Orlando Birth Injury Lawyers

Since 1988, Martinez, Manglardi, Diez-Arguelles & Tejedor has helped Florida’s families who have had to deal with the physical and emotional trauma of their child's birth injury. While nothing can compensate you for the harm your infant suffered because of a negligent health care provider, our birth injury attorneys will help you obtain the monetary resources you need to care for your child.

If your child has suffered a birth defect, a mild or traumatic birth injury, or if you have lost an infant due to medical error or negligence, please contact our birth injury attorneys via our online contact form, or call us toll free at 1-800-611-1LAW. You can also call our Orlando office at (407) 381-4123, our Kissimmee office at (407) 846-2240, or our Apopka office at (407) 880-2030. We serve the victims of medical malpractice throughout the state of Florida, including Orlando, Apopka, Orange County, Kissimmee and Osceola County, and our law firm is committed to protecting the safety of Florida’s families.

A "birth injury" is defined as any type of damage to an infant's body before, during or just after birth. Statistics show that as many as 27 of every 1,000 births in the United States result in a birth injury. Birth injuries can cause lifelong mental and physical impairment, and in the very worst cases result in death.

Medical complications that arise during labor and delivery are responsible for many birth injuries. Doctors and health care professionals must exercise the utmost care to avoid injury to babies during the especially vulnerable times of labor. When they make mistakes, severe injuries can result, including brain damage from oxygen deprivation, and shoulder, arm or hand damage.

One common birth defect is cerebral palsy, a condition which impacts the ability to control muscle coordination and movement. As many as 5,000 babies are affected annually. Cerebral palsy is a form of brain damage, and the area of the brain that is damaged determines which part of the body is affected by abnormal muscle control. The main types of cerebral palsy are:

• Spastic, characterized by tight muscles and stiff, jerky movements;
• Athetoid, where the victim has involuntary and uncontrolled muscle movement; and
• Ataxic, where the victim has weak muscles and suffers from poor balance and depth perception.

A cerebral palsy victim may have a mix of these symptoms.

Some birth injuries lead to Erb’s palsy or Klumpke’s palsy. Both of these conditions result from injuries to the brachial plexus, a group of nerves that travels from the spinal cord through the arms and into the fingertips. Brachial plexus injuries are usually caused by excessive pressure to a baby’s neck or head during delivery. Pressure is often applied to free a baby whose shoulders get caught behind the mother’s pelvic bone. The pressure can stretch, tear or rupture nerves, leading to Erb’s palsy, a paralysis of the shoulder or upper arm, or Klumpke’s palsy, which affects the hand or wrist.

Although some birth injuries result from natural causes, many result from negligence or error by a doctor, attending nurses, support staff, technicians, and even the hospital itself. Some common mistakes include:

• Failing to detect the umbilical cord wrapped around a baby’s neck;
• Unreasonable delay in performing an emergency Cesarean section;
• Improper use of forceps or vacuum instruments;
• Failure to test and treat conditions during pregnancy, or misdiagnosis;
• Failing to recognize negative fetal signs.

When birth injuries are caused by a medical professional’s negligence or mistake, the parents of the injured baby may be entitled to compensation to help pay for the child's care and treatment. Monetary compensation can also help with other costs incurred in giving the injured child as healthy and productive a future as possible.

An experienced Orlando birth injury lawyer should be consulted if your infant has suffered a birth trauma and you suspect those injuries were caused by medical malpractice. An Orange County birth injury attorney should be consulted immediately after birth, even if the extent of the injuries and damages are not yet known. Appropriate discovery is essential to determine whether there is a case and what the likely costs will be that are associated with any permanent injury.

For questions about birth injuries in Orlando, Apopka, Orange County, Kissimmee and Osceola County, and throughout Florida, review our Birth Injury FAQs page.

The birth injury lawyers of Martinez, Manglardi, Diez-Arguelles & Tejedor are on your side. We are a statewide Florida personal injury litigation firm committed to protecting the safety of Florida’s families, and we have recovered hundreds of millions in verdicts and settlements for our clients. Contact our Orange County birth injury attorneys today through our online contact form, or call us toll free at 1-800-611-1LAW.