Types of Damages from a Pennsylvania Birth Injury Lawsuit

It can be an exciting time when you are anticipating the arrival of your baby after a long nine months or more. When you go into the hospital for labor and delivery you know that it will be challenging and take a toll on your body as a mother. Giving birth is one of the most dramatic events that a human body can experience. However, it is a burden you are willing to bear to be with your child. What you do not expect is medical negligence during labor and delivery to cause injuries to either you or your baby.

Mistakes made on the part of a medical professional can lead to physical bodily harm inflicted on either the mother or her baby during birth. This is arguably one of the most traumatic types of medical malpractice events that one can have happen to them. This is especially true if the harm that is done to a baby or mother is extensive and leads to disabling injuries or death.

When negligence in the delivery room caused you or your baby harm, you may be able to file a birth injury lawsuit for financial compensation. After a birth injury, there may be considerable follow-up care that a mother or her baby needs. A birth injury lawsuit can address these financial damages and account for them. If you would like help with a birth injury lawsuit in Pennsylvania, you may reach out to a knowledgeable Philadelphia birth injury lawyer at Edelstein Martin & Nelson, LLP.

Obtaining Compensation After a Birth Injury

As a medical malpractice lawsuit, birth injury lawsuits can help secure financial compensation for families who had to endure undue physical bodily harm from the subpar medical care that they were given. As a result, damages that may be included in a birth injury lawsuit could be any of the following:

• Immediate and ongoing medical expenses for any treatment needed to help remedy the injury that happened throughout the labor and delivery process. Additionally, if mistakes were made and injuries resulted before birth, and during pregnancy, medical expenses can also be recovered. Medical expenses can include those treatments, medicines, or procedures that are needed currently and for the medical treatment that is expected to be necessary in the future.
• Pain and suffering that was caused by the birth injury incident. Here, physical pain can be assessed and compensated but so can emotional pain and adverse mental health conditions that result from the birth injury incident.
• Punitive damages are meant to be a punishment for egregiously negligent behavior that harmed others. Punitive damages are not awarded often but can be in specific situations.

Speak to an Attorney at Edelstein Martin & Nelson, LLP Today

Under Pennsylvania’s birth injury statute of limitations, a child or their parent has the ability to file a suit until the child is 21 years of age. For assistance with a birth injury lawsuit in Pennsylvania, please call Edelstein Martin & Nelson, LLP at (215) 731-9900 to schedule a free, initial consultation with an experienced attorney.