Missouri Birth Injury Lawyer
Birth injury cases are a sub-specialty for Connon Law. It takes someone who has the knowledge of how to read a fetal heart monitor strip, but also many issues concerning infection, and placental pathology. These cases can be very costly to pursue, and it takes many experts to get a birth injury case ready for trial.
The most common cases are:
- Cerebral palsy
- Erb’s palsy
- Brachial plexus injuries
- Meningitis
- Wrongful death
Any case involving a child has two statutes of limitations:
- The parents have a two year statute: A cause of action for loss of services and for the child’s medical bills up to the age of maturity.
- The child has a two year statute from the date of their 18th birthday: A cause of action for pain and suffering, loss of earnings potential and future and past medical bills for treatment.
Investigating birth trauma cases is very costly and time consuming. It not only requires reading the prenatal records, but also the birth records, all fetal heart strips, non-stress testing, the delivery records and the neonatal records. It may also require having a placental pathologist and a neuroradiologist to review the MRIs and Ultrasounds of the child’s head.
Once a case involving a child is settled or a verdict obtained, the Court must approve the settlement, attorney fees, expenses, and distribution. If all of the money goes to the minor, depending on the size of the proceeds, it either goes into a trust or a restricted account which cannot be removed by the parents without court approval.