Knoxville Birth Injury Lawyers Fighting for Newborns and Parents

Comprehensive counsel when medical malpractice occurs

Every parent anticipates the words, “Your child is healthy,” when a newborn arrives. Every mother and father dreads being told “Something’s not right. Your child developed complications.” Worse still, is being told your newborn is dead. Death, catastrophic injuries, and long-term harm to infants can be caused by a missed diagnosis, a delivery room mistake, or failure to comply with standard medical care. If birth injuries are caused by doctors, anesthesiologists, nurses, medical technicians, or hospitals, our lawyers hold these health providers liable for this devastating harm.

At Banks and Jones, our Knoxville birth injury lawyers have just one rule – Fight 2 Win. We work with doctors and medical professionals to verify exactly what went wrong. The physicians we consult with are not afraid to testify that another doctor made a mistake or did something wrong. We aggressively review medical tests, records, and the statements of everyone involved to show your child’s death or injuries should never have occurred

Types of birth injury cases our Knoxville lawyers handle in Tennessee

Birth doctors should anticipate many problems during a mother’s pregnancy, the delivery, and the newborn’s early days and weeks of life. There is no excuse for failing to properly respond to an emergency or a change that should have been anticipated. Most types of birth injuries can be prevented if only the doctor was fully prepared.

If your child is born stillborn, dies during delivery, or shortly after delivery, our Knoxville birth injury lawyers are ready to bring a wrongful death claim on behalf of the loving parents. When children survive the birth, but suffer injuries, we demand payment for all the medical care that is required, your child’s physical pain, emotional suffering, and the change in quality of your child’s life.

Some of the tragic and serious birth cases we pursue for babies and their parents are:

• Cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy is the loss of muscle function, speech, and movement due to brain damage during birth. Infections, lack of oxygen, and traumatic head injury are common causes.
• Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (“HIE”), also called perinatal asphyxia. This condition causes 23% of neonatal fatalities It is usually due to a lack of oxygen or blood supply to the brain. Doctors should detect if the baby is in distress and take corrective steps to monitor the amount of oxygen and blood the newborn baby gets. Survivors can suffer delays in development, difficulty breathing, eye damage, and other complications. The child may enter into a coma. In the worst cases, they need around-the-clock medical care for life.
• Traumatic brain injury (TBI). Decreased blood flow to the brain can be due to physical force. In mild TBI cases, a newborn can suffer dizziness, mood changes, and difficulty sleeping. In severe cases, the infant can lose consciousness, have seizures, lose coordination, lose cognitive abilities and suffer other harms.
• Ischemic brain damage due to Pitocin administration. Some drugs such as Pitocin are used to induce labor. Doctors may give Pitocin if a mother has an infection, her water breaks but labor doesn’t occur, a placental abruption happens, or for other reasons. Known risks include infections, induced C-sections, a reduced heart rate, bleeding, and a rupture of the uterus. Doctors who fail to administer the drugs responsibly and in a timely manner should be held accountable for the newborn’s pain, suffering, and medical care.
• Brachial plexus injuries. Newborns who can’t raise their arms or move their hands or arms may have suffered a brachial plexus injury. Erb’s palsy and Klumpke’s palsy are two types of brachial plexus birth injuries that occur when a birth doctor fails to properly move an infant who is trapped in the mother’s birth canal.
• Jaundice. This is the failure of a newborn to clear bilirubin from their body. Doctors should look for jaundice or lethargy which are signs there may be an excess of bilirubin in the brain. Excessive bilirubin can cause serious brain damage and delayed or reduced development.
• Failure to administer antibiotics for infections. Failure to treat infections can cause death, sepsis, respiratory failure, meningitis, and brain damage.
• C-section complications. If a normal delivery threatens the fetus’s life or the mother’s life, an obstetrician or birth doctor may be required to deliver the newborn through a Caesarean procedure. C-sections, if performed negligently, can cause death or catastrophic injury.
• Preeclampsia. Physicians who fail to diagnose or treat preeclampsia can cause a child to have kidney damage and dangerous high blood pressure levels. Preeclampsia is common. Our birth injury lawyers hold doctors who fail to properly manage preeclampsia liable for the physical and emotional harm they cause.

Other types of birth injuries we handle include:

• HELLP Syndrome (Hemolysis, Elevated Liver enzymes, and Low Platelet count) – a variant of preeclampsia
• Swelling or bleeding in the brain.
• Misuse of forceps blades which can cause nerve palsy, bruises, and skull fractures
• Improper use of vacuum extractors which can fracture the skull or cause the brain to be deformed

After the birth of the newborn, doctors and staff must continually monitor and treat the baby and mother for infections, bleeding, breathing difficulties, and all other post-partum complications. If they don’t, you could have a claim for medical malpractice. If you were hurt at Parkwest Medical Center Turkey Creek, UT Medical Center Knoxville, or any area facility, we will fight for you.

Let an experienced Knoxville birth injury lawyer guide you

Our attorneys understand how devastating it is when your worst fears of pregnancy are realized – your child isn’t born normal. At Banks and Jones, we’re Ready 2 Win you justice for the horrible wrong of medical malpractice. For compassionate, but tough representation, please phone us at 865-546-2141 or contact us to schedule a free consultation.