If your child suffered lacerations during birth due to medical negligence in Florida, you need an experienced West Palm Beach laceration injury lawyer with experience in laceration cases on your side. Our team of Florida personal injury lawyers is here to help. We can identify responsible parties, gather evidence, and manage your case towards a resolution through lawsuits or settlements. Birth injury lacerations are often caused by improper use of delivery tools or techniques. It can lead to permanent scarring, disfigurement, and emotional trauma.
Our law firm is dedicated to providing compassionate and personalized legal representation. We can also ensure your child receives the maximum compensation for their birth injuries and losses.
Coping with the aftermath of a serious birth injury laceration is not only heartbreaking but can also result in mounting medical bills, extensive treatment needs, and profound physical and psychological effects on your child. A skilled West Palm Beach personal injury lawyer who focuses on laceration cases will fight for your family’s rights. We can also help you pursue the total and fair compensation your child deserves.
At Schuler, Weisser, Zoeller, Overbeck & Baxter P.A., our team of dedicated West Palm Beach birth injury lawyers has extensive experience representing families whose children suffered preventable lacerations and serious injuries during delivery.
That’s why we are committed to providing compassionate, personalized legal representation to ensure your child receives the maximum compensation for their birth injuries and losses. Contact us today at (561) 689-8180 for a free consultation.
Understanding Lacerations Injuries
Lacerations are a common type of personal injuries that can occur in various accidents. This can include car accidents, slip and falls, and workplace incidents. A laceration is a cut or tear in the skin caused by a sharp object, blunt force, or sudden impact. These injuries can range from minor cuts to severe wounds that cause significant pain, bleeding, and scarring.
Common Causes of Laceration Birth Injuries
Lacerations during delivery occur when the baby’s delicate skin is cut or torn. This is often caused by medical instruments or due to rough handling by healthcare providers. Some of the most common causes of birth injury lacerations include:
- Misuse of forceps or vacuum extractors during delivery
- Improper episiotomy techniques or uncontrolled tearing
- Careless or excessive force when handling the baby
- Failure to perform a timely C-section when needed
- Inadequate monitoring and response to fetal distress
These lacerations can result in a serious injury that may have long-lasting effects on the child’s health and development.
Depending on their size, depth, and location, birth injury lacerations can range from minor cuts to severe, life-threatening wounds. Deep lacerations may slice through multiple layers of skin and damage underlying muscles, tendons, nerves, and blood vessels. Severe lacerations often cannot be repaired with just bandages or adhesive strips. They may instead require stitches or surgical intervention to stop the bleeding and facilitate proper healing. Without prompt professional medical treatment, an infant lacerated during birth faces risks of excessive blood loss, dangerous infections, permanent scarring, and long-term functional impairments.
Laceration Treatment for Infants
Prompt and proper medical treatment is crucial for birth injury lacerations. Treatments can stop bleeding, prevent infection, minimize scarring, and promote optimal healing. The specific course of laceration treatment will depend on factors like the cut’s size, depth, and location. Treatment often includes:
- Gently cleaning the wound to remove any blood, vernix, or amniotic fluid
- Applying pressure to slow or stop any bleeding
- Closing the laceration with sutures, surgical glue, or adhesive strips
- Administering topical or systemic antibiotics to prevent infection
- Bandaging the wound to keep it clean and protected
- Monitoring the baby closely in the NICU for any signs of complications
In cases where medical negligence is suspected, families may consider filing a personal injury lawsuit to seek compensation for the harm caused.
Personal injury protection (PIP) can help cover the costs of medical treatment, including surgeries and long-term therapy.
For complex or extensive birth injury lacerations, treatment may require the specialized skills of a pediatric plastic surgeon. They can repair damage to underlying structures and minimize the appearance of the scar. Long-term occupational or physical therapy may also be necessary to address any functional limitations or developmental delays resulting from the laceration.
Even with the best medical care, birth injury lacerations may still leave visible, permanent scars. These can have a profound impact on the child’s physical, emotional, and social well-being. Scars on obvious areas like the face, neck, and hands can be especially distressing as the child grows up. While scar revision surgeries and other procedures may help improve the appearance of scars, they often cannot eliminate them.
Establishing Negligence in a Laceration Injury Case
In order to establish negligence in a laceration injury case, you must prove that the responsible party was careless or reckless in their actions. This can be done by showing that the responsible party failed to exercise reasonable care or violated a safety standard.
For example, if you were injured in a car accident, you may be able to establish negligence by showing that the other driver was speeding or failed to yield. If you were injured in a slip and fall accident, you may be able to establish negligence by showing that the property owner failed to maintain the property or that they failed to warn of a hazard. In this case, birth-related injuries can be caused by negligence of medical professionals that helped you deliver your baby.
A West Palm Beach personal injury attorney can help you establish negligence and build a strong case against the responsible party. They will gather evidence, consult with experts, and use their legal expertise to demonstrate how the responsible party’s actions led to your injuries. By proving negligence, you can hold the responsible party accountable and secure the financial compensation you need to recover from your injuries. Filing a personal injury and medical malpractice lawsuit can help you get the compensation you deserve for the harm and losses caused by the birth injury laceration.
Pursuing a Personal Injury Claim for Birth Injury Lacerations
Birth injury lacerations can have far-reaching physical, emotional, and financial consequences for the affected child and their family. These personal injury cases require careful legal handling to ensure fair compensation. If your child suffered preventable lacerations during delivery due to substandard medical care, you may be entitled to pursue compensation for laceration-related harm and losses. These may include:
- Medical expenses: Compensation for hospital bills, surgeries, NICU stays, medications, therapy, scar revision, and other past and future medical costs related to the birth injury laceration.
- Future care needs: Compensation for anticipated medical treatment, therapy, counseling, assistive devices, and accommodations the child may need as they grow up with the effects of the birth injury laceration.
- Pain and suffering: Payment for the infant’s physical pain and discomfort associated with the laceration and any long-term disabilities or impairments caused by the birth injury.
- Emotional distress: Compensation for the child’s mental anguish, psychological trauma, loss of self-esteem, and reduced quality of life due to scarring or disfigurement from the birth injury laceration.
- Scarring and disfigurement: Additional compensation for permanent, visible scars from the birth injury laceration that may negatively impact the child’s appearance, confidence, and social interactions.
No amount of financial recovery can erase the pain and trauma of a severe birth injury laceration. Pursuing a legal claim can provide crucial support for your child’s future medical needs and a sense of accountability and justice. At Schuler, Weisser, Zoeller, Overbeck & Baxter P.A., we have a proven history of success in securing substantial settlements and verdicts for families affected by preventable birth injuries like severe lacerations.
Compassionate Legal Guidance from a Personal Injury Attorney for Your Family
Learning that your precious newborn suffered severe lacerations during delivery is an overwhelming and heartbreaking experience. Our dedicated personal injury attorneys are here to help you handle this difficult time. Struggling to cope with your child’s painful injuries, uncertain prognosis, and extensive treatment needs can be difficult. The last thing you should have to worry about is dealing with insurance companies or handling complex legal proceedings on your own. Dealing with an insurance company can be challenging, as they may attempt to minimize payouts, making legal representation crucial. Let our caring laceration injury attorneys in West Palm Beach handle the legal burdens. Instead, you can focus on your child’s healing and your family’s well-being.
With our contingency fee representation, you will pay nothing upfront to get started, and you only pay attorney fees if and when we recover compensation for you.
Be sure to get the legal help your family needs and deserves. Contact the trusted West Palm Beach laceration injury attorneys at Schuler, Weisser, Zoeller, Overbeck & Baxter P.A. today by calling (561) 689-8180 or contacting us online to schedule your free case review. We’re here to help you seek justice for your child and secure the resources they need to live their best future.
