Phoenix Perinatal Asphyxia Birth Injury Lawyer

Expectant parents plan for the perfect birthing experience to welcome their new little one into the world with joy. The last thing any parent anticipates is for their child to experience a preventable birth injury with the potential for life-altering consequences. Perinatal asphyxia—or birth asphyxia—is a life-threatening lack of oxygen to a baby during labor or delivery. When an infant is deprived of oxygen during the birthing process, they may experience brain damage if the condition isn’t promptly recognized and treated as an emergency.

If you suspect your baby suffered a birth injury due to a healthcare provider’s failure to recognize and promptly treat perinatal asphyxia, the Phoenix medical malpractice attorneys at Knapp & Roberts are ready to be a strong voice for justice and financial compensation. While we cannot erase the injury your child suffered, we can hold negligent medical providers accountable for the financial damages and open doors to the best possible medical care for your child. Call our Phoenix perinatal asphyxia birth injury lawyers at Knapp & Roberts today for a free confidential consultation about your child’s case.

Why Choose Us for Your Birth Injury Attorneys in Phoenix? 

The legal team at Knapp & Roberts has long focused our energies on serious injury cases and wrongful deaths. We believe there must be a voice for justice when someone else’s negligence, recklessness, or wrongful behavior causes substantial injury to another. When a child suffers a life-altering injury upon entering the world, there must be justice and accountability for this birth trauma. Our Phoenix birth injury attorneys will provide the following benefits to your legal claim:

• Free case consultations and no fees until after we secure your compensation
• A network of resources and access to medical experts to review the medical evidence in your case to determine if your doctor strayed from the industry-accepted standard of care
• Careful calculations of your damages to maximize your financial compensation
• A dedicated team of skilled negotiators to maximize the chances of an ample settlement so you don’t have to go to court
• Experienced litigators who are more than ready to argue aggressively for your right to compensation and justice in court if required in your unique case
• Individualized attention and personalized strategies for the best possible outcome

A birth injury’s economic and non-economic consequences are known as “damages” in a personal injury claim. While a successful claim for damages cannot undo the harm your child and your family have experienced, it’s an important first step toward maximizing recovery.

What is Perinatal Asphyxia During Child Birth?

Perinatal asphyxia is a birth injury to a child resulting from oxygen deprivation during labor, childbirth, or post-delivery. The disruption to the flow of oxygen may result from several factors during the birthing process including the following:

• Constriction of the umbilical cord during labor or delivery
• Placental separation
• Uterine rupture
• Maternal infections
• Maternal blood pressure problems
• Maternal hemorrhage
• Long, difficult delivery
• Blocked airways in an infant during or following birth

Any disruption to the flow of oxygen from mother to baby during labor and delivery or a lack of oxygen to a baby following delivery can result in perinatal asphyxia with varying implications on the child’s health depending on the length and severity of the oxygen loss.

Signs of Birth Injury Due to Perinatal Asphyxia 

When children experience perinatal asphyxia, there may be noticeable symptoms immediately following the delivery and in the days and weeks to follow. Signs of this birth injury include the following:

• Failure to breath after birth or weak breathing
• Very pale skin or gray or blue coloring
• Low heart rate
• Weak reflexes
• Poor muscle tone
• Low APGAR score of 0 to 3 for more than five minutes
• Need for resuscitation after birth
• Seizures
• Coma

To diagnose birth asphyxia, medical providers perform tests on blood oxygen levels, including noting severe acid levels (metabolic acidosis), glucose level tests, liver function tests, and tests for evidence of neurological problems as well as for problems with one or more organ systems.

Treating Perinatal Asphyxia

When problems with oxygen flow to a baby arise during the labor and delivery process, medical providers must act fast with emergency delivery measures to minimize the disruption of critical oxygen. Treatment at this phase includes emergency C-section delivery, increased oxygen flow to the mother, medications, and breathing machines. 

When doctors fail to promptly recognize signs of oxygen deprivation during birth, fail to provide emergency treatment measures, and the result is perinatal asphyxia in a child, it is medical malpractice with severe consequences to the child. Doctors have a duty to treat patients at the industry-accepted level of care, or the way another, reasonable medical professional would under the same circumstances. If a provider breaches this duty of care and the result is an injury, they are liable for damages. Because perinatal asphyxia is preventable and the consequences can be minimized with prompt emergency treatment, failure to do so is actionable.

According to medical experts, treatment through therapeutic hypothermia during the six hours following the immediate injury can prevent a secondary injury caused by damaged brain cells releasing toxins. If doctors fail to properly diagnose perinatal asphyxia after birth, a child does not receive the treatment necessary to prevent further damage during the secondary injury phase.

How Can a Phoenix Perinatal Asphyxia Birth Injury Attorney Help?

Your birth injury lawyer from Knapp & Roberts will consult with medical experts and review evidence such as OBGYN reports, labor and delivery flow sheets, and the diagnostic tests performed during and after childbirth as well as any interventions or lack of proper interventions that took place under a doctor’s care. With the help of our resources in the medical community, we can examine the evidence, calculate damages, and craft a compelling case for compensation to present to the at-fault provider’s medical malpractice insurance company.

Perinatal asphyxia causes physical and cognitive disabilities in a child, catastrophic brain damage, and may result in a child’s death. The level of the injury depends on how long the child was left untreated and the severity of the initial oxygen loss.

Damages Available in Perinatal Asphyxia Birth Injury Claims in Phoenix

Birth asphyxia is a serious injury when doctors fail to promptly mitigate the problem or provide emergency treatment. Common damages in birth asphyxia claims include the following:

• Past and ongoing medical expenses
• Rehabilitation costs
• Lost income if a parent must leave their job to provide care for an injured child
• Special education and equipment costs
• Pain and suffering of the child
• Emotional anguish
• Loss of quality of life compensation

Speak to your birth injury lawyer from Knapp & Roberts in Phoenix about the damages available in your birth injury claim.

Call Our Phoenix Birth Injury Lawyers Today

If your child suffered perinatal asphyxia or another life-altering birth injury, reach out to our Phoenix birth injury attorneys today so we can begin a strong legal strategy to recover compensation and a sense of justice in your child’s case.