Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy Lawyer in Kansas

Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy is a life-threatening form of brain damage caused by a lack of oxygen or blood flow to the brain. It can happen before birth, during delivery or shortly after birth, leading to a permanent alteration of how the brain functions. Children with HIE may experience developmental and cognitive problems, cerebral palsy, epilepsy and other issues and may require ongoing and expensive medical treatment. If your child’s HIE was caused by the negligence of a doctor, nurse, hospital or other health care provider, you could have a claim for compensation.

At the Palmer Law Group, our experienced medical malpractice attorneys  have achieved numerous positive outcomes in birth injury cases. If your child has suffered because of a medical professional’s negligent or wrongful actions, we can help you understand your rights and file a claim.

Why Choose Us?

We Offer Tenacious Representation

At Palmer Law Group, our team of lawyers has over 60 years of combined legal experience. Our dedication to clients and our strong representation have allowed us to recover more than $100 million in settlements and jury awards. When you choose our team, you are choosing lawyers who will never hesitate to litigate your case in court.

Because we understand that you are under a lot of financial and emotional stress when dealing with an HIE injury, our medical malpractice lawyers do everything possible to make the process easier. That means you don’t have to pay legal fees unless we win. To further help, we provide a free consultation with one of our dedicated lawyers.

Contact Palmer Law Group at (785) 233-1836 to schedule a free, no-obligation consultation with our Kansas hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy lawyers. 

How Medical Negligence Can Result in HIE

The incidence rate of HIE injuries ranges from one to eight babies in every 1,000 births. Unfortunately, HIE has a strong connection with medical malpractice. Potential HIE causes can be either perinatal, meaning they occurred around the time of birth, or postnatal, which means they occurred after the birth.

Perinatal causes include birth asphyxia, which is one of the most common causes of HIE. It can occur during a long and difficult labor, when there are umbilical cord problems, and as a result of maternal issues during delivery. Postnatal causes are rarer and can include respiratory failure and cardiac arrest.

When medical professionals don’t provide adequate care to both the mother and the baby, it can lead to injuries as serious as HIE. Improper monitoring of the baby’s heart rate and other vital signs, as well as the failure to perform a timely C-section, can lead to these injuries. The problem can also arise if the doctors do not use delivery assistance tools correctly or if they fail to recognize and treat maternal health issues throughout the pregnancy and during active labor.

Negligence isn’t always the cause of HIE, but it often is. By hiring Kansas birth injury lawyers, you can get an idea of whether you have a claim or not.

How Our Kansas HIE Lawyers Can Help

Understanding the Claims Process

There are many ways our team at Palmer Law Group can help you when your child has experienced hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy because of the negligent actions or inactions of a medical practitioner.

If you hire our team, we will begin by assessing whether you have a claim. This is an important step that allows us to establish the strategy we will use to prove that your family deserves compensation. This will then lead us to investigate the evidence to establish negligence. We will review medical records, examine the background of the at-fault doctor, interview eyewitnesses, and consult with witnesses who are medical professionals familiar with how HIE can happen during childbirth and steps that should have been taken to prevent it.

Establishing that negligence occurred requires a few elements. First, we must show that the liable person had a duty of care toward the mother and baby. That means demonstrating that there was a patient-physician relationship. After that, we must show that the medical professional breached their duty of care. To do so, it’s necessary to establish a standard of care. The standard of care is typically based on what another skilled and competent medical professional would have done in the same circumstances.

Then, we have to show that the breach of duty led to the birth injuries your child suffered. This is one of the most difficult parts of the process because it requires intimate knowledge of medical procedures. That is why we rely on knowledgeable witnesses to provide their testimony. The last element we have to meet to file a personal injury claim after a birth injury is showing that the injuries led to losses for which you can be compensated.

We will also handle all claims paperwork and communications with insurers. We will not allow insurers to try to take advantage of you with unfair and low-ball offers. This is a common strategy that insurers employ, preying on your distress and desire to move on. They may also try to bully you, threatening to withhold any settlement if you do not accept a low offer. We will fight on your behalf to help you get fair compensation.

Our team of birth injury lawyers works to negotiate a settlement that satisfactorily pays for your damages. While the majority of claims can be resolved through settlement, we always thoroughly prepare as if we are going to court. When insurers see that we believe we have a strong case that will succeed at trial, they often choose to save time and expense by providing a fair offer. If that doesn’t happen, however, we will be ready to represent you in court. Our years of litigation experience make us a team you can count on.

When you allow a Kansas hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy lawyer from Palmer Law Group to take on your case, you can trust that you are in good legal hands. We will closely guide you through all the steps in the birth injury claims process. You will never be treated as a number or left wondering what happens next.

Statutes of Limitations for Kansas Birth Injury Claims

Kansas requires that you file a personal injury claim — and this includes birth injury — within two years of the moment when the injuries occurred. If you miss this deadline, you will not have a chance to recover damages, so it is vital that you hire a birth injury lawyer as quickly as possible. There may be exceptions to this time frame, but never assume you have extra time without first consulting with a personal injury lawyer who has experience in birth injury claims.

Damages Available in an HIE Claim

If your child suffered a birth injury because of medical negligence, you can claim compensatory (and sometimes punitive) damages. Compensatory damages include economic and non-economic damages.

Economic damages compensate you for the financial losses your family has suffered because of the birth injury. Medical expenses fit into this category, including future expenses like the rehabilitation and ongoing care your child will likely need.

Birth injuries as serious as HIE often require parents to miss work to take care of their child. That means losing out on wages, commissions, and bonuses that you would otherwise have received. We can help you recover these lost wages, too.

Non-economic damages are more subjective. They strive to compensate you and your family for the distress the injury has caused. Pain and suffering is one form of this distress. Loss of quality of life is another type of non-economic damage. It helps to compensate your child for the lost opportunity to live the kind of life they might have had if they had not suffered the birth injury. It also compensates the parents for how the injury will impact their own lives.

We can help you understand what other types of non-economic damages you can claim.

In rare cases, you may also be able to file for punitive damages. These punish the person who caused the injuries your baby suffered. Punitive damages are usually awarded if the person’s actions were egregious or malicious. Winning punitive damages requires proving a number of other elements in the case, and we will pursue this option if we think it is an appropriate one for your claim.

To have a better idea of the kind of damages you can claim, schedule a free consultation with our team of experienced birth injury lawyers.

Kansas HIE Lawyer Answers Frequently Asked Questions

If your child has developed hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy because of a medical professional’s negligence, it’s likely you have questions about what to expect from the process of filing a claim. At Palmer Law Group, we have answers to your most pressing questions.

How does HIE happen?

HIE can happen for various reasons. Some reasons include umbilical cord issues, preeclampsia, placental problems, uterine rupture, prolonged labor, infection, trauma to the baby’s skull or brain, low blood pressure in mother or baby, fetal distress, and prematurity. If medical providers do not take reasonable steps to prevent problems from occurring or to properly address issues that occur, they may be held accountable for medical malpractice.

How do you prove medical malpractice in a birth injury case?

To be successful in a malpractice claim, we must establish that the injury was due to negligence. To establish negligence, the following legal elements must be proven:

• The health care provider owed you a duty of care.
• The provider failed in their duty.
• The failure caused your child’s injury.
• You suffered damages due to the injury.

With our extensive background resolving birth injury cases, we are exceedingly knowledgeable about what is necessary to prove negligence. We will thoroughly investigate all the facts involved to determine the truth.

We will gather evidence, including medical records, as well as speak with eyewitnesses who can offer their perspective. Because proving these injuries requires medical knowledge, we will also rely on witnesses who are medical professionals and who can assess more clearly whether the physician’s actions add up to negligence.

How much money can I expect in my claim against the doctor?

Many factors will affect the value of your HIE claim. The severity of injuries, the amount of medical bills and other damages, the overall impact on your child’s life going forward, and the extent of negligence involved will all come into play. We will look carefully at each aspect of the claim during your free consultation to give you a better idea of what to expect.

What damages are awarded in HIE cases?

Damages awarded in HIE cases may include compensation for:

• Current and future medical treatments
• Specialized nursing care
• Permanent disability
• Pain and suffering
• Lost quality of life.

We will advise you about specific damages to claim once we understand all the details of your case. Reach out directly to a Kansas HIE lawyer for well-informed legal answers specific to your situation.

If you have further questions about filing a birth injury claim, our team of personal injury lawyers offers the answers. We are available 24/7 to put your mind at ease.

Hire Our Kansas Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy Lawyer for Help

It is devastating to have your child suffer a brain injury because of a medical professional’s negligence during the birth. You may not be aware of what your options are or who to reach out to for help. At Palmer Law Group, our team of experienced lawyers can guide you through the claims process, from understanding what your rights are to negotiating with insurers and even taking your claim to court. With compassion and dedication, we can make this very difficult time in your life a bit easier.

Speak to an experienced Kansas HIE lawyer by calling  (785) 233-1836 to schedule a free consultation.

Attorney LJ Leatherman

LJ Leatherman passionately believes in fair and dedicated representation for individuals who have been affected by automobile negligence, electrical injuries, firearm litigation, wrongful death, and third-party claims against insurance companies and all other areas of personal injury litigation. [Read More]