Toronto Traumatic Brain Injury Lawyers
Traumatic brain injuries can be stressful, and when a newborn baby suffers such an injury during the birth process, it is particularly devastating for them and their families. These unfortunate injuries can have long-term damaging effects on the lives of children affected, so there are many precautions in place by hospitals to ensure the safety of mothers and babies during childbirth. Traumatic brain injuries in birth are thankfully rare, but when they do occur, it is often because of negligence on the doctor or hospital’s part. If you have sufficient cause to believe that your doctor or hospital is at fault for your child’s brain injury, we can help you get the compensation you need and deserve. At Mazin & Associates, PC, we are experienced in handling these cases, and we feel that it is more than warranted to bring those at fault to justice when care is compromised in the delivery of your newborn. Contact our office today at (416) 625-2122 to discuss your child’s injury and how best to proceed with filing a claim.
Why You Need a Lawyer
In this complicated kind of case, a lawyer experienced in birth injury cases can be very beneficial. The medical details and jargon in these cases can be very technical, and an experienced lawyer will know how to best use the resources such as medical records available to build a strong case. Also, a lawyer who is experienced in birth injury cases will be able to effectively communicate and work with medical experts who can further strengthen your case with their testimony. Having a lawyer by your side can make the legal process far less stressful than it would be if you had to face it alone. With a capable lawyer representing you, you can take comfort in knowing that you have a great chance of receiving the funds necessary to take care of your child’s future medical expenses.
Why Choose Us
Mazin & Associates, PC is among the best firms for handling serious injury cases like these because of our experience and compassion. We don’t take the devastating nature of these injuries lightly. We hold an obligation not only to you, but to ourselves to bring justice to doctors and hospitals that fail in their responsibility to provide the best care and protection possible to your newborn child. We will prioritize your interests and keep you consistently updated on your case’s status.
Our founder, Gary Mazin, has over a decade’s worth of experience in practicing law and he has led the way in establishing us as a top firm choice. We have a history of successfully defending our clients, and we have recovered millions of dollars for them. During the legal process, we will lead you through all the steps of building your case while maintaining regular communication. We are so confident in our ability to help you that we work on a contingency fee basis, which means you will only owe us if we recover financial compensation for you. This allows you to focus on your child’s recovery first and foremost. You may contact us anytime for a free consultation to discuss the nature of your case and how best move forward.
Cases We Handle
Brain injuries that occur in infants are serious and can arise from a variety of complications. The ways that they may occur include oxygen deprivation, physical trauma, or infant jaundice. Common causes of oxygen deprivation include placental abruption, blocked airways, or issues with the umbilical cord. Jaundice is often considered a relatively minor condition that doesn’t pose threatening side effects to the baby. However, it is important that it is treated promptly or the brain may be affected. Untreated jaundice may lead to kernicterus, a condition characterized by the brain being damaged by abnormally high levels of bilirubin.
While some of these difficult complications can’t be prevented, there are some cases in the delivery process in which doctors or hospitals can be held liable for not taking proper care while supervising the sequence of events in delivery. For example, if the doctor improperly uses birth-assisting tools such as forceps and vacuums, the safety of the delivery could be compromised and the baby could suffer injuries to the head.
In many cases, the medical staff on hand should be able to anticipate risks in the delivery process and prepare accordingly. However, they may neglect to do so in an unacceptable oversight. Some of the symptoms of brain injuries in a newborn can be observed in their appearance after birth. They may have an abnormally large forehead, distorted facial features, or an unusually small head, although this can be common in smaller infants. The long-term effects can be observed as the child matures and progresses through different stages in development.
Cognitive symptoms can include lapses in attention and concentration, difficulties with memory and processing information, difficulty processing language, low impulse control, and trouble with communication. There are also perceptual and physical symptoms which may emerge as your infant grows older. Some may be more difficult to identify at first, while some are more apparent. The more obvious symptoms are primarily physical and include extreme fatigue, sleeping disorders, light sensitivity, paralysis, and tremors.
Frequently Asked Questions about Traumatic Brain Injuries
How is infant brain damage diagnosed?
The most common method used to assess the nature of an infant’s brain injury is an MRI or a CT scan. These scans provide accurate medical images of the brain that can give an indication of a brain hemorrhage or a skull fracture. Since a baby’s young, developing brain is hard to analyze, a CT scan is only recommended if a test shows that the infant scores less than 15 on the Glasgow Coma Scale. This is a tool for measuring a person’s relative level of consciousness. Infants are assessed on a scale of 3 to 15.
What are the treatment options for infant brain damage?
Treatment options for a brain injury to an infant vary depending on the nature and severity of the injury. A new method known as therapeutic cooling has emerged that can stop many conditions, including cerebral palsy, intellectual disabilities, and epilepsy, from occurring by reducing the body heat of infants. Other treatment options include medications that help with attention, concentration, and stabilizing mood, as well as adaptive devices designed to let children become more independent in their functional skills. If the brain injury is severe, however, surgery may be necessary. Surgery can be beneficial in many cases as it helps to reduce swelling and maintain blood and oxygen flow to the brain. However, it is still possible that even with surgery, the child may endure developmental difficulties or other disabilities. If the issues that arise from a brain injury are related to intellectual or learning difficulties, there unfortunately is no cure. However, effective help can be offered to the children as they grow in the form of occupational therapy. There are even some cases in which physical therapy can help as well.
Is it necessary to consult a doctor on my own to help with my case?
If your child suffered a traumatic brain injury due the carelessness, recklessness, or any other behavior or action that deviated from the acceptable standard of care, the medical professional responsible should be held accountable. Because it can be challenging to prove medical negligence, it will be vital to thoroughly investigate the incident and get an assessment of the professional’s actions (or failure to act). Fortunately, you’re not alone, nor do you have to seek out assistance by yourself. When you consult with an experienced birth injury lawyer, you’ll get the help you need and access to the right medical experts to help evaluate your child’s injuries and determine what happened. Your lawyer will call upon medical experts who can testify to the reasonable standard of care, and will identify and highlight how those treating your child failed to meet those standards.
Contact Us Today
If your child suffered a traumatic brain injury during delivery, you may be overwhelmed and confused about how to proceed with taking legal action, and we are here to help. If you have reason to believe that your infant’s brain injury was a result of a doctor or hospital’s negligence, you have the right to seek the compensation. Our team at Mazin & Associates, PC will relentlessly fight on your behalf to get you the compensation you deserve. Contact our office today at (416) 625-2122 for a free consultation to decide how best to proceed with your case.
