Dystocia Lawyers in Princeton

Lawsuits for Labor Dystocia & Shoulder Dystocia

Did you experience labor dystocia that went unaddressed while giving birth to your child? Was your child born with a shoulder injury or shoulder dystocia? You and your child both deserve attentive and careful medical assistance during the delivery process. If it wasn’t provided, then you should consider your legal options for fair compensation for the harm and suffering you and your child have both had to endure.

Katz Kantor Stonestreet & Buckner, PLLC is a reputable team of dystocia attorneys in West Virginia. From our office in Princeton, we can represent and support mothers and their newborns across the state. Birth injuries like labor dystocia and shoulder dystocia require dedicated and experienced legal representation when at the center of a claim or lawsuit, and that is exactly what you will find here at our firm.

Discuss your options during a free initial consultation today. Be sure to ask about our “no fees unless we win” policy!

What is Dystocia?

Dystocia is the medical term for a difficult or obstructed labor. It can be used to describe a variety of issues that happen during labor and delivery. However, two forms of dystocia are among the most commonly cited in birth injury lawsuits: shoulder dystocia and labor dystocia or prolonged labor, more specifically.

Labor Dystocia or Prolonged Labor

It is difficult to accurately predict how long a mother will be in labor, especially if she has never given birth before. Attending medical professionals like doctors and nurses should be able to know when the labor has been going on for too long or has become prolonged, though. They must pay close attention to the mother’s vitals and those of her unborn child to identify labor dystocia and take immediate action.

Prolonged labor carries a heightened risk of:

• Fetal distress
• Asphyxiation
• Uterine rupture
• Internal bleeding
• Infection (mother and/or child)
• Placental abnormalities
• Maternal pelvic floor
• Heart failure

A case of prolonged labor or labor dystocia might be the result of medical malpractice if the mother and her child did not receive an acceptable level of medical care while she was in labor. If another medical professional reasonably would have taken different actions to expedite the labor or complete the delivery, such as through an emergency C-section, then there could be grounds for a medical malpractice lawsuit.

Shoulder Dystocia & Its Lasting Consequences

When a child is mispositioned within the birth canal or gets stuck during delivery, it might cause a specific type of dystocia called shoulder dystocia. To complete the delivery safely, the doctor and nurses must carefully reposition the infant, possibly with the assistance of forceps or a vacuum extractor. Shoulder dystocia occurs when the obstructed delivery is rushed, and the child is born with shoulder and arm injuries.

Shoulder dystocia can cause permanent damage and disabilities, such as:

• Weakness in the affected shoulder
• One-arm or one-hand paralysis

Both the mother and the child can be in extreme danger if shoulder dystocia is not remedied immediately. The child might suffocate while stuck in the birth canal or become wrapped in the umbilical cord, leading to fatal suffocation. The mother can suffer vaginal, anal, and uterine tearing that causes severe bleeding and death. Medical providers must be fully attentive and act quickly to protect both the mother and her child, or they could be at-fault for any consequences that follow.

What Damages are Available in a Dystocia Lawsuit?

In a dystocia lawsuit, you can seek a variety of damages related to the harm done to you and your child. As your chosen Princeton dystocia attorneys, we can work diligently to uncover all the damages you have experienced and file for them against the appropriate defendants, such as individual doctors, hospital groups, and insurance policies.

A few of the most prominent damages to seek in a labor or shoulder dystocia lawsuit are:

• Medical bills related to the unsafe delivery
• Cost of future medical care and rehabilitation
• Pain and suffering endured by the mother and child
• Lifelong disability experienced by the child

Amplifying Your & Your Child’s Voices

You know that you and your child have been unfairly treated by the medical professionals who should have made labor and delivery as stress-free as it can be. But you might not know how to hold them accountable for the mistakes that resulted in your pain and your child’s suffering, which could last their entire lives. Katz Kantor Stonestreet & Buckner, PLLC and our Princeton dystocia lawyers are here to show you how to file a claim, pursue damages, seek justice, and find closure. There is much work to be done for your case, but you don’t need to worry if you leave everything up to our team.

Call (304) 713-2014 now and request a free consultation.