Atlanta premature delivery injury lawyer for help.
Preventative Measures
In some cases, a doctor gives the mother a shot of hormones (“progesterone”) which lowers the chances of going into labor early. In some cases, the doctor may determine that a procedure needs to be done called a cerclage (where they stitch closed the woman’s cervix to help prevent a premature birth). Those are a couple of the types of treatments that can be done to delay or stop prematurity. However, in the event that a doctor ignores obvious signs that could require preventative measures, that could constitute negligence on the part of that medical professional.
Associated Injuries with Premature Births
Typically, the earlier the premature birth is, the more significant the injuries are. These injuries could include:
- Lung development breathing issues
- Heart problems
- Brain injury
- Gastrointestinal problems
- Cerebral palsy
- Developmental delays
- Vision problems
- Hearing problems.
Importantly, there is the chance of long-term effects for a premature baby. In some cases, prematurity leads to long-term intellectual and developmental disabilities as well as some physical disabilities.
What Happens to an Infant after It Is Prematurely Born?
Typically, when a baby is born prematurely, there is a neonatal care team present at delivery who immediately examines the baby to determine if the child needs immediate medical care. If the baby needs to be resuscitated or needs help with breathing, they are able to do those things. A lot of times, the baby is put in an incubator in the NICU (Neonatal Intensive Care Unit) to help keep the baby warm and also to decrease the risk of infection.
When the baby is in the NICU after delivery, the medial professionals monitor the vital signs and to make sure the baby is breathing okay and the heart rate and blood pressure are normal.
Processing an Atlanta Premature Delivery Case
In the initial work-up of a premature delivery case, there is a meeting with the family to get all the facts and also to answer questions and explain the lawsuit process. Once the retainer has been signed, the attorney orders all the medical records of the mom and baby in order to do a thorough investigation to see who else was involved and what happened. When all the medical records are received, the attorney sends a brief history of events and the medical records to an expert who determines if there were any violations of the standard of care that led to the baby’s injuries. If that proves to be true, then a lawsuit could be filed on the family’s behalf. For mothers looking to right a wrong, working with a team of attorneys who could rely upon the opinion of an in-house medical professional could prove invaluable when substantiating malpractice.
A lawyer proves medical malpractice through the medical records. They show happened, what the signs and symptoms were of a possible premature delivery and what was done about that. They also have the testimony of the witnesses who were involved during the pregnancy and the delivery and, of course, the expert testimony as to the violations of the standard of care that caused the injuries to the baby.
An important factor and focus of the case need to be on damages to explain the extent of the injuries and how it impacts the child and the child’s family for the rest of their lives. Attorneys often employ an economist in severe cases and a life care planner who is able to establish the need for lifetime care for a child who’s profoundly affected from a premature delivery and the costs of such needed care in the present and future. This expert would then testify at court as to their findings.
Reach out to an Experienced Attorney Today
An experienced premature delivery lawyer could help you by explaining the process to your family and pursuing your lawsuit vigorously so that you may focus on taking care of your child and getting your child the medical treatment and therapies needed. Then, ultimately, an experienced lawyer could get the compensation available to help you pay for the costly care and equipment that is necessary. Contact an Atlanta premature delivery injury lawyer today for a free case review. Attorneys take calls after hours and could present your case in court with cutting edge technology.
