Halifax Birth Injury Lawyers Fighting for Children Facing Severe Injuries

As birth injury lawyers headquartered in Halifax, Nova Scotia, NOVA Injury Law helps Atlantic Canadian families access much-needed compensation and support when a child suffers from a birth injury.

As a subcategory of medical malpractice cases, birth injuries are some of the most devastating and complex claims we deal with. No one ever anticipates an injury occurring to their newborn child. Unfortunately, these injuries do happen, and even more so than other injury claims, they leave new parents feeling hopeless, heartbroken, and distrusting of the healthcare system as a whole.

NOVA Injury Law is dedicated to our trade – Injury Law. Our team of birth injury lawyers are experienced with personal injury law as well as birth injuries and know the opportunities and pitfalls at play with these claims. While newborns and their families are entitled to compensation for injuries sustained as a result of medical negligence, it is not always a straightforward, easy process to achieve what’s right and fair.

More often than not, claims against doctors or hospitals take years to reach a settlement, with the defendant contesting the claim every step of the way. This is one of the reasons NOVA Injury Law offers no win, no fee agreements whereby we cover all the costs to build the case, including medical experts, and legal fees are paid as a percentage of the final settlement.

Put NOVA Injury Law in your corner and take advantage of a no-obligation, free case review from the only law firm in Atlantic Canada with a doctor on the team. At worst, we will help you understand the law related to your claim and give you a thorough understanding of your birth injury claim during this difficult time. At best, you’ll have an experienced and knowledgeable birth injury lawyer working directly on your case from start to finish.

What Makes Birth Injury Claims so Complex?

The medical details surrounding birth injuries and negligence can make or break a claim, and it’s up to the claim filer and their personal injury lawyer from Halifax to be a voice for an otherwise voiceless victim. Because infants and small children are not yet able to fully explain what they are experiencing, their defenders must rely heavily on the medical documentation available. Lawyers don’t go to medical school, so NOVA Injury Law brought a practicing ER physician into the fold as our chief medical consultant. Dr. Laura Mitchell works hand-in-hand with our legal team to appreciate the medical facts and present the strongest claims possible. This matters because birth injury victims and their families count on their settlements to pay for lifelong medical costs and the costs of care.

The birth injury lawyers at NOVA Injury Law analyze every aspect of birth injury claims and negotiate with a full understanding of the medical issues at play. We do everything possible to achieve the highest possible compensation and justice that our clients and their families deserve.

What Kinds of Conditions Could be Birth Injuries?

While not all birth injuries are the result of medical malpractice, it is important to know what types of birth injuries can occur. Some birth injuries will be relatively minor in nature, while others can have long-lasting effects. Some, like cerebral palsy, will affect the victim for his or her entire life and will require additional resources for extended medical care. While not an exhaustive list, some examples of birth injuries include:

Broken bones and other injuries during delivery:

While these injuries tend to heal, they can represent a painful experience for the baby and distress for the parents as well as the child. Regardless of the amount of time an injury takes to heal, birth trauma should not be overlooked when considering a birth injury case.

Cerebral Palsy:

An injury such as this can occur when a baby is deprived of oxygen during the lab and delivery process. Cerebral Palsy can cause developmental delays, motor control issues, and other complications.

Brain Bleeds:

These are very often serious injuries; their effects can range from mild to very severe complications for the child. These can be the result of incorrect use of tools during delivery. If your child sustains a brain injury before or during delivery, it could potentially be due to malpractice.

Spinal Cord Injuries:

This sort of injury can prove detrimental to a child’s quality of life, causing difficulty moving normally as they age as well as chronic pain. Along with that, a wide range of other problems is associated with spinal cord injuries.

Nerve Injuries:

These injuries arise when a nerve is damaged during labor. A wide range of injuries is associated with damaged nerves throughout the body, each leading to many different developmental and physical challenges. A person giving birth may also experience nerve damage in the lower extremities when lab our takes a long time or when forceps are used to deliver the baby.

Why Do Birth Injuries Happen?

Simply put, birth injuries can happen for a variety of reasons. It could be something that was unavoidable and nobody’s fault, but it could also be due to a mistake made by a health care professional before or during lab our. Birth injury lawyers and medical malpractice lawyers can help you determine which of these possibilities best fits your situation. And, if they believe all of the elements for a case are present, they will help you throughout the often-lengthy process.

Some potential mistakes that could occur before lab our are:

Failure to properly diagnose a pregnancy leads a doctor to prescribe a drug that can cause birth defects
Inadequate prenatal care by a doctor, including improper monitoring of the mother or the fetus during development
Failure to detect placental issues

Birth Injuries can also be the result of mistakes made during the delivery process. Some mistakes that may occur during delivery include:

Failure to properly respond to fetal distress during lab our
Leaving the baby without oxygen for a prolonged period
Improper use of medical assistant devices leading to birth injuries

Or, it could be a post-delivery mistake, known as improper neonatal care. While many medical professionals try to ensure that zero mistakes occur for every patient, sometimes accidents are unpredictable and are no one’s fault. Determining negligence or intention will be vital to your case. Some neonatal care mistakes that may occur are:

Failure to detect and treat jaundice conditions in a baby
Failure to properly monitor neonatal glucose for hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia
Failure to detect and treat infection in a timely manner

I’m a New Parent; How Can I be Sure if My Child has Suffered a Birth Injury?

If new parents feel that their baby may have been a victim of improper care and has suffered a preventable birth injury, it is important they contact a birth injury lawyer right away.

NOVA Injury Law offers free case reviews, giving families the chance to consult with an experienced birth injury lawyer free of charge. For something as important as a child’s well-being, it is important to consult a birth injury lawyer as soon as possible. We gather the facts of the case and give families our honest legal opinions about the strengths and weaknesses of their claims.

We take on birth injury claims through contingency fee agreements. This eliminates many of the financial hurdles in pursuing a birth injury claim. These claims can take years to complete, and the personal injury lawyers at NOVA Injury Law are aware of the burden this can place on families, both financially and emotionally. By taking and building cases at no upfront cost to clients, we allow families to seek justice for their injured baby without financial burden.

Does Every Birth Injury Claim Lead to Compensation?

Unfortunately no, not all birth injuries lead to compensation for victims and their families. In order to be entitled to compensation, medical malpractice needs to be proven on the part of the doctor, hospital, or other health care provider that cared for the child before, during, or after birth. Medical malpractice claims are incredibly complex and often long, so it’s important to consult with a lawyer that is experienced with Canadian medical malpractice law.

It’s important to remember that it must be proven that the health care worker failed to perform their duty to the standards expected of that profession and, as a result, caused an injury or harm to the child. As such, simply because a child is injured does not entitle them to compensation. However, if you can prove that the injury occurred due to negligence or improper care from a medical professional, it may be a strong contender for a medical malpractice claim.

Is NOVA Injury Law the Right Ally for My Birth Injury Case?

Aside from the free case review and contingency fee agreement, NOVA Injury Law offers something that other Atlantic Canadian firms do not – we are the only birth injury lawyers in Atlantic Canada with a doctor on the team. Dr. Laura Mitchell is a practicing emergency room physician with special training in occupational medicine. This allows the birth injury lawyers at NOVA Injury Law to properly support birth injury claims with the most complete, accurate, and convincing medical evidence that is gathered by a medical professional that is not associated with the practice where the injury took place.

We understand how devastating it can be to have your baby suffer a birth injury. As a firm full of families with children (both young and old), we work to ensure every child receives the money for care they need to live as normal and happy of a life as they possibly can.

If one of your loved ones has been the victim of medical malpractice causing injury, contact the birth injury lawyers today at NOVA Injury Law. For more information or to set up an initial consultation, you can reach us by calling 1-800-262-8104. Our team is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, to support you and your loved ones.