Best Birth Injury Lawyers in Mississippi
What Makes a Lawyer the Best?
When all goes as planned, the birth experience is a joyful one for any expectant parent. But a time of bliss and excitement can quickly turn traumatic for a family impacted by a birth injury. And while not all birth injuries are preventable, in some scenarios, medical negligence can and does cause severe lifelong impairments. That’s why families in Mississippi who suspect their child sustained a preventable birth injury should obtain a premier birth injury lawyer to advocate on their behalf.
But what exactly constitutes “the best birth injury lawyer in Mississippi?” Looking for a lawyer with a proven record of successful verdicts and settlements is unquestionably a good place to start when searching for the best Mississippi birth injury attorneys. To be included among the best, however, a lawyer should have additional characteristics. Attorneys with recognition from their peers and professional organizations should also be considered for an elite list.
It Starts with Results
A lawyer’s past success in birth injury lawsuits is an important indicator of future achievements. Medical malpractice lawsuits, in general, are complex and challenging cases to litigate. Birth injury cases are considered a sub-specialty in the field because they require extensive research and detailed knowledge of laws and statutes. With that in mind, Mississippi’s best birth injury lawyers have substantial experience and proven victories in birth injury lawsuits.
Lawyers Who Get Results
Starting with lawyers who have a history of results, we then looked for those who also stand out because of peer and professional accolades and who show the compassion and commitment that the best birth injury lawyers in Mississippi should have. Lawyers who combine the necessary qualities include:
David A. Bowling of Bowling Christianson with offices in New Orleans, Louisiana, and Gulfport, Mississippi. Attorney Bowling has Martindale-Hubbell’s highest A-V Preeminent rating, is a member of the American Board of Trial Advocates, and has consistently received the designation of “Best Lawyers in America” and “Super Lawyers.” He recently won a $4 million verdict in a birth injury lawsuit based on negligence that resulted in anoxic brain injury/cerebral palsy. In addition, his firm’s stellar Google reviews evidence his commitment to his clients.
Charles M. Merkel, Jr. of Merkel & Cocke, P.A., with four offices throughout Mississippi. Attorney Merkel is a member of the International Academy of Trial Lawyers and a past American Board of Trial Advocates President. In addition, he has been named among Super Lawyers from 2006 to present, Best Lawyers in America from 1986 to present, and retains an AV Preeminent rating by Martindale-Hubbell. Attorney Merkel obtained a $1.9 million verdict against a doctor and hospital in a birth injury lawsuit and his commitment to helping clients is evident in his consistently high Google reviews.
Jay M. Kilpatrick of Kilpatrick & Philly in Ridgeland, Mississippi, has recovered over $35 million for his clients by way of both verdicts and settlements. He was listed among the best personal injury attorneys and as a leader in medical malpractice by Newsweek and has an AV Preeminent rating with Martindale-Hubbell. His dedication to his clients is apparent based on his firm’s excellent Google reviews.
Michael Saltaformaggio of ‘Maggio|Thompson with offices in Jackson and Gulfport, Mississippi. Attorney Saltaformaggio has been listed as a Rising Star from 2014 to the present and is a proud recipient of the Client’s Choice Award from Avvo. He has also appeared on the American Institute of Personal Injury Attorneys Top 10 list, The National Trial Lawyers Top 40 Under 40 list, and the National Trial Lawyers – Top 100 list. His client reviews speak of his dedication to the pursuit of justice.
Examples of Mississippi Birth Injury Lawsuits
Medical malpractice lawsuits are based on negligence. In legal terms, the plaintiff (the injured party) must prove that the defendant(s) breached a duty of care to the plaintiff and that the breach caused an injury. The standard of care in a medical malpractice lawsuit is more complicated than the standard in a typical personal injury lawsuit. Moreover, there are often several potentially negligent parties in a birth injury medical malpractice lawsuit, making these lawsuits factually and legally among the most complex to litigate.
For example, attorney Charles M. Merkel, Jr. won a $1.9 million verdict in a birth injury case involving a child that suffered a severe birth injury due to the obstetrician’s negligence. The night before the infant was born, the mother’s contractions slowed, but she was left untreated by the obstetrician and his nursing staff. During delivery, the doctor’s inappropriate use of forceps left the child with arm and shoulder injuries. When the baby was born, the obstetrician refused to let the neonatal nurse intubate the child and tried to do it himself. Finally, after repeated failures, he allowed the nurse to perform the procedure correctly. The child sustained a permanent brain injury because of the doctor’s negligence.
A Mississippi birth injury lawsuit may be the result of negligence caused by an endless list of acts or omissions on the part of a health care provider, such as:
- Failing to manage a breech delivery properly
- Improper use of Pitocin or Cytotec
- Failing to perform a timely emergency cesarean section or failing to order a C-section
- Improper use of forceps or vacuum extractors
- Failing to act when the mother has toxemia
- Using excessive pressure or excessive traction when extracting a baby
- Applying too much pressure to the mother’s abdomen during delivery
- Failing to diagnose and/or act when there is a dangerous infection
- Failing to recognize fetal distress, including signs of fetal heart problems
- Failing to act when the mother has preeclampsia, high blood pressure, or low blood pressure
- Failing to manage prolonged labor properly
Lawyers for Mississippi Cerebral Palsy Cases
Cerebral palsy occurs when a baby’s brain is deprived of oxygen. Cerebral palsy birth injury cases are among the most complex medical malpractice cases to litigate because the plaintiff must prove when the lack of oxygen occurred. Oxygen deprivation can occur while a baby is in the womb, or during delivery. To prove that a health care provider was negligent, the plaintiff must prove that the oxygen deprivation occurred during delivery. These attorneys have proven that they are among the best birth injury lawyers in Mississippi for cerebral palsy cases:
Attorney David. A. Bowling has been practicing law for almost four decades. He has obtained numerous settlements and verdicts for birth injury clients throughout Mississippi and Louisiana, including a $4 million verdict for a case involving a child diagnosed with cerebral palsy because of negligence during the child’s birth.
Attorney Katrina S. Brown of Brown Bass & Jeter in Jackson, Mississippi, began her career as a defense attorney, representing insurance companies and medical providers. She now dedicates her practice to advocating for victims, including those who have cerebral palsy because of a preventable birth injury. Her knowledge of defense tactics and strategies makes her an excellent champion and litigator for injured plaintiffs.
Common Birth Injury Defendants in Mississippi
Not only is negligence often challenging to prove in a birth injury lawsuit, but once proven, it can be equally difficult to determine whose conduct resulted in that negligence. The birthing process can be a complex series of events that frequently involves multiple health care professionals at different points in the process. When something goes wrong resulting in a birth injury, anyone involved in the birth could be held legally responsible. That means a birth injury lawsuit might name the OBGYN, neonatologist, nurses, surgeon, anesthesiologist, and/or therapists as defendants. A typical birth injury lawsuit will also name the hospital where the birth occurred as a defendant, which in Mississippi might include:
- University of Mississippi Medical Center
- Forrest Health
- Memorial Hospital
- St. Dominic-Jackson Memorial Hospital
- Magee General Hospital
- Ochsner Health
- North Mississippi Medical Center
- Singing River
- Lackey Memorial Hospital
- Baptist Memorial
About Mississippi Birth Injury Cases and Birth Injury Law
For the parent of a baby who suffered a birth injury, contemplating legal action may not be the most immediate concern. Waiting to consider your legal options, however, could prevent you from pursuing those options because Mississippi imposes a two-year statute of limitations on medical malpractice lawsuits. A statute of limitations is the time limit within which an injured party must initiate a lawsuit or be forever barred from doing so. With limited exceptions (that do not typically apply in a birth injury lawsuit), Mississippi Code §15-1-36 requires a medical malpractice lawsuit to be brought against a defendant within two years from the date the alleged act, omission, or neglect was known or discovered or would have been known or discovered with reasonable diligence. Mississippi also has a “statute of repose” that acts as a maximum time limit of seven years after the alleged act, omission, or negligence for filing a medical malpractice lawsuit.
Along with being aware of the applicable statute of limitations, a parent whose child suffered a birth injury in Mississippi also needs to know that Mississippi law requires both a pre-suit notification and a “Certificate of Consultation” in a medical malpractice lawsuit. Mississippi Code Section 15-1-36(15) states, “No action based upon the health care provider’s professional negligence may be begun unless the defendant has been given at least sixty (60) days prior written notice of the intention to begin the action.” The notice must include the “legal basis of the claim and the type of loss sustained.” Therefore, notification made during the last 60 days of the statute of limitations does extend the time limit for filing a lawsuit.
Mississippi Code Section 11-1-58 requires a Plaintiff in a medical malpractice lawsuit to submit a Certificate of Consultation executed by the plaintiff’s attorney declaring the following under oath:
- The attorney has reviewed the facts of the case and consulted with at least one expert qualified to give expert testimony as to the standard of care or negligence.
- The attorney reasonably believes the expert is knowledgeable in the relevant issues involved in the particular action.
- Based on such review and consultation, the attorney has concluded that there is a reasonable basis for the commencement of the lawsuit.
There are two exceptions to the Certificate of Consultation requirement. One is when the plaintiff’s attorney could not obtain a consultation before the statute of limitations expired. In that case, the Certificate of Consultation must be filed within 60 days of filing the lawsuit. The second exception applies if the plaintiff’s attorney could not obtain the consultation because the attorney had made at least three good faith attempts with three different experts to get a consultation and none of those contacted would agree to one.
Mississippi also limits non-economic damages in a medical malpractice lawsuit to $500,000. Damages (compensation) are divided into economic and non-economic categories. Economic damages reflect the objective, out-of-pocket expenses incurred because of the defendant’s negligence, including medical bills, therapy expenses, and lost wages. There is no limit to the amount of economic damages a Plaintiff can recover in a birth injury lawsuit. Non-economic damages are intended to compensate a victim for subjective injuries, such as pain, suffering, and disfigurement.