Birth injuries
A hard birth and a preventable one are different things
Most difficult births are no one's fault. A claim is only worth examining when the records suggest the team missed a warning or waited too long: a fetal heart rate that fell and was not acted on, a delay in a decision to operate, a delivery that went on past the point where it should have changed.
These cases are long and expensive, and they are about a child's care for decades, not just a settlement. Estella reviews the monitoring strips, the delivery notes and the neonatal chart with obstetric and neonatal physicians before she tells a family whether she will take it.
The chart
What a review looks at
These are the records read first, usually in this order.
Fetal monitoring
The heart-rate strips from labor, read against the notes of who saw them and what was done.
The delivery notes
The reasons recorded for the method of delivery and for any delay in changing it.
The newborn chart
Scores, tests and the first hours of care in the neonatal unit.
Later evaluations
What specialists have said since about the child's needs and what those needs will cost.
Birth injuries, asked and answered
How long do we have for a child's claim?
Rules for children are different from those for adults and vary by state. Please call early rather than assume more time.
Will you take our case?
Only after a physician has reviewed the records. Many families hear a no, and when they do, they get the reasons in a letter.
Does it matter if the hospital apologized?
It can be part of the story, but it does not decide the question. The records do.
Who pays for the review?
The fee agreement explains it in writing before any work is done. Costs of the physician review are discussed up front.
Is there a question about the birth?
Send the dates and the hospital, and a few words about what you were told. The reading of the records is where it starts.