Did your child suffer a preventable injury during birth in Atlanta, Georgia? Call Hammers Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers for a free consultation at (470) 291-4088. Our Atlanta birth injury lawyers can help you pursue the full compensation your family deserves while protecting your legal rights.
Our trusted personal injury law firm has been standing up for families across Atlanta for over a decade. With over $100 million recovered across decades of combined experience, you can feel confident that your case is in trusted hands as you move forward through the legal process.
Why Hire Hammers Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers If My Child Suffered a Birth Injury in Atlanta, GA?
Birth injury cases are among the most complex and emotionally difficult types of claims a family can face. You’re going up against healthcare providers and their insurance companies, both of which have powerful legal teams working to minimize their exposure. You may need to hire an experienced Atlanta medical malpractice lawyer to help you fight for justice and maximum compensation.
Hammers Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers is the right choice for your birth injury case because:
- We’ve been recognized by Super Lawyers, Martindale-Hubbell, and other prestigious legal organizations
- We have 50+ years of combined experience practicing law, including in serious medical malpractice cases
- Some of our case outcomes include results in the seven and eight-figure range
Learn more about your legal rights and options today by contacting our Atlanta personal injury lawyers for a free consultation. We’re ready to go to bat for you and your family right away.
What Is a Birth Injury?
A birth injury refers to any harm a baby suffers during labor, delivery, or shortly after birth as a result of medical negligence. These injuries are different from birth defects, which are caused by genetics or other factors unrelated to the delivery process. Birth injuries typically happen because a medical professional failed to meet the accepted standard of care during a critical moment.
In Georgia, birth injury claims fall under the state’s medical malpractice laws. To bring a successful claim, your family will generally need to prove four things:
- The healthcare provider owed your child a duty of care
- They failed to meet the accepted standard of care during labor or delivery
- That failure directly caused your child’s injury
- Your child suffered actual damages as a result
Georgia also requires that a medical malpractice lawsuit include an expert affidavit. This is a sworn statement from a qualified medical professional confirming that there are reasonable grounds to believe malpractice occurred. Without this affidavit, the court can dismiss your case for that reason alone.
Common Types of Birth Injuries
Birth injuries can range from minor to severe, and some have lifelong consequences for the child and the entire family.
The following are some of the most common birth injuries our attorneys handle:
- Cerebral palsy: Often linked to oxygen deprivation during delivery, this condition affects movement, muscle tone, and coordination permanently
- Brachial plexus injuries (Erb’s palsy): Damage to the nerves controlling the arm and shoulder, frequently caused by excessive force during delivery
- Bone fractures: Broken collarbones and other fractures that can occur when improper techniques are used during a difficult birth
- Brain injuries: Caused by oxygen deprivation, trauma, or untreated complications, these injuries can lead to developmental delays and cognitive impairment
- Facial paralysis: Nerve damage from forceps or pressure during delivery that can affect the baby’s facial movement
- Spinal cord injuries: Rare but devastating injuries that can result in paralysis
Not every birth injury is the result of malpractice. However, so long as a preventable medical error caused harm to your child, your family has every right to seek justice and compensation.
Who Can Be Held Liable for a Birth Injury in Atlanta?
Multiple parties may share responsibility when a birth injury occurs. Identifying every liable party is an important part of building a successful case; our attorneys will investigate the full circumstances to determine who should be held liable.
Potentially liable parties in an Atlanta birth injury case may include:
- The obstetrician or gynecologist who managed the labor and delivery
- Nurses and other medical staff who provided care during the birth
- Anesthesiologists who administered medication improperly
- The hospital or birthing center itself, which may be liable for systemic issues that contributed to the injury
- Specialists who were consulted but failed to act on warning signs
Our birth injury attorneys will work with medical experts to review your child’s records and identify exactly where the standard of care was breached. Call our law offices in Atlanta today to learn more.
What Damages Can I Recover in an Atlanta Birth Injury Case?
Birth injury cases can result in significant compensation because the harm involved often affects a child for the rest of their life. Georgia law allows families to pursue both economic and non-economic damages in a medical malpractice claim. There are typically no caps on compensatory damages in these cases.
Economic damages account for the financial costs your family has faced and will continue to face, such as:
- Medical treatment and hospital costs
- Ongoing rehabilitation and therapy
- Assistive devices
- Long-term in-home care
- Lost future earning capacity for your child
Non-economic damages address the personal and emotional toll the injury has taken on your family, including:
- Your child’s pain and suffering
- Emotional distress for both the child and the parents
- Loss of quality of life
- Permanent disability
- Disfigurement
In rare situations where the medical provider’s conduct was egregious, punitive damages may also be available. Our birth injury lawyers will pursue every category of compensation that applies to your family’s case.
How Much Is My Atlanta Birth Injury Claim Worth?
There is no simple answer to this question because every birth injury case involves its own set of facts. Some claims settle for hundreds of thousands of dollars, while others involving severe lifelong injuries can be worth significantly more.
Our legal team will look at several factors when evaluating your case, including:
- The severity of your child’s injury and whether it is permanent
- How much medical care your child will need over the course of their lifetime
- Whether your child will be able to live independently as an adult
- The strength of the medical evidence connecting the injury to the provider’s negligence
- The number of parties who may share liability for what happened
We will work alongside medical and financial experts to make sure nothing is overlooked when calculating what your family is owed. Contact us today for a free case evaluation to learn more about what your claim could be worth.
How Long Do I Have to File a Birth Injury Lawsuit in Georgia?
Georgia’s statute of limitations for medical malpractice cases is two years from the date the injury occurred. However, the rules are different when the injured patient is a young child.
Per state law, the two-year clock does not begin running until the child turns five years old. That means your family generally has until your child’s seventh birthday to file a birth injury lawsuit on their behalf.
Keep in mind that Georgia also has a statute of repose that sets an absolute outer limit on when a medical malpractice case can be filed, regardless of when the injury was discovered. Waiting too long puts your family at risk of losing the right to pursue compensation entirely, so it’s best to contact us for help as soon as you suspect you have a valid claim.
How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Birth Injury Lawyer in Atlanta?
We handle birth injury cases on a contingency fee basis. Your family will not owe us a single dollar upfront, and there are no hourly charges or retainer fees to worry about either. We only collect attorneys’ fees if we win compensation for you.
This structure exists so that families can access experienced legal representation without adding financial stress during an already difficult time. It also keeps our team invested in the outcome of your case since the fee we earn is tied directly to the results we deliver for you.
Contact Our Atlanta Birth Injury Attorneys for a Free Consultation
No parent should have to watch their child suffer because of a medical professional’s mistake. If your family is dealing with the aftermath of a preventable birth injury in Atlanta, GA, you have the right to demand answers and pursue the compensation your child will need for years to come.
Hammers Car Accident & Personal Injury Lawyers has recovered over $100 million for our deserving clients and will work just as hard for you and your loved ones. Contact our Atlanta birth injury attorneys today for a free initial consultation and begin the path toward justice.
