Knoxville Birth Injury Attorneys

Premature Delivery - Overview

It takes 38 weeks (9 months) for a pregnancy to be considered full-term, but people may go into labor at 37 weeks and have little medical complications.  However, when people go into labor when they are only 26 to 36 weeks, it is technically considered a premature delivery.  Premature deliveries can put the lives of infants and their mothers at great risks.  This is due to the fact that it takes 38 weeks for babies to develop all of their vital organs and body parts, which they will need to survive outside of the womb.  Anytime infants are born prematurely, they may haves serious medical complications or even die.  In fact, in the U.S., premature deliveries are a leading cause of infant deaths. 

Generally speaking, when an infant is born prematurely, he or she may be at higher risk for medical conditions and disabilities.  Statistics indicate that when babies are born 26 weeks or earlier, only 20% will not develop long-term side effects.   Some side effects that premature babies may have include:  deafness, cerebral palsy, cognitive impairments, lack of motor skills and blindness.

Premature Delivery & the Law

Under the strict guidelines that are imposed by the medical community, OBGYNs, nurses, hospital staff and hospitals are responsible for monitoring the health of both mothers and infants before the birthing process occurs.  Anytime medical professionals fail to detect medical problems that lead to premature delivery or do not do everything in their power to ensure that expectant mothers have full-term pregnancies, it is considered negligence.

Like all types of medical malpractice and birth injury cases, anytime medical professionals are negligent, people have the legal right to file a claim to collect compensation for their infants' injuries.  In order to initiate the legal process and to be successful with their cases, parents will need a birth injury lawyer on their sides who has immense experience handling premature delivery cases, like the lawyers at the Law Firm of John Whitfield.

Knoxville Premature Delivery Lawyers

The Law Firm of John Whitfield has served as professional litigators and also compassionate advocates for numerous clients in Tennessee.  If you are looking to speak with trusted and dependable Knoxville birth injury lawyers, contact the Law Firm of John Whitfield today to set up an initial consultation!