Alabama Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy Attorney

When you trust the health of your baby to medical professionals but they make mistakes and something goes wrong, it can lead to severe health problems like hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) in newborns. This is a serious condition that can cause brain damage that can permanently impair a child and lead to expensive treatments and continuing care.

If your child developed HIE because of a medical practitioner’s mistake, error, or negligence, you may be entitled to compensation through a hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy lawsuit. However, Alabama medical malpractice laws are complicated, proving fault can be difficult, and medical practitioners, their insurance companies, and their lawyers will do everything possible to fight your claim.

Fortunately, there is help available, so you do not have to fight for compensation on your own. At Caldwell Wenzel & Asthana, our skilled HIE lawyers know how insurance companies operate and how to fight for justice and the fair compensation that you and your child deserve. We will investigate to find out just how your child’s injury occurred and who was responsible and handle all dealings with insurance companies to win a fair settlement that can help your child into the future. We are fully prepared to advocate for you in court if necessary.

We offer a free consultation to discuss your case and determine the best way to move forward. Call us today to get started at (251) 444-7000.

 

How Our HIE Lawyer Helps You

WE WON AN $8 MILLION MEDICAL MALPRACTICE CASE

Why Choose Us?

There are many lawyers out there, and it is important to find one you feel comfortable with but who also has the experience and resources necessary to aggressively negotiate and litigate complicated birth injury claims.

Here are some reasons why our Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy birth injury lawyers at Caldwell, Wenzel & Asthana are your best choice:

• Our seasoned attorneys have the experienced you need. Attorneys C. Randall Caldwell, Jr., and Drew Wenzel and Dee Asthana have more than 25 years of combined legal experience and are seasoned trial veterans with a long record of success both in and out of the courtroom.
• We have outstanding client victories and proven case results getting the largest payouts possible. We win big, including an $8,000,000 Medical Malpractice case, and are highly recommended by many satisfied clients.
• We offer an attractive attorney referral program, and consider it the highest compliment when we receive referrals from our esteemed colleagues, past clients, lawyers, and judges.
• We know how to deal with insurance companies and how to negotiate a settlement out of court, but we are also skilled litigators fully prepared to take your case to trial if necessary.
• We are available. When you hire us, you receive our full attention, compassion, and commitment.
• We offer free, no-obligation consultations, and work on a contingency basis so there are no fees to you unless and until we win your case.

How Our HIE Lawyer Works for You

When you retain Caldwell Wenzel & Asthana to represent you, we start working for you immediately. We will:

• Meet with you to hear how your child’s birth injury happened, determine whether you have a valid medical malpractice case, who the at-fault parties may be, and calculate what settlement to go after.
• Investigate the case and gather evidence to help prove another party’s negligence, such as medical reports and records. photographs and videos, and interviews with medical professionals and witnesses.
• Hire medical malpractice experts to help determine fault, and experts to testify as to the extent of your child’s injuries, how they will affect both the child and your family, and the costs of care your child will need into the future.
• Handle all communications and negotiations with insurance companies and opposition attorneys to come up with an agreement for a fair settlement.
• Build and your case and take it to court if necessary.

Our hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy attorney in Alabama will do everything possible to obtain the best settlement possible. Call us today to get started while evidence is available and witnesses can be found.

Compensation Our HIE Attorney May Recover

HIE can lead to permanent conditions, including cognitive disabilities, hearing and vision impairments, and seizures. These are expensive conditions to treat and may necessitate continuing care for a lifetime. Few parents can afford such care, and the negligent parties should be held liable for the damages – the costs and losses that result from HIE – in a medical malpractice lawsuit.

The award you receive should cover both your economic damages for calculable costs and your non-economic damages that do not have a specific dollar value but negatively impact quality of life. In Alabama, some of the damages that you can claim for your child in a hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy case include:

• Medical and rehabilitation expenses
• Ongoing care
• Physical therapy and emotional counseling
• Loss of future income or ability to work
• Modifications needed to the home and vehicle and special adaptive equipment
• Mental, emotional, and physical pain and suffering
• Disability
• Shortened life expectancy and diminished quality of life
• Lost income to parents while caring for the disabled child
• Special education costs
• Loss of a family relationship (loss of consortium)

Punitive damages may also be awarded in rare cases when the defendant acted in an especially egregious or malicious way (such as delivering a baby while under the influence of drugs or alcohol).

Alabama Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy Lawyer Must Establish Fault

To win your case, it is important to establish who is responsible for your child’s birth injury. According to Alabama Code § 6-5-548, our attorneys must:

• establish the standard of care that was appropriate for the medical practitioner who is the defendant in the case
• show how the medical practitioner failed to provide proper care according to the standard
• prove that, as a result of the sub-standard care, your child suffered harm

This involves showing the existence of the following legal elements:

• There was a doctor-patient relationship.
• Duty. The medical professional had a duty of care not to cause harm and to follow the accepted standard of care.
• Breach. This duty was breached due to acting or failing to act in accordance with the standard of care.
• Cause. This breach caused HIE injuries to your child.
• Damages. Your child suffered actual damages such additional medical expenses.

Our Alabama HIE attorneys will establish the appropriate standard of care and conduct investigations and get expert medical testimony to prove all these elements. Due to our experience in birth injury cases, we know what to look for. Common causes of HIE include:

• Failure to properly monitor or interpret fetal heart rate monitor tracings and notice and respond to signs of distress
• Improper use of delivery instruments
• Delayed or misdiagnosis and failure to detect possible complications
• Delayed C-section
• Wrong medication or dose
• Poor or incorrect surgical procedure

Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy Attorney in Alabama Answers FAQs

Dealing with a baby with HIE is overwhelming, and you are bound to have many questions. We can best address your specific concerns at your free consultation, but to get started, here are some answers to questions our HIE attorneys are often asked:

How do I know if my baby has HIE?

Your physician may suspect HIE based on signs exhibited during labor, delivery, and examination after birth. Some symptoms to look out for are:

• Floppiness and unresponsive to sounds or sights
• Abnormal movements or seizures
• Weak mouth and throat muscles and a weak cry
• Signs of organ dysfunction in the lungs, blood, kidneys, heart, and liver

If suspected, there are various tests to confirm HIE and check for the extent of brain injury.

Are there time limits for filing a lawsuit?

Yes, Alabama has a statute of limitations that sets time limits for filing. According to the law (Alabama Code Section 6-2-38), you generally have two years from the date of the birth injury or six months after the discovery of the injury to file a claim or the courts are likely to refuse to hear your case.

How much compensation will I be awarded?

There are a wide range of compensation awards possible for an HIE case, and it is not unusual for the courts to award six- to seven-figure damages. The amount you receive depends on the circumstances of the case and factors such as the extent and severity of the HIE, the costs of care, and the effects on the ability to live a normal life, work, and have relationships.

What if my child died after suffering HIE?

HIE can cause death in occasions where oxygen is shut off from the brain for too long. In this case, our attorneys may be able to file a wrongful death claim. Under Alabama law (Section 6-5-410 of the Code of Alabama), our attorneys can win a punitive damage award that is paid directly to the family members, and compensation may cover funeral and burial costs, in addition to other damages.

Who can be held liable for Infant Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy?

Anyone—from nurses and midwives to nurse practitioners, anesthesiologists, and obstetricians—can make errors in judgment or execution, from not adequately monitoring a fetus during pregnancy to waiting too long to perform a C-section. The practitioner can be held liable if these errors lead to infant HIE.

Our Alabama HIE lawyers know how difficult a time this is for you and will be there to help throughout the entire legal process, answering your questions and keeping you informed.

Get Help from Our Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy Birth Injury Lawyer

When your doctor, medical team, or medical facility fails to perform their responsibilities, and your otherwise healthy baby is faced with the burdens of HIE as a result, you and your child deserve compensation. The compassionate HIE birth injury attorneys at Caldwell Wenzel & Asthana understand how hard it is for your family to cope with the financial and emotional burdens you face and are here to help.

If you even suspect that medical negligence may have been responsible for your child’s injuries, call us today for a free initial consultation at (251) 444-7000. There are no fees to you unless and until we win your case.