Tennessee Birth Injury Lawyers

The birth of your child should be a moment filled with joy and hope for the future. However, when a preventable medical mistake turns this precious time into one of uncertainty and heartache, it can feel overwhelming. The pain of knowing that your baby’s health and future have been compromised is something no parent should ever have to endure.

Tennessee medical centers are known for their staff’s pursuit of quality medical care and dedication to ensuring patient safety, but even the most well-trained medical professionals can make errors in carrying out the duties of medical care. In some cases, these mistakes go unnoticed, while in other cases, these mistakes can result in adverse effects for patients.

Birth injuries can have a profound impact on your child’s development, and the road ahead may be filled with challenges you never anticipated. In the case of newborn infants whose brains and tissues are still in the early stages of development, such errors can lead to serious developmental delays and lasting health issues.

As you face this difficult reality, you deserve compassionate support and guidance. If you or a family member suffered a birth injury, you can ask for the help of a personal injury attorney to secure compensation for the care needed to mitigate the damage caused by medical errors. Tennessee birth injury lawyers can help you seek the justice and compensation needed to secure the best possible care for your child and begin the process of healing.

Contact the law offices of ABC Law Centers: Birth Injury Lawyers to speak to an  attorney about your Tennessee birth injury case. Whether you are in Memphis, Nashville, Knoxville, Chattanooga, Murfreesboro, Johnson City, Hendersonville, or any other Tennessee city,

we can travel to you and help you determine the right course of action for your child.

ABC Law Centers: Birth Injury Lawyers is one of the few law firms in the U.S. that focuses only on birth injury.

Our thorough knowledge of birth injuries allows us to focus 100% on the details of these complex medical cases. Unlike other personal injury firms, which may split their focus between handling car accidents, drug interactions, medical device malfunctions, and birth injury cases, ABC Law Centers: Birth Injury Lawyers focuses on birth injuries only.

Our firm consults with leading medical experts, specialists, and care planning professionals to help determine what kind of care your child will need to get throughout their lifespan.

A serious injury at birth can impact a child’s physical, emotional, and mental health, and birth injuries can lead to developmental delays, intellectual and learning disabilities, or cerebral palsy. The extent to which a birth injury can impact a child’s functional ability can vary vastly. Some children with birth injuries do not have any functional impairments or very mild ones, while for some children, the outcomes can be very severe, requiring around-the-clock medical care and therapy. The extent of a birth injury depends on multiple factors, including how long a child was deprived of oxygen and whether blood flow to the child’s brain was completely stopped or partially stopped.

There are some diagnoses and events that parents should look out for, as the presence of these conditions can indicate that medical malpractice did occur:

If labor and delivery are traumatic (due to prolonged/stalled labor, the use of vacuum extractors and/or forceps, or the overuse of delivery drugs like Pitocin or Oxytocin, for example), the baby is more likely to have brain bleeds or periods of oxygen deprivation or other injuries. If labor becomes stalled, it can be necessary to initiate a C-section in order to prevent injury from oxygen deprivation or other labor-related injuries.

During labor and delivery if a baby’s heart rate drops significantly and doesn’t recover, it is very likely the baby is having fetal distress, a reaction to oxygen deprivation. If oxygen deprivation goes on long enough, the baby may develop an oxygen-deprivation-induced injury called hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), which must be treated within 6 hours of birth using hypothermia therapy.

Fetal distress can also trigger the baby to have a bowel movement in the amniotic sac. Because the baby breathes in amniotic fluid, it can be at risk for inhaling stool, which is an infection hazard and can interfere with proper breathing. If a baby is having fetal distress, it is an obstetrical emergency and the baby should be delivered quickly via C-section to prevent further damage.

Seizures are one of the most common indicators of brain damage in babies. They are triggered by abnormal electrical patterns in the brain, which often stem from an underlying cause of damaged neuronal tissue. Sometimes, these seizures are visible, but sometimes, they are only detectable using continuous EEG testing. Seizures should be carefully monitored and treated to prevent them from worsening existing damage.

Newborn babies’ brains can be very fragile, especially if the baby is small, premature, or subjected to a traumatic birth. Brain bleeds can often cause (or be the cause of) HIE, periventricular leukomalacia (PVL), and hydrocephalus, so it is important that medical staff follow standards of care to prevent brain bleeds from occurring. If they do occur, brain imaging can be recommended to assess what kind of therapy and treatment a child may need to minimize disability and help the child developmentally as soon as possible.

This motor disorder can show up as an early preference for one side of the body over another, or via excessive muscle tightness or limpness. Cerebral palsy can sometimes be traced back to an underlying injury to the motor centers. The injury interferes with proper signaling to the muscles. This can often be traced back to HIE.

It is absolutely critical that a baby’s rapidly developing brain have an uninterrupted supply of blood sugar that is neither too low or too high. Some babies (especially those that are very large or very small for their gestational age (macrosomic babies and VLBW or premature babies, respectively) are prone to developing low blood sugar and can require additional monitoring and feeding.

If blood sugar is too low for too long, brain cells become deprived of their only energy source and start to die off. If a baby is in the NICU, medical staff should monitor the baby and ensure they are receiving proper nutrition.

Mothers with certain diagnosed health conditions are ‘high-risk,’ meaning that it is more likely they will have complications or other health issues during pregnancy. Women with diabetes, preeclampsia, obesity, hypertension, and other conditions should be referred to a maternal-fetal specialist who can conduct more frequent monitoring to ensure the pregnancy goes smoothly.

One of the most common trends we see in birth injury litigation is high-risk patients not being monitored or treated as high-risk patients. It is important that women with high-risk pregnancies be informed by their physician of their status so they can get proper maternal-fetal care.

If the mother has an infection such as group B strep or a UTI that goes undiagnosed, this could be passed to the baby during a vaginal birth or when her membranes break. Depending on the type of infection, it may be safer to deliver via C-section before the membranes break.

For certain infections, mothers can be placed on antibiotics or antiviral medication prior to labor and delivery to suppress the infection and prevent passage to the baby. If a baby is suspected of having an infection after birth (such as meningitis or pneumonia), treatment should be initiated quickly to prevent tissue inflammation and other complications, as these can result in seizures or developmental delays as the child grows.

When a baby is born, they can sometimes develop jaundice (yellowish skin and eyes). In some cases, this can resolve on its own, but there are certain cases where the baby may need help with the underlying cause of jaundice, in which case they are placed under a special set of lights or under a fiber-optic blanket to help them break down excess amounts of bilirubin. If jaundice goes untreated or is treated improperly, however, excess bilirubin can cross the blood-brain barrier and cause permanent and irreversible brain damage. This is often medical negligence, as kernicterus is the result of a condition that was not properly caught in time or treated.

These two conditions relate to maternal bleeding. Placental abruption occurs when the placenta detaches from the uterus, while uterine rupture occurs when the uterus tears through its layers. Both have the potential to become very seriously immediately, as both can cause massive bleeding in both the mother and the child. Bleeding can then result in blood pressure to the baby dropping, which can cause hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy and other oxygen deprivation-related injuries.

It is often safer to deliver babies who have malpresentation via C-section because of the risk of traumatic birth, which can increase the risk that a baby will have brain bleeds and/or swelling of the face or upper airways, which can prevent proper breathing.

The umbilical cord is the baby’s only method of exchanging oxygen, nutrients and waste products. Umbilical cord issues of any type can compromise the flow of oxygen and nutrients to the baby and lead to HIE, cerebral palsy and developmental delays. Umbilical cord issues can often be diagnosed via ultrasound testing, and should be addressed by maternal-fetal medicine specialists.

• Short umbilical cord
• Long umbilical cord
• Knots in the umbilical cord
• Cord around the baby’s neck (nuchal cord)

Pursuing a birth injury lawsuit can be a big decision for a family because of the fear that it will take away valuable time spent caring for their child. This is why it is important to carefully consider options in choosing Tennessee birth injury attorneys.

Parents should choose an experienced Tennessee birth injury lawyer who will clearly communicate expectations and updates about their individual case, and that makes clear at the outset what working with the firm will be like. The birth injury attorneys at ABC Law Centers: Birth Injury Lawyers have a track record of multi-million dollar verdicts and exceptional client satisfaction. Contact us for a free consultation and case evaluation.

It can be difficult to evaluate the extent of a child’s injuries immediately, as it is common that some developmental delays don’t show up until the child is age 2 or older, or, in some cases when the child reaches school age and begins to struggle with their lessons. However, it is important to speak to a birth injury attorney as soon as you suspect a birth injury because different states have different time limits (called statutes of limitations) for when a lawsuit can be filed.

Birth injuries are a complex field of law, as there are highly specific standards of care that medical staff should follow in providing care to mothers and children during pregnancy, birth, and delivery. No parent wants to believe that medical professionals may make a mistake during their child’s gestation or birth, but errors, while rare, do occur, and parents should know that there are legal options for pursuing justice.

Not every hospital is equipped to help the most fragile or ill of newborns, as different neonatal care intensive care units are categorized differently. NICUs are categorized from Level I to Level III or Level IV, depending on the state. Infants with birth injuries can sometimes need highly specialized care, including (but not limited to) hypothermia therapy, ventilation, seizure monitoring and management, and/or surgical interventions for certain health issues.

While the following is not a comprehensive list of medical centers in Tennessee, it is a starting point for parents researching a particular hospital’s capabilities for caring for critically ill newborns.

• Children’s Hospital at Erlanger: This facility in Chattanooga is the region’s only Level IV NICU.
• University of Tennessee Health Sciences Center: UTHealth Science Center is the regional referral hospital for West Tennessee. It delivers many babies whose mothers have been classified as high-risk. The center accepts referrals from Arkansas, Mississippi, and Southern Missouri.
• Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital: This facility is a NICU outpost of the UTHealth Science Center, providing care for critically ill neonates, including hypothermia therapy (head cooling) for babies diagnosed with HIE.
  Vanderbilt University’s Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital: This hospital specifically mentions that it administers hypothermia therapy to children who have been diagnosed with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), and provides services such as ECMO and specialty imaging.
• East Tennessee Children’s Hospital: This facility has a Level III NICU equipped to assist 60 critically ill infants.
• TriStar Centennial Medical Center: This facility is categorized as a Level III NICU.
• Ayer Children’s Medical Center: This affiliate of West Tennessee Healthcare is a Level III NICU with 30 beds, and offers transportation from outlying hospitals.
• Niswonger Children’s Hospital: A Level III NICU in Johnson City, TN affiliated with Mountain States Health Alliance.

To read more about NICU classification in Tennessee, see the Tennessee Department of Health’s guidelines on NICU classification.

There are several universities and research centers participating in medical and scientific research in the state of Tennessee, including the following:

• The University of Tennessee: The University of Tennessee conducts research at numerous branches of its campus, including in Knoxville. While not necessarily specifically confined to medical research, the University is known to partner with ORAU and administers the ORNL program, two highly prestigious research programs.
• Vanderbilt University: Vanderbilt University’s medical school participates in advanced medical research.

Tennessee has several military medical facilities. Under some circumstances, individuals who have given birth at a military medical facility and had a child who sustained a birth injury can seek to file a lawsuit under an act called the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA). These hospitals are listed separately because the process of litigating military medical malpractice is in some ways different from litigating a case against a non-military hospital.

Military hospitals do not allow active-duty service members to file suits against them, though their spouses and dependents can. Differences such as these require birth injury attorneys who understand both birth injury and military medical malpractice; ABC Law Centers: Birth Injury Lawyers. has the experience and credentials needed to litigate these cases.

ABC Law Centers: Birth Injury Lawyers’ attorneys and in-house medical staff focus solely on birth injuries, providing the experience needed to win these complex and medically detailed cases. The firm consults with medical specialists and subspecialists, forensic experts, life care planning economists, and other medical experts to build strong cases and help families secure their children’s future.

Contact us 24/7 to have a free, no-obligation case evaluation, and to speak to an attorney about your options for pursuing a case. Our award-winning attorneys have been listed as SuperLawyers, as well as in U.S. News and World Report’s “Top Medical Malpractice Lawyers” for many years. The firm has also been listed among U.S. News and World Report’s “Top 100 Law Firms,” among other accolades.

No parent should have to face this journey alone. Our team is here to listen, support, and guide you through each step of the legal process. Please contact us with any birth injury litigation-related questions you may have. We understand how traumatic it is to know your child suffered an injury when they were so vulnerable. Our team is here to help you explore your options and fight for the care and justice your child deserves.