The Most Serious Injuries Demand the Strongest Legal Advocacy
When a newborn suffers a serious injury at birth, everything changes in an instant. The hopes you carried into the delivery room are replaced with fear, confusion, and grief. Some injuries heal. Others do not. And when those injuries were preventable—caused by medical negligence—the heartbreak is compounded by anger and a deep need for justice.
At Van Wey, Metzler & Williams, we represent Oklahoma City families facing the unimaginable: life-altering injuries to their children that could have—and should have—been prevented by those entrusted to protect them. We don’t handle minor bruises or transient complications. We focus on the most catastrophic, permanent injuries—the ones that require lifelong care, rob children of independence, and change the entire trajectory of a family’s life.
We Handle Only the Most Serious Birth Injury Cases
We believe families whose children have suffered devastating harm deserve legal advocates who understand the stakes, the medicine, and the emotional toll. We focus exclusively on catastrophic injuries, including:
Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
When a baby’s brain is deprived of oxygen during labor or delivery, the resulting damage can be profound and permanent. HIE often leads to:
Cerebral palsy
Developmental delays
Epilepsy and seizures
Speech and motor impairment
This injury is often the result of failure to monitor fetal distress, delayed C-sections, or mismanaged complications during delivery.
Cerebral Palsy
This lifelong neurological condition impairs muscle coordination and motor skills. It may not be diagnosed at birth but can be caused by trauma, lack of oxygen, or infection during labor and delivery. Signs often emerge within the first few years of life. For many families, a diagnosis of CP is a signal that something went wrong—and it’s time to look deeper.
Brachial Plexus Injuries (Including Erb’s Palsy)
These injuries occur when the nerves controlling the arm and shoulder are damaged, often due to excessive force during delivery or failure to respond to shoulder dystocia. Some cases result in temporary weakness; others lead to permanent paralysis of the arm.
Skull Fractures & Brain Bleeds
Improper use of delivery tools (forceps, vacuum extractors) or mismanagement of prolonged labor can result in cranial trauma. Subgaleal hemorrhages, intraventricular bleeds, and other forms of intracranial bleeding can lead to seizures, brain swelling, or death if not identified and treated immediately.
Spinal Cord Injuries
Although rare, these devastating injuries are usually caused by excessive traction or rotational forces during a complicated delivery. Outcomes are often permanent and severe—paralysis, loss of function, or early death.
These Injuries Are Not “Just Part of the Risk”
Hospitals often attempt to minimize birth injuries, framing them as unfortunate outcomes or natural complications. But we know better. Many of these catastrophic injuries are the direct result of:
Failure to monitor fetal heart rate
Delays in ordering or performing an emergency C-section
Misuse of forceps or vacuum extraction tools
Undiagnosed maternal conditions (like infections or preeclampsia)
Failure to respond to signs of fetal distress
Our role is to find out exactly what happened—and why—even when the hospital won’t tell you.
How We Investigate Birth Injury Cases
We partner with:
Neonatologists
OB/GYN experts
Pediatric neurologists
Fetal monitoring specialists
Together, we reconstruct the timeline of your labor and delivery to determine whether your child’s injury could—and should—have been prevented. We review fetal heart tracings, medical records, staff communications, and every minute that passed in that delivery room.
Because the truth matters. And your child’s future depends on it.
Why Oklahoma City Families Choose Van Wey, Metzler & Williams
We are not a general personal injury firm. We are nationally recognized for handling complex, high-stakes medical malpractice and birth injury cases. Families come to us when the harm is profound and the answers are hard to get.
We provide:
Deep medical understanding
Access to the nation’s top birth injury experts
Financial strength to fight major hospital systems
Compassionate, one-on-one communication every step of the way
Founder Kay Van Wey has been a fierce advocate for patients and families for over 30 years. Her leadership helped expose one of the most infamous cases of medical negligence in the country, and her team now uses that same tenacity to help families across Oklahoma get justice.
What Comes Next
If your child suffered a birth injury, and you suspect it may have been preventable, you are not alone. We are here to help you understand what happened, what your legal options are, and what support your child may need for a lifetime.
