Expertise
We have helped hundreds of families whose child has been impacted by a birth injury.
Having a baby is an exciting time, an event that should be filled with great joy. Every expectant parent has dreams of a life full of accomplishment and happiness for their child. While most children are born healthy, a small number of newborns suffer injury at or near the time of birth. These traumatic birth events are devastating for every parent. Once the initial shock has started to wear off, most parents want to know what happened to their baby. Questions arise about why their baby was injured, and whether the injury could have and should have been prevented. This is the time to turn to a Birth Injury Lawyer for help. Finding the answers to these questions can be difficult. An experienced Birth Injury Lawyer can help answer these questions for parents. As personal injury lawyers with considerable experience in Birth Injury cases, we are here to help. If you have any questions about medical negligence leading to a Birth Injury, we may be able to help you find the answers.
What are birth injuries?
Most Birth Injuries are related to a disruption in blood flow to the baby’s brain, although other forms of trauma also occur at or around the time of birth. Injury to the baby’s brain from impaired blood flow to the brain can occur before labour, during labour and delivery, or shortly after birth. If severe enough, the impaired flow of oxygen can cause permanent injury to the baby’s brain, resulting in a diagnosis of Cerebral Palsy. Unfortunately, Cerebral Palsy is a permanent injury to the brain that often results in severe motor dysfunction, cognitive impairment and developmental delays. It can also affect vision and hearing and can often cause seizures. Cerebral Palsy resulting from birth trauma will have a dramatic impact on many aspects of their lives. They will have need for care, therapies and surgical interventions, often for life.
Other injuries from physical trauma can also occur, most notably from shoulder dystocia, resulting in injury to the nerves in the neck, shoulder and arm. Other forms of Birth Trauma are described below.
Types of birth injuries
Some examples of birth injuries would include:
- Fetal & Neonatal Stroke
- Hypoglycemia leading to brain damage
Periventricular Leukomalacia (PVL)
It’s a complicated name for a complicated condition. Drawn from three medical terms, periventricular (around or near the ventricles of the brain), leuko (white) and malacia (softening), periventricular leukomalacia (PVL) is a kind of brain damage affecting white matter in the brain. Predominantly a movement disorder that creates problems with muscle control (tight or spastic muscles), children with PVL may also experience learning disabilities and other cognitive impairment. They also have an increased risk of developing cerebral palsy.
Although PVL is the second most common central nervous system problem in premature infants, there is still much unknown about this condition. It is known, however, that PVL can be caused by impaired fetal oxygenation, usually, but not exclusively, in pre-term fetuses.
Premature fetuses exposed to hypoxia-ischemia tend to suffer this pattern of brain injury due to the vulnerability of the immature blood vessels near the lateral ventricles in the brain. These vessels are particularly vulnerable to disruption and bleeding in babies who have not reached term (more than 37 weeks gestation).
In the medical management of preterm labour, obstetrical care providers must have the risk of this injury in mind when making care decisions. Although some medical literature describe PVL as an injury associated with prematurity, PVL does not occur spontaneously – there must be a trigger that leads to the pattern of injury. The mechanism of injury for these premature babies may be the same as that in term babies, but term babies tend to see injury to other locations in the brain because the affected vessels have matured in the term baby.
What is PVL?
Any process that causes impaired fetal oxygenation in the preterm fetus has the potential to cause PVL. This includes birth asphyxia. PVL can occur during pregnancy, during labour or shortly after birth.
PVL most commonly affects fetuses at or before 36 weeks in gestational age. Having said that, most babies born after 30 weeks gestational age do very well, with very few suffering any neurological injury unless some other harmful process initiates this type of injury. The harmful process that initiates PVL is, in some cases, medical error.
Symptoms of PVL.
Depending on the severity and location of the brain damage, a child may have no symptoms or experience significant disability. Symptoms often become more apparent over time and tend to be pronounced by six to nine months of age. They may include:
- spastic diplegia.
- cerebral palsy.
- developmental delays (mental and physical).
- poor coordination.
- vision problems and difficulty with eye movement.
- hearing loss.
- cognitive impairment and learning disabilities.
- developmental delay (mental and physical).
- scoliosis.
- seizures.
- urinary incontinence.
Diagnosing PVL.
Like any neurological injury, PVL will be diagnosed using imaging of the newborn brain. The easiest and most convenient imaging is done using head ultrasound. This modality of imaging, however, is not precise. The gold standard for imaging of the brain is MRI. MRI provides an exquisitely detailed view of the brain lesions associated with acute perinatal injury.
Treatment.
There is no cure for PVL, but certain treatments and therapies can help with symptom management. The type of treatment recommended will depend on an infant’s age, the severity of the condition, and how well medications and therapies are tolerated. Common treatments include:
- physical therapy.
- occupational therapy and assistive devices.
- speech-language therapy.
- vision therapy.
Early intervention with a developmental specialist can often improve outcomes; however, in severe cases a child with PVL may require attendant care and be unable to ever live independently.
Why my child?
Learning that your child has PVL can be devastating - particularly if the damage looks as though it will seriously reduce quality of life or require significant and expensive resources to support them as they grow and live their best life possible. But if you believe a medical provider’s negligence caused or contributed to the condition, it can be especially frustrating. We trust our doctors, nurses, and institutions to care for us and our loved ones in a way that helps, not hurts.
Discovering medical malpractice may have caused your child’s PVL could make you feel angry, sad, overwhelmed and any number of other complex emotions. Above all, you may feel terribly alone in this.
Fortunately, there are many people out there who can support you and your loved one during these difficult times. Gluckstein’s experienced birth trauma lawyers are here to help you and advocate for your child with PVL. As one of Canada’s Top 10 personal injury firms, we have the knowledge, skill, and experience to represent your interests in a civil action against those who hurt you.
How Gluckstein Personal Injury Lawyers Can Help.
When you first contact us for a no cost, no obligation initial consultation, we will listen to your story with great empathy and attention. If you believe your loved one’s PVL injury may have been caused through medical negligence, we will explain how we will conduct a preliminary investigation to determine
if you have an actionable case. If you choose us as your legal representative, we will draw on our extensive network of medical experts as we build a strong case that will encourage a fair and just settlement or be court ready if we need to go to trial. We will also never accept payment unless we are successful in obtaining a settlement or court award for you.
At Gluckstein, we treat our clients as we would treat our own family. That means we care about you and your well-being beyond the legal case. Our renowned team of client liaisons, some of whom had experienced their own personal injuries, will be available to you every step of the way. They will not only update you on the case and provide important information, but also help to connect you with resources or support groups that may help you and your loved ones on your healing journey.
Even when your case ends, our interest in you doesn’t. Many of our past clients will tell you that the relationship they built with us during this exceedingly difficult time of their life has lasted long after they’ve needed our services. It is a privilege to see how the compensation sought for you has helped you and your loved ones live your best life possible.
Trust the team at Gluckstein Personal Injury Lawyers with your PVL birth injury case. Together, we can work to get you what you and your loved ones need and deserve for the harm that was done to you.
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What our birth trauma lawyers can do
If you think your child or grandchild has suffered a Birth Injury that might have been preventable, we can help make that determination. We start by meeting with you to get the facts. We then obtain all the relevant medical records and perform a detailed and comprehensive review. Where indicated, we will consult with highly qualified, respected and independent doctors to get the answers you need and deserve.
Consultation
There is no fee charged for your initial consultation about your Birth Trauma case. In our first meeting, we will carefully discuss the relevant obstetrical history as well as the circumstances surrounding labour and delivery. We will obtain the antenatal records, the labour and delivery records, the fetal heart tracings and the newborn records, at no cost to you. Following our careful analysis of those records, we will again meet with you to discuss our findings and move your case in the right direction, again at no cost to you.
Investigation
If concerns are identified, following our review of your Birth Trauma case and our meeting with you to discuss the records and issues, we will consult with highly trained medical experts. We seek support from these medical experts to demonstrate that the health care provided did not lead up to reasonable expectations – called a breach of the standard of care. We also seek medical support to prove that the failure to provide proper medical care resulted in your child’s Birth Injury – called “causation”. Once we have the required expert support to establish your case, we can proceed with a birth injury claim for compensation for your child and your family.
Building the case
The goal of a Birth Trauma medical malpractice claim is to get your child and your family the justice and compensation you deserve for an injury that should have been avoided. The economic and emotional burden of caring for a child injured by Birth Trauma is enormous. All affected families are in need of substantial assistance. Your Birth Trauma Lawyer must ensure all the required steps are taken to get the compensation you deserve. These cases are complex and usually take many years to prosecute. Due to the complexity of these cases, it is important that you select a Birth Trauma lawyer with both experience and credentials
Contact a birth injury lawyer today
If you and your family have been affected by Birth Trauma, Gluckstein Lawyers can help you. We have a team which includes lawyers, clerks and a client liaison who herself has experienced the entire process of a birth trauma case. Our birth injury lawyers in Toronto, Ottawa, and Niagara, Ontario have vast experience in these cases and will tirelessly advocate for your child and your family.
Contact us for a free consultation today.
How long do I have to file a lawsuit if I suspect my child has sustained a birth injury or perinatal injury?
Typically, in Ontario, you have two years from the day which the injury occurred, or the day you discovered that the injury had occurred, to bring a lawsuit or file a claim relating to the personal injury. In the case of a birth or perinatal injury, the limitation period does not start until the child reaches the age of majority, which in Ontario is 18 years old. The limitation period can be delayed even further if, when the child reaches the age of majority, he or she remains legally “incapable” of commencing litigation because of a physical, mental, or psychological condition. In this case, the limitation period does not begin to run until a Litigation Guardian is appointed for the purposes of the lawsuit.
It is best to contact a lawyer early to ensure that proper steps are taken and that deadlines are not missed. You do not have to retain a lawyer right away, but it can be helpful to learn about your legal rights early.
How will I find out what happened to my child?
Our lawyers will use a combination of resources to determine what happened in the context of a birth or perinatal injury. We will start the investigative process by obtaining the medical records and by gathering information from our clients. We will then seek out the most appropriate medical and non-medical experts to interpret and provide opinions and expertise as to whether there was a breach of the standard of care, whether that breach caused the injuries suffered, and the extent of the injuries suffered. Throughout the litigation process, we will receive further evidence as to what happened through the exchange of documents between parties and through the Examination for Discovery process.
What will legal action cost? What will I have to pay?
Generally, there are no costs to our clients throughout the course of litigation. Our firm carries the cost of litigation and any disbursements. When your matter is resolved either through settlement or at trial, our firm will take a portion of the settlement for our fees and disbursements. Our lawyers will explain the retainer and fee arrangements clearly at the initial consultation.