Toronto Brachial Plexus Injury Lawyers
Brachial plexus injuries can be alarming, especially when the injury occurs to a baby in birth. These injuries can be difficult to treat and can present long-term challenges in the life of a child. There are precautions that can be taken in an attempt to prevent such injuries, but sometimes mistakes occur that lead to unintended consequences. In the rare cases that they do occur, it is almost always as a result of a doctor or hospital’s negligence. If you feel there is substantial reason to believe that your doctor or hospital is responsible for your brachial plexus injury, you may be entitled to compensation.
Our team at Mazin & Associates, PC has experience in cases throughout Ontario that involve brachial plexus injuries. We believe it is important to hold those who act negligently accountable for their mistakes and assist our clients in reaching a fair resolution. Contact us at (416) 625-2122 for a free consultation to discuss the best way to proceed with your case.
Why You Need a Lawyer
In brachial plexus injury cases, a lawyer can help immensely, and a lawyer who has experience with birth injury cases can be particularly beneficial. The medical details can be very complex, and a lawyer experienced in these types of cases will be able to use medical records and other resources in the most effective way to strengthen your claim.
Also, an experienced brachial plexus injury lawyer will know how to collaborate with medical experts and use their testimonies to further build the credibility of your case. Having a lawyer by your side can relieve the stress of trying to handle the complicated legal process on your own. By being represented by a competent and capable lawyer, you can rest easily with the knowledge that you have a great chance of getting the compensation you deserve to provide for your child’s future medical expenses.
Why Choose Us?
Mazin & Associates, PC is the clear choice for representation in brachial plexus injury cases because of our experience and the importance we place on maintaining a supportive relationship with our clients. Given the complicated nature of these injuries, it is our duty to bring you justice against doctors and hospitals that neglect their responsibility to provide care and protection to your newborn child. We will make your interests our first priority, and we will always ensure that we keep you regularly updated on the status of your case.
Our founder, Gary Mazin, has over a decade’s worth of valuable experience in litigating and has led the way in establishing our remarkable track record. We have won millions of dollars on behalf of our clients in defending their rights against the negligence of others. During the legal process, we will take the lead on all of the important steps in building your case while making sure to communicate with you regularly. Always putting the comfort of our clients first, we only work on a contingency basis. This lets you focus on your child’s treatment and preparing for the future, and you will only owe us if we secure compensation for you. Contact us anytime for a free consultation to discuss your particular case and how we can help you best.
Cases We Handle
Brachial plexus injuries are serious and they largely stem from damage to the nerves around the shoulder. Types of brachial plexus injuries include Erb’s palsy, Klumpke paralysis, and Erb-Duchenne paralysis. These examples have different names, but they all share a number of undesirable symptoms, including pain, numbness, and in extreme cases, paralysis of the upper limbs. The nerves of the shoulder, known collectively as the brachial plexus, may even be affected in the womb by compression before delivery. During the delivery, there are a variety of complications that may arise that can contribute to a brachial plexus injury. One example is the case of an infant’s head and neck leaning toward the side as the infant’s shoulder cross through the birth canal. This is a natural cause. However, brachial plexus injuries can just as easily be caused by a doctor’s negligence.
There are multiple ways that rash mistakes by doctors can lead to unintended brachial plexus injuries, which goes to show the importance of taking a careful approach in the delivery of a baby. In some cases, a baby may be lodged in the mother’s pelvic area, which can be a problem if the doctor fails to notice. Also, the doctor may handle the baby too fast in an effort to get it out of the womb before the umbilical cord is compressed in the birth canal. The problem emerges when the doctor uses too much force in trying to get the baby out, putting the network of nerves that connect the spinal cord to the infant’s neck, arm, shoulder, hand, and fingers at risk of being injured.
Another technique that doctors may use in an effort to speed up the delivery process, which should be avoided, is applying excessive pressure to a baby’s head and neck. This can cause rips, tears, and nerve damage to the newborn. In some cases, the use of birth-assisting tools is necessary, and doctors need to take particular care in handling these because they present a risk for a brachial plexus injuries.
The cases that typically call for tools to be used, such as the vacuum or forceps, could be a breech birth or an instance of the monitors indicating fetal distress. If the doctors or other medical staff don’t use great care with the tools assisting with the extraction of the baby, the baby’s skull as well as the nerves in its neck, shoulder, and arm risk being injured. In many cases, the medical staff has the ability to anticipate potential risks by simply paying close attention to the health and status of the baby, as well as by using the ultrasound to locate the baby’s position in the womb.
Signs of a medical professional’s negligence during delivery may include failure to judge the size of the baby in the womb correctly, failure to observe signs of the infant’s location in the womb, failure to notice indications of fetal distress, failure to initiate a C-section at the appropriate time, and failure to give adequate postnatal care to the baby.
If there is reason to believe that your doctor’s negligence has resulted in a brachial plexus injury to your child, the process for your case will most likely be fairly simple. Most brachial plexus injury cases are able to be settled out of court. Your lawyer will handle the gathering of suitable evidence to support that the defendant’s negligence was a primary cause of your child’s injury. In the majority of cases, the evidence that your lawyer is able to gather will be enough for the defendant’s lawyer to negotiate a fair settlement.
In the rare case that the defendant refuses to settle, the case will go to trial, but this is something that you will likely not have to face. The amount of compensation that you will receive in the case of a lawsuit will depend on multiple factors. Your compensation will likely include medical expenses, occupational and physical therapy, rehabilitation expenses, lost wages if you’ve needed time off work to provide care for your infant, and emotional stress and suffering, which may vary by the part of the country in which you reside.
In addition to economic and non-economic compensation, you may also be entitled to punitive damages. Punitive damages arise if the defendant has knowingly acted in a reckless manner that has endangered others, in this case, your newborn infant, and it is intended as a form of punishment. The question of punitive damages often comes up during a trial, and it is ultimately the judge and/or the jury’s decision to determine the amount of compensation allocated for these damages.
Contact Us Today
Brachial plexus injuries in infants can cause families a lot of undue stress, financial struggle, and heartache. Seeking justice for yourself and your child may seem daunting, but you don’t have to face the challenges associated with filing a claim alone. If you have substantial cause to believe that your newborn infant’s brachial plexus injury was the result of a doctor or hospital’s negligence, you may be entitled to compensation.
Our team of lawyers at Mazin & Associates, PC will aggressively fight on your behalf to get you the compensation you deserve for the injuries your child has suffered. We will listen compassionately to the details of your case and form a plan of action, and you won’t pay us anything unless we win a fair and full settlement for you and your child. Contact us at (416) 625-2122 for a free consultation to discuss the best way to proceed.
