What Are Birth Injury Lawyers?
Birth injury lawyers are specialized personal injury attorneys who help families take legal action in response to birth injuries caused by medical negligence or malpractice. These injuries can occur when a medical professional makes a preventable error before, during, or shortly after the birthing process.
Sadly, birth injuries can leave children with lifelong physical, developmental, and/or intellectual disabilities.
The lifetime cost of care for a person with cerebral palsy is approximately $1.65 million, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Many parents struggle to afford quality medical care for their children.
A birth injury attorney can pursue compensation to help pay for these costs. They can also ensure that a negligent doctor is held responsible and prevent them from harming another infant.
How Birth Injury Attorneys Help Families
A birth injury attorney has the experience and resources necessary to handle injury cases similar to yours.
Here’s how a birth injury lawyer may be able to help you:
- Explain your rights and provide legal advice
- Build your case by gathering medical evidence showing what went wrong
- File your lawsuit with the appropriate court before any legal deadlines
- Gather supporting evidence to prove your case (medical records, medical experts, witness statements, and more)
- Negotiate settlements with all negligent health care providers and their insurance companies
- Take your case to trial, if necessary
General law firms may not have the expertise needed to successfully handle your claim.
Attorneys who focus on birth injury law are best positioned to win cases for clients and maximize the amount of compensation they receive.
Do you suspect a medical mistake caused your child’s birth injury? If so, contact one of our team members right now for a free consultation.
Birth Injuries & Medical Malpractice
If your child has a birth injury, you may find yourself wondering what went wrong and if you could have done anything to prevent the situation from happening.
In some cases, birth injuries are not avoidable or anyone’s fault. However, in other instances, these injuries are caused by a medical professional’s error.
Some examples of medical mistakes that can lead to birth injuries include:
- Birth trauma leading to a brain injury
- Failure to detect or treat hypoxia (lack of oxygen)
- Failure to diagnose or treat a maternal infection
- Failure to perform an emergency cesarean section (C-section)
- Ignoring signs of fetal distress
- Misuse of forceps or a vacuum extractor
- Yanking too hard on an infant’s arm while they are in the birth canal
Doctors, nurses, and other health professionals have a duty to meet a certain standard of care when treating patients. When they fall short, they can — and should — be held accountable.
Sometimes, parents may believe that their child’s birth injury was caused by medical malpractice, but they may not be sure.
We have registered nurses on staff who can listen to your story and help determine if your child’s injury was the result of medical malpractice. Contact our team right now at (888) 726-9160 if you suspect medical malpractice caused or contributed to your child’s birth injury.
Types of Cases a Birth Injury Attorney Handles
A birth injury attorney has the skills and resources to handle cases involving many different types of injuries.
Some common birth injury case types include:
- Birth asphyxia (oxygen deprivation)
- Brain damage
- Cerebral palsy
- Erb’s palsy (brachial plexus palsy)
- Jaundice and kernicterus
- Newborn cephalohematoma
- Shoulder dystocia
- Skull fractures
- Spinal cord injuries
- Umbilical cord problems
- Wrongful death
Labor and delivery staff are trained to detect problems in advance and reduce the risk of harm to the mother and newborn. A failure to do so may be considered birth injury medical malpractice.
A birth injury lawyer will evaluate your case and then start gathering evidence if they think you have a medical malpractice claim. They will vigorously fight for the compensation you and your child need and deserve.
Birth Injury Settlement Amounts
It’s not unusual for a birth injury lawsuit to provide compensation of $1 million or more.
In April 2023, a jury awarded almost $183 million to a Pennsylvania family in a medical malpractice lawsuit. The suit alleged that the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania failed to perform a C-section on time despite the mother’s known health conditions, causing the baby to develop cerebral palsy.
The birth injury attorneys in the LawFirm.com network have helped clients recover more than $862 million from birth injury claims.
Here are some notable settlement amounts reported by our partner birth injury attorneys: Birth injury settlement amounts tend to be high because these cases typically involve serious injuries that require a lifetime of care. Birth injury settlement money can help pay for: Every case is unique. A birth injury lawyer can review the facts of your case and tell you how much your case may be worth. We can help you connect with a birth injury lawyer. Contact one our team members right now for a free, confidential case review. Searching for a qualified birth injury lawyer can be confusing and overwhelming, especially if you do not have friends or family who have used a birth injury attorney in the past. A general personal injury law firm that dabbles in many practice areas may tell you that they can handle your case, but they may not have the resources to do so. Even if they win your case, they may not recover as much money as a dedicated birth injury lawyer would. That said, here are 5 qualities to look for in a birth injury lawyer: All of the birth injury lawyers in the LawFirm.com network have these qualities. They are also caring and compassionate legal practitioners who understand the pain and uncertainty that comes with a birth injury. Contact one of our team members right now for a free, confidential case review. We will connect you with a top birth injury lawyer if you qualify. Each state has a statute of limitations, which places a time limit on how long you have to file your birth injury lawsuit. If you do not file your lawsuit within the deadline, you will not be able to pursue justice for your child’s injury in the future. Although the statute of limitations vary by state, many give parents 2-3 years to file a claim. However, in some states, parents only have 1 year after the date of injury to file. A birth injury attorney can help determine when and where to file your claim. Since filing a claim is a time-sensitive matter, it’s critical to contact an injury lawyer as soon as possible to start the process. Even if you believe time has run out, reach out to an attorney as there may be other options available. If you’re the parent of a child with a birth injury, you may have found yourself worrying about your child’s future and how you’re going to pay for their medical expenses. Your family should not pay the price for someone else’s carelessness. An experienced birth injury lawyer can pursue financial compensation to help you obtain top treatments and medical care for your child — providing you with peace of mind and your child with the best quality of life possible. Every birth injury lawyer in the LawFirm.com network is among the best at what they do. They never charge any upfront or hourly fees and have recovered hundreds of millions of dollars for families like yours. Take action today. If you wait too long, you could lose your legal right to pursue compensation for your child’s birth injury forever. Contact one of our team members right now to get started with a free case evaluation. A birth injury is a physical injury suffered by an infant before, during, or shortly after childbirth. Some preventable birth injuries are caused by a health care professional’s mistake and may be considered medical malpractice. Common birth injuries include: Birth injuries due to negligence are health conditions that result from a preventable medical error by a hospital, doctor, nurse, or other medical provider. These mistakes are often considered medical malpractice. The best birth injury attorneys do not charge any upfront or out-of-pocket fees. Instead, they take injury cases on a contingency basis. This means that they get paid by taking a small percentage of any money they recover for you. If they don’t win your case, you pay nothing. Yes, many birth injuries can be treated. However, different injuries require different treatments. Depending on the injury, the child may need some combination of adaptive equipment, medication, surgery, and therapy. The key to a positive outcome is a quick diagnosis and timely treatment. A child injury lawyer can pursue financial compensation on your behalf to help pay for costly medical treatments. National law firms are staffed with birth injury attorneys who can handle cases in all 50 states. Our team at LawFirm.com can help you connect with a top birth injury lawyer in your area. Contact us today for a free case review at (888) 726-9160.
Qualities of a Top Birth Injury Malpractice Lawyer
How Long After a Birth Injury Can You Sue?
Get Help With a Birth Injury Claim
Attorney for Birth Injury FAQs
What is considered a birth injury?
What are birth injuries due to negligence?
How much does the best birth injury attorney cost?
Can a birth injury be treated?
How do I find birth injury attorneys near me?
Get Compensation
