It’s awful to see a newborn baby suffer. It’s even worse when you know that suffering is the consequence of someone’s terrible mistake. Is there any recourse for families who’ve seen their child’s lives changed forever by negligence? Yes— through legal action known as a birth injury claim.
Birth injury law firms specialize in securing settlements and verdicts for families whose children have suffered preventable birth injuries, ensuring they receive substantial compensation for their suffering.
In this article, we’ll go over the basics of filing this type of claim. If you’re looking for answers to specific questions about your case, please contact us here. We offer initial consultations free of cost for families involved in birth injury cases.
What are Birth Injury Claims?
A birth injury claim is a type of medical malpractice lawsuit parents can file on behalf of a child who was injured in the birthing process. It seeks to hold doctors or other medical personnel responsible for causing an injury to a baby.
Birth injury lawsuits belong to one of two broader categories of malpractice lawsuits: medical negligence claims or wrongful death claims. We’ll explain these below:
- Medical Negligence. Medical negligence is when a doctor’s actions fall outside the standard of care. To put it simply, the standard of care is the set of guidelines that healthcare workers must follow. Those guidelines differ based on the condition the doctor has to treat.
- Claim. If the child dies, a birth injury lawsuit can also become a wrongful death claim. In this type of lawsuit, you have to prove that had the doctor not been negligent, the child would not have died.
No two birth injury claims are alike; every birth injury case is unique. The injury could happen before, during, or shortly after birth. You might sue just one plaintiff. Or you might take on several.
Also, the amount you might recover can vary widely. For children under 1 month old, the average damages are around $1 million (TDC group study).
Examples of Medical Malpractice & Birth Injury Lawsuits
Birth injuries from negligence are rare, but they do happen and can result in birth injury lawsuits (especially severe birth injuries). These are some birth injuries commonly involved in medical malpractice lawsuits:
- Cerebral palsy
- Hypoxic-ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE)
- Brain bleeds and brain damage
- Brachial plexus injuries (birth injuries to the nerves in the shoulders and neck)
- Facial Paralysis
- Spinal cord injuries
- Erb’s palsy
- Facial nerve injury or paralysis
- Hypoxia (oxygen deprivation)
- Fractured or fractured bones
- Shoulder dystocia
- Umbilical cord compression or strangulation
- Cephalohematoma (bleeding under the skull)
- Fractured collarbones
- Hemorrhage (excessive bleeding)
- Stillbirths or death
The attorneys at Hampton & King have experience working with many types of birth injury claims. We’ve won millions of dollars as a result of birth injury claims. Here are several examples:
- $6,500,000 for negligent fetal heart monitoring that caused Hypoxic-ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE).
- $6,000,000 for postpartum hemorrhage resulting in brain damage.
- $4,000,000 for negligent administration of Pitocin. The baby had cerebral palsy as a result.
- $4,000,000 for negligent administration of Pitocin that lead to HIE.
- $3,600,000 for negligent resuscitation of a newborn that resulted in HIE.
Negligent administration of Pitocin and negligent fetal heart monitoring resulted in cerebral palsy and HIE in most of these cases, but there are many other forms of negligence and birth injuries. We invite you to view more case results here.
Important Things to Know Before You File a Claim
The first step to take before filing a claim is to figure out whether your claim is viable. For it to hold up in court, the following must be true:
- Doctors have diagnosed your child with a birth injury.
- You have proof that your healthcare provider was negligent. What they did fits the legal definition of medical malpractice.
- The healthcare worker’s negligence caused your baby’s injury.
- You still have time to file, according to your state’s statute of limitations.
Birth injury lawyers play a crucial role in gathering evidence, assessing medical negligence, and ensuring families receive the maximum compensation they deserve.
Your Birth Injury Claim & Settlement
If your child is injured, you’re already going through a lot. So you might balk at gathering evidence and tackling tons of paperwork. And the last thing you want to do is spend weeks on end in court.
Here’s some good news: most birth injury claims don’t go to trial. They end with settlements. A birth injury lawsuit settlement is an agreement where plaintiffs agree to pay the defendants damages. Birth injury lawsuit settlements help families pay for their child’s medical needs and related expenses.
And here’s some more good news: you don’t have to seek justice for your child’s birth injury (or birth injuries) alone. Schedule an initial consultation (cost-free) so we can explain your legal options. We encourage you to do this right away. Most states allow only 2-3 years to file a birth injury lawsuit.
The Basics of a Birth Injury Lawsuit
Once you’ve decided to hire a lawyer, you can begin to build your birth injury lawsuit.
Here are the basics of what your claim should show:
- Proof of a doctor-patient relationship
- The standard of care that should have been followed by the medical professional
- A breach of the standard of care directly resulting in injury
- Damages you are claiming
Ready to take the first step toward your birth injury settlement? We’re ready to help you take the first steps toward justice for your child, and birth injury compensation. Call us now to discuss your potential case.
Birth Injury Claim FAQs
Physical harm that happens during childbirth is called a birth injury. These injuries can happen to the mother, the newborn, or both. In infants these injuries are called ‘neonatal birth trauma’, and they can range from minor bruises to more severe conditions like fractures.
It depends. The average birth injury settlement is around $1 million, but there is no set compensation for a birth injury lawsuit. If your birth injury claim is successful, the compensation amount will depend on the extent of your suffering (general damages) and the financial consequences like wages lost and medical bills (special damages). After a thorough evaluation, your attorney can estimate your compensation amount.
Several physical and emotional elements can lead to birth trauma. These include childbirth experiences that cause distress, emergency C-sections, traumatic application of forceps or other medical instruments, or complications during birth like excessive bleeding or vaginal tears.
Head injuries are the most common birth-related injuries. (According to Arcangela Lattari Balest , MD, at MSD Manual, and Merck Manuals.)
At Hampton & King, we work on a contingency fee basis which means we pay all of the costs, and if we’re not successful, for whatever reason, you owe us nothing. If we win your case or obtain a settlement for you, our fee is a percentage of the total recovery. No win, no fee.
Compensation for birth injuries varies a lot. Again, the average birth injury settlement is around $1 million. But the exact amount depends on the severity of the injury, treatment costs, medical expenses, impact on future earning capacity, and how much it decreases overall quality of life. Severe cases usually result in higher compensation (to cover lifelong care and emotional distress). Consulting a medical malpractice attorney is the key to an accurate assessment.