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CALL US NOWAugusta Birth Injury Lawyer
The birth of a child should be a time of pure joy. You’ve waited for months to meet your new baby. But when something goes wrong during delivery, that joy can turn into fear, confusion, and heartbreak. A birth injury can leave you with a lifetime of questions and your child with a lifetime of challenges. You may feel lost and unsure where to turn. Please know you are not alone, and help is available.
At The Hawk Firm, we understand the pain your family is going through. We are here to provide clear answers and strong support. We provide transparent and trusted legal solutions that fight for individual freedom and provide peace of mind. Jacque, Erin, and the rest of our experienced legal team are ready to take care of you. If your child was harmed by a medical mistake during birth, call us. We can help get the justice and financial support your family needs to move forward.
Reach out to an experienced Augusta birth injury lawyer at The Hawk Firm—let us help you find answers, support, and the justice your family deserves.
Augusta Birth Injury Guide
- Why Choose The Hawk Firm for Your Augusta Birth Injury Case?
- How Much Is My Augusta Birth Injury Case Worth?
- Where Birth Injuries Happen in Augusta, GA
- Augusta Birth Injuries: Common Causes and Acts of Medical Negligence
- Fighting the Hospital’s Insurance Company
- Steps to Strengthen Your Augusta Birth Injury Claim
Why Choose The Hawk Firm for Your Augusta Birth Injury Case?
When your family’s future is at stake, you need a law firm that is experienced and deeply committed to you. At The Hawk Firm, we treat every client like family. We provide transparent, knowledgeable, and empowering legal services so that you can feel confident. Unlike other law firms, we make the right call based on what’s best for you. Our goal is to provide peace of mind during a time of great stress.
With compassion, wisdom, and dedication, we are a beacon for families in need.
- Compassion is Key: We know this is more than just a case; it’s your child’s life. We act as if the world depends on it because, for your family, it does. We listen to your story with empathy and handle your case with the sensitivity it deserves.
- We Are Blunt. We Shoot Straight: Circumstances can be muddy. We believe in being crystal clear. We will give you an honest assessment of your case and keep you informed every step of the way. We won’t make promises we can’t keep. We will tell you the truth, even when it’s hard to hear, because you deserve to know where you stand.
- Loyalty and Wisdom: Our allegiance to each other sets the standard for our client relationships. We are loyal to you and your family’s best interests from start to finish. We use our years of wisdom not to hoard it, but to share it with you, empowering you with the knowledge you need.
Our office is conveniently located at 448 Telfair St, Augusta, GA 30901. We are a proud part of the Augusta community, situated less than a mile from the Gertrude Herbert Institute of Art and just a three-minute drive from SRP Park. We are here for you, right here in your community. We have been fighting for Georgia families since 1984 and are prepared to fight for yours.
How Much Is My Augusta Birth Injury Case Worth?
This is one of the most common and important questions parents ask. The truth is, every birth injury case is unique. The amount of compensation your family can recover depends on many factors specific to your child’s injury and your family’s needs. We cannot give you an exact number without understanding every detail of your situation. However, we can explain what types of compensation, or damages, are often available in these cases.
Our experienced birth injury attorneys will carefully review all the evidence to determine the full value of your claim. We look at current and future costs your child will face for the rest of their life. While health insurance provides some initial help, it is often not enough to cover the immense long-term needs of a child with a serious birth injury. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reports that the lifetime cost to care for a person with cerebral palsy can be well over $1 million. You can learn more from the CDC’s Data on Cerebral Palsy. That is why a legal claim is so important.
Compensation in a birth injury case is typically divided into two main categories: economic damages and non-economic damages.
Economic Damages
These are the direct financial costs and losses related to the birth injury. They are things that can be calculated with bills, receipts, and financial records. Our goal is to secure enough compensation to cover every single expense, both now and in the future.
- Past and Future Medical Expenses: This is often the largest part of a birth injury claim. It includes everything from the initial hospital stay to a lifetime of care. It can cover doctor visits, surgeries, prescription drugs, physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, and psychological counseling.
- Specialized Equipment: Many children with birth injuries need special equipment to help them with daily life. It can include wheelchairs, walkers, braces, special beds, home modifications like ramps, and specially equipped vans.
- In-Home Care: Some children may require round-the-clock nursing care or assistance from a home health aide. This compensation ensures your child can get the professional care they need in the comfort of your home.
- Lost Earning Capacity: A severe birth injury may prevent your child from being able to work and earn a living as an adult. We work with financial professionals to project what your child’s future income might have been and seek that amount in damages.
- Parents’ Lost Income: Often, one or both parents must take time off work or quit their job entirely to care for a child with a serious birth injury. We can seek compensation for this lost income.
Non-Economic Damages
These damages are for losses that don’t have a specific price tag but are just as real and damaging. They compensate the child and family for the human cost of the injury.
- Pain and Suffering: This is for the physical pain and emotional distress the child endures because of their injury.
- Loss of Enjoyment of Life: A birth injury can rob a child of the ability to participate in activities that make life full and joyful, like running, playing sports, or engaging in hobbies.
- Emotional Anguish: This compensates for the fear, anxiety, grief, and emotional trauma experienced by the child and the family.
- Disfigurement: If the injury resulted in scarring or physical disfigurement, compensation can be sought for the embarrassment and humiliation this may cause.
Calculating these damages is a serious task. Hospital and insurance company lawyers will try to downplay your child’s needs. They want to pay as little as possible. The Hawk Firm will fight to ensure the compensation you receive is enough to provide for your child for their entire life.
Where Birth Injuries Happen in Augusta, GA
A birth injury is not something that happens on a specific street corner or intersection. It happens inside a medical facility where a family has placed their trust in doctors, nurses, and staff. These mistakes can happen in any hospital or birthing center, including major facilities in our area like Augusta University Medical Center, Doctors Hospital of Augusta, and Piedmont Augusta Hospital.
While these hospitals provide vital services to our community, medical errors can and do occur. A birth injury is the result of a medical professional failing to provide the accepted standard of care. It can be due to a lack of training, fatigue, poor communication, or simple carelessness.
National organizations monitor the health of mothers and babies across the country, and their findings show that there is always room for improvement. For instance, the March of Dimes issues yearly report cards for each state. The March of Dimes 2024 Georgia Report Card highlights ongoing challenges in areas like preterm birth and infant mortality. When a hospital system fails to address these risks and a child is harmed, it should be held responsible.
The Hawk Firm has the knowledge to investigate what went wrong, no matter where the injury took place in Augusta. We are dedicated to holding negligent medical providers accountable for the harm they cause.
Augusta Birth Injuries: Common Causes and Acts of Medical Negligence
Understanding what a birth injury is and what causes it is vital. A birth injury is harm to a baby or mother that happens because of a medical mistake during pregnancy, labor, or delivery. It is different from a birth defect, which is a health problem that develops while the baby is in the womb, often due to genetic or unknown factors. A birth injury is preventable. It happens when a healthcare provider’s actions or lack of action fall below the accepted standard of medical care.
Common Causes of Birth Injuries
Many different types of medical errors can lead to lifelong injuries for a child. Our medical malpractice attorneys will thoroughly investigate the medical records to find out exactly what went wrong. A key part of medical care is responding correctly in an emergency. Leading medical organizations have established standards of care for situations that can arise during labor and delivery. For example, the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) provides clear patient information about when a Cesarean Birth may be needed to keep a baby safe. A failure to follow these widely accepted medical standards can be a direct cause of a birth injury.
Some of the most common medical mistakes include:
- Oxygen Deprivation (Hypoxia or Anoxia): This is one of the most serious and common causes of birth injuries. When a baby’s brain does not get enough oxygen, it can lead to permanent brain damage. It can happen if the umbilical cord gets wrapped around the baby’s neck or is pinched, or if the baby is left in the birth canal for too long.
- Failure to Perform a Timely C-Section: Sometimes, a vaginal birth is not safe for the mother or baby. When a baby shows signs of distress, a doctor must act quickly to perform a C-section. Any delay can cause oxygen deprivation and lasting harm.
- Failure to Monitor Fetal Distress: During labor, nurses and doctors should be watching the baby’s heart rate very closely. A monitor strip shows them if the baby is doing well or is in trouble. Ignoring signs of distress, like a dropping heart rate, is a serious error.
- Medication Errors: Giving the wrong drug or the wrong amount of a drug to the mother during labor can be very dangerous for the baby. For example, a drug called Pitocin is used to make contractions stronger, but too much of it can cut off the baby’s oxygen supply.
Types of Birth Injuries
The medical errors listed above can cause a wide range of injuries, some of which will affect the child for the rest of their life.
- Cerebral Palsy: This is a condition that affects a person’s ability to move and maintain balance and posture. It is caused by damage to the developing brain, often from a lack of oxygen during birth.
- Erb’s Palsy / Brachial Plexus Injuries: This is an injury to the nerves in the shoulder and arm, called the brachial plexus. It often results in weakness, numbness, or paralysis of the arm and hand.
- Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE): This is a specific type of brain damage caused by a lack of oxygen and blood flow to the brain around the time of birth. It can lead to serious developmental problems and epilepsy.
- Fractured Bones: The intense pressure of a difficult birth can sometimes lead to broken bones. The most common is a fractured clavicle (collarbone), but more serious fractures of the skull or limbs can also happen.
Fighting the Hospital’s Insurance Company
After a birth injury, you are not just dealing with the emotional and medical challenges. You will also have to deal with the hospital’s insurance company and its team of lawyers. It is important to remember that these companies are not on your side. They are businesses. Their main goal is to protect their profits by paying out as little as possible on claims.
The insurance adjuster may seem friendly and concerned. They might call you and ask for a recorded statement. They might make a quick settlement offer that seems like a lot of money. You should be very careful.
Here are some common tactics insurance companies use to avoid paying fair compensation:
- Denying Responsibility
- Blaming the Mother
- Offering a Lowball Settlement
You do not have to face these powerful companies alone. At The Hawk Firm, we are blunt and we shoot straight. We know these tactics, and we know how to fight back. We will handle all communication with the insurance company for you. We will build a strong case based on facts and evidence to show what happened and what your child needs. Our loyalty is to you, not to them.
Steps to Strengthen Your Augusta Birth Injury Claim
Even though the injury has already happened, you can take steps to protect your child’s rights and build a strong foundation for a legal claim now. The most important step you can take is to hire a trusted birth injury lawyer. Bring all your documents to a compassionate personal injury lawyer at our firm. We will provide the transparent and knowledgeable legal services you need to feel confident.
Your child’s future may depend on the actions you take today. Call The Hawk Firm at (706) 429-5529 for a free consultation to discuss your case.
Client Testimonials
⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ 5 Star Review
“Best Law Firm in the CSRA! Thank you Hawk Firm for handling all of my legal needs with outstanding professionalism! Highly recommend The Hawk Firm to anyone in need of legal services!” -Rob W.
The Hawk Firm Personal Injury Lawyers
448 Telfair St
Augusta, GA 30901
Ph: 706-717-7715
