Experienced Kaiser Brain Injury Lawyers
Children who have sustained birth injuries during delivery at Kaiser, or through the actions of Kaiser Permanente physicians, nurses, midwives, and hospital personnel require representation by lawyers familiar with Kaiser obstetrical negligence.
- If you are a Kaiser member, you may not be aware that your legal options are limited if your child suffers a birth injury under the care of a Kaiser Permanente health care provider or in a Kaiser Permanente Hospital.
- Kaiser Permanente includes provisions in all of its group health insurance policies prohibiting you from filing a lawsuit in court and limiting your remedy for a medical malpractice claim to arbitration.
- Statistics show that individuals who represent themselves in these proceedings lose 75% of the time!
If you are a Kaiser Permanente member and have suffered a personal injury as the result of negligence or carelessness by one of your medical service providers, then you and your child need a law firm that understands the Kaiser Permanente system and has a history of successfully representing Kaiser members in Kaiser Permanente arbitration proceedings.
Trusted Kaiser Birth Injury Attorneys
At the law firm of Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger, in San Francisco, California, we have significant experience representing Kaiser members whose infants have suffered injuries during delivery. We have successfully represented parents of infants with cerebral palsy, quadriplegia, brain damage, blindness, undiagnosed birth defects and Erb’s palsy, brought on by the negligence, carelessness or malpractice of a Kaiser Permanente health care provider. We have successfully represented Kaiser members since 1978. We handle more Kaiser Permanente claims than any other law firm of similar size.
Pursuing Arbitration Against Kaiser for a Birth Injury
Medical professionals have a responsibility to uphold an accepted standard of care when treating obstetrical and pediatric patients. Healthcare providers must act in the same manner as similarly trained and reasonably careful professionals would in the same situation. If a medical provider fails to uphold this standard and injures a patient, he or she commits medical malpractice.
Birth injuries are some of the most serious medical malpractice claims against Kaiser. Victims of these injuries can pursue lawsuits against most negligent medical professionals in civil court. If the incident occurs at Kaiser the case must go to arbitration.
If you or your child suffered a birth injury while receiving treatment at a Kaiser Permanente hospital, you can recover compensation through arbitration.
The Kaiser arbitration process is very complex. Decisions made by third-party arbitrators are binding. It is critical to hire a Kaiser birth injury law firm like Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger to guide your family through the process and recover the compensation that your child deserves.
Pursuing Arbitration Against Kaiser for a Birth Injury
Welcoming a new child into the world is one of life’s most exciting experiences. Poor medical care can make this process dangerous and even deadly.
Medical professionals can commit dangerous acts of negligence when treating pregnant mothers and their newborn children, leading to serious birth injuries. These mistakes can occur before, during, and after childbirth.
The following are examples of negligence that could lead to birth injuries:
- Failure to order an emergency cesarean section when necessary
- Exerting too much force while removing a baby from the birth canal
- Failure to monitor the baby’s heartbeat, resulting in oxygen deprivation
- The use of dangerous birthing tools like vacuums or forceps
- Failure to control a mother’s blood loss following delivery
- Failure to examine the baby for common complications like jaundice
- Failure to monitor the baby or the mother following childbirth
- The development of maternal infections
Suffering a birth injury is physically and emotionally traumatic for both the mother and infant. In many cases, these injuries require long term therapy and extensive medical care, and result permanent cognitive and physical disabilities.
Examples and Types of Birth Injuries
Newborn children can suffer serious harm due to negligence at Kaiser Permanente hospitals and clinics. The following are some of the most common types of birth injuries caused by medical malpractice:
- Cerebral Palsy: Cerebral palsy is a condition that affects a person’s ability to control his or her muscles and nervous system. This birth injury often occurs due to oxygen deprivation at birth, which can be caused by a doctor’s failure to monitor fetal vital signs. There is no cure for cerebral palsy, and many babies develop lifelong complications.
- Bone Fractures: A newborn baby’s bones can fracture and break due to the trauma of labor and delivery. A doctor may use unsafe birthing techniques to remove the child from the birth canal, resulting in a broken clavicle, arm, or even skull.
- Cephalohematoma: During childbirth, a baby may suffer a blow to his or her head that ruptures the blood vessels in the skull. This injury can lead to cephalohematoma or the buildup of blood between the skull bone and the external tissue.
Recoverable Compensation in Claims Against Kaiser
A birth injury has a major impact on the lives of you, your child, and the rest of your family. By pursuing arbitration against Kaiser Permanente, you can recover money to help pay for these economic and non-economic losses.
Below are a few examples of compensation that you could recover in a Kaiser birth injury claim:
- Past and future medical expenses
- Live-in care and other disability accommodations
- Lost wages and the loss of future earning potential
- Physical therapy and other special treatments
- Permanent disability
- Emotional distress
- Loss of quality of life
The value of Kaiser arbitration recoveries can vary. Arbitration awards and settlements depend on the individual losses that you or your child suffered as a result of the injury. If the injury is very severe and necessitates lifelong medical care, your monetary claim is likely to be higher than a child who suffers a minor birth injury.
The attorneys at Walkup, Melodia, Kelly & Schoenberger can help you calculate your potential award and gather evidence to prove your right to recovery. Using this information, they will advocate for maximum compensation, avoid an insufficient settlement, and prevent financial hardship in the future.
How Long Do You Have to Pursue Kaiser Arbitration?
If you believe that you or your child experienced injury from medical malpractice at Kaiser Permanente, it is critical to consult with a lawyer as soon as you can. The statute of limitations sets filing deadlines for lawsuits including medical malpractice claims. These deadlines apply to Kaiser arbitration claims as well.
If you live in California, you have three years from the date of your birth injury to file your claim. If you do not discover the injury until a later date, you have one year from the date of discovery to file. Kaiser will seek to dismiss your case if it is filed after this time limit, so it is extremely important to discuss your case with a lawyer as soon as possible.
Contact Us Now For The Help You Need
If you have suffered a severe injury or medical negligence at Kaiser Permanente, Walkup Melodia can help you. Please contact us online or call now 415-906-3764 for an immediate consultation with a hospital malpractice lawyer to help you with Kaiser arbitration.
We handle all Kaiser Permanente lawsuits on a contingency basis. You pay no legal fees unless we successfully recover compensation for your injury. If your baby has suffered an injury or a disability as a result of negligence on the part of a Kaiser Permanente hospital and/or delivery room staff, schedule a free initial consultation.
EXAMPLE OF OUR SUCCESS
Failure to Recognize Fetal Distress – Quadriplegia/Brain Damage – over $5 million
Walkup attorneys negotiated a cash and annuity settlement with a present cash value in excess of five million dollars on behalf of an infant born with severe developmental delay, spastic quadriparesis, and permanent neurological injuries after Kaiser San Francisco doctors and nursing staff failed to monitor the mother and deliver the baby quickly when fetal heart monitors indicated severe distress.
Please see our Kaiser birth injury information and cases page to learn more about our Kaiser birth injury results.
