Mississippi Birth Injury Lawyers

Mississippi Birth Injury Lawyers

Holding negligent healthcare professionals accountable for your family’s trauma

Having a child should be a joyful experience for a family. However, sometimes a mistake happens during delivery that causes harm to a mother or baby. When medical professionals betray the trust placed in them by expectant mothers and families, they cause lasting pain, medical challenges and financial difficulties.

From improperly treated pregnancy complications to labor and delivery negligence, the lawyers of Merkel & Cocke, P.A. aggressively advocate for families affected by childbirth injuries. Our compassionate Mississippi birth injury lawyers do not back down from large medical providers or their powerful insurance companies. We have secured millions of dollars for our clients, including:

  • $1.9 million for misuse of forceps, leading to a birth injury
  • $5.6 million for delay in delivery, leading to brain damage
  • Many more multimillion dollar settlement for brain damage resulting from delay in delivery, despite signs of fetal distress on the fetal monitor strips
  • Multiple six-figure settlements for the victim of a negligent C-section

Skilled representation for all types of birth injuries

Throughout our more than 35 years of service, our legal team has helped numerous families deal with the challenges and tragedy of birth injuries. We have successfully handled cases resulting from provider negligence during the mother's pregnancy, as well as improper decision-making during the labor and delivery process. Some of the cases we routinely handle involve:

  • Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). This birth injury occurs when oxygen to the fetus is restricted or reduced. HIE may occur when a physician fails to timely recognize complications during labor and delivery, like breech presentation of the fetus or the umbilical cord wrapped around the baby's head.
  • Brachial plexus palsy. This injury results in the child's inability or reduced ability to move his or her shoulders, arms, hands or fingers. Brachial plexus palsy can occur when physicians negligently use too much force when removing the baby from the birthing canal.
  • Cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy is damage to the brain, sometimes occurring during the labor and delivery process. Asphyxiation can lead to cerebral palsy, along with external trauma to the head, which may occur from the use of forceps. Misdiagnosed jaundice and untreated infections can also lead to cerebral palsy.
  • Labor and delivery negligence. Several problems can potentially occur during the labor and delivery process. The hospital may fail to implement safety policies or maintain adequate facilities. Nurses may fail to adequately monitor the mother and baby's vital signs. Attending physicians may delay a medically necessary C-Section or misuse medical instruments during the delivery process.

Birth injury representation your family can count on

When hospitals and doctors fail to protect mothers and babies during labor and delivery, our team steps up to fight for justice. At Merkel & Cocke, we represent these vulnerable victims of medical malpractice and their harmed families.

A child born with severe disabilities faces a lifetime of physical, emotional and financial challenges. We believe that responsible parties should be held accountable. That is why we commit ourselves to providing effective legal representation. To assist in our representation of medical malpractice victims, we employ an RN as a full-time part of our staff. It is this level of service that has helped us grow to one of the largest plaintiffs' law firms within the state of Mississippi.

Contact our Mississippi birth injury attorneys today

If a medical professional's negligence resulted in injury to your newborn, contact Merkel & Cocke. Our committed lawyers have more than 200 years of collective experience. From our home office in Clarksdale, we assist injured babies, mothers and families throughout Mississippi, including Tupelo, Jackson, Cleveland, Indianola, and across the Gulf Coast region. We also handle cases in Tennessee and Arkansas. Call us today at 662-627-9641 or complete our contact form to schedule your free consultation.