Birth Injury Settlements

What Is a Birth Injury Lawsuit Settlement?

A birth injury lawsuit settlement is money paid by negligent health care providers to the parents of a child who suffered a preventable injury before, during, or shortly after birth.

Birth injury lawsuit settlements help parents afford the best possible care for their child and hold negligent medical professionals accountable. Taking legal action may also prevent other innocent children from being harmed.

Most families are able to access compensation from a birth injury settlement without ever stepping foot inside a courtroom.

Personal injury lawyers with experience in birth injury cases are best suited to help families seek a settlement. These legal professionals know how to build a strong case to prove medical malpractice and assess how much money a child will likely need for life-long care.

Quick Facts About Birth Injury Settlements

• The average birth injury settlement is more than $1 million.
• The birth injury law firms in the LawFirm.com network have recovered over $905 million in settlements and trial verdicts for families nationwide.
• About 95% of birth injury lawsuits end in settlements.
• Birth injury settlement values tend to be high because of the severity of injuries and the potential amount of economic damages.

Recent birth injury lawsuit settlements have awarded families tens of millions of dollars.

Get a free case review to see if we may be able to connect you with an attorney who can fight for the money your family deserves.

What Is the Average Settlement for Birth Injury?

Birth injury settlement amounts tend to be higher than those awarded in many other personal injury cases since a child may require care throughout their life.

A 2019 study of 1,215 neonatal malpractice (birth injury) claims over 9 years found that the average payout was $936,843. This data, collected by a medical malpractice insurer called The Doctors Company, includes birth injury lawsuit settlements and birth injury trial verdicts. Today, that figure is over $1 million.

The birth injury lawyers that LawFirm.com works with have secured payouts for many families that exceed this average.

Birth injury lawsuit settlements and verdicts our partner law firms have secured include:

• Over $10 million for a child in Pennsylvania diagnosed with cerebral palsy
• $8 million on behalf of a New York child with a vacuum extractor injury
• $7.8 million to a Florida family with a child who developed cerebral palsy
• $5.1 million on behalf of a Texas family with a child who suffered birth asphyxia
• $5 million for a child in Massachusetts who suffered a brain injury during childbirth
• $4.5 million to a child with Erb’s palsy in Illinois
• Over $4 million to a child who experienced umbilical cord strangulation and fetal distress

The birth injury lawyers we partner with have recovered over $905 million for affected families across the country.

5 Factors That Affect Birth Injury Settlement Amounts

Many different aspects of a case can impact how much your family may receive from a birth injury lawsuit settlement.

These 5 factors often affect birth injury settlement amounts:

1. Birth injury severity: Children with severe birth injuries who need life-long medical care often receive larger settlements.
2. Economic damages: This includes the child’s past and future medical expenses and future lost income. Economic damages in birth injury cases are often substantial because of the high costs of care and the amount of future lost income that can be claimed.
3. Level of medical malpractice: When the medical malpractice is especially egregious, the settlement amount may be higher.
4. Number of defendants involved: In some cases, families may be entitled to settlement money from multiple defendants, including doctors, nurses, and the hospital where the delivery occurred.
5. Skill and experience of your attorney: Birth injury lawyers are experts in this field and can investigate and gather evidence to build a strong case and accurately estimate the costs of care.

Regardless of the facts of your case, an experienced lawyer will fight hard for birth injury settlements that provide you with the financial compensation you deserve.

How Birth Injury Compensation Can Help

Birth injury lawsuit settlements award families with money to address past and future costs — both financial and emotional — related to their child’s birth injury.

Compensation from birth injury lawsuit settlements can help pay for:

• Adaptive equipment
• Home alterations/accommodations
• Lost wages or loss of earning capacity
• Medical bills
• Pain and suffering
• Physical therapy
• Special education
• Other related expenses

Labor and delivery malpractice settlements can help you pay for the medical treatment and care your child needs to live their best life and lessen the financial burden of an injury, so you can spend more time with your family.

Eligibility for a Birth Injury Settlement

Parents or guardians of a child who developed a birth injury due to a health care provider’s medical mistake before, during, or shortly after birth may be eligible for birth injury lawsuit settlements.

Even if you’re uncertain whether or not your child’s injury was caused by medical malpractice, our team may still be able to help you take legal action.

At LawFirm.com, we have registered nurses on staff who can help determine if a medical error may have caused your child’s condition.

Types of Birth Injuries That Result in Settlements

Any birth injury caused by medical negligence could lead to birth injury lawsuit settlements.

Birth injuries that commonly prompt families to file lawsuits:

• Brain damage: Infant brain damage, often caused by oxygen deprivation, can result in permanent disability.
• Cerebral palsy: This group of motor disorders affects balance and movement.
• Erb’s palsy: This brachial plexus injury (damage to the nerves in the shoulder) causes weakness or numbness in the arm and/or shoulder.
• Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE): Caused by a lack of oxygen before or shortly after birth, HIE is a type of brain injury that can impact a child for the rest of their life.
• Untreated jaundice: Jaundice, which is caused by a buildup of bilirubin in the blood, can lead to a life-threatening condition known as kernicterus if ignored.
• Wrongful death: In some cases, a health care professional’s negligence can result in a baby’s death. Infant wrongful death settlements are never enough to compensate for the loss of a child, but they can help families move forward in life.

This is not a complete list. Parents may be able to pursue birth injury lawsuit settlements in many other cases.

Steps to Pursue Birth Injury Malpractice Settlements

If you think you’re eligible for a birth injury settlement, you should reach out to an attorney as soon as possible.

A birth injury lawyer can:

1. Provide a free case review to determine your eligibility without any financial risk
2. Consult with medical experts to see if malpractice may have occurred
3. Gather evidence, like your child’s medical records and witness statements, to build a strong case
4. Calculate how much money your child will need for lifetime care
5. File your birth injury lawsuit before any deadlines and demand full compensation
6. Negotiate a birth injury lawsuit settlement on your behalf

Every state has laws known as statutes of limitations, which specify how much time you have to file a birth injury claim for compensation.

Since these deadlines can vary, it’s crucial to consult a birth injury attorney as soon as possible, so you don’t miss your chance for justice.

Why Birth Injury Lawsuit Settlements Are Preferred

After families file a birth injury lawsuit, their attorney will try to negotiate a settlement with the defendant.

Families and attorneys typically prefer settlements over trial verdicts because they are less risky and allow families to access compensation faster. A doctor or hospital accused of medical malpractice may be eager to settle to avoid negative publicity from a jury trial.

Learn about the main differences between birth injury lawsuit settlements and verdicts in the chart below.

If a settlement isn’t reached, your attorney can fight for you and your child in court and work to secure a favorable verdict on your behalf.

2024 Update: Recent Birth Injury Lawsuit Settlements

Recent birth injury lawsuit settlements have awarded families tens of millions of dollars against negligent hospitals and physicians.

Birth injury lawsuit settlements reported in 2024 include:

• $32.5 million for cerebral palsy: Reading Hospital in Pennsylvania settled with the family of a boy who developed spastic quadriplegia cerebral palsy related to a maternal infection. The doctors failed to treat the infection, respond to signs of fetal distress, or perform an emergency Cesarean section.
• $32 million for brain damage: Hahnemann University Hospital in Philadelphia paid this amount to the family of a baby diagnosed with hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy, a brain injury caused by a lack of oxygen. The doctors spent 10 hours trying to induce the birth instead of performing a C-section.
• Over $4.5 million for brain injury: A newborn suffered brain damage, leading to cerebral palsy, due to a delayed delivery and lack of oxygen at birth. The medical professionals ignored signs of fetal distress and caused injury by misuse of a vacuum extractor.

See if we can connect you with a lawyer who can fight for birth injury settlements on your behalf during a free case review.

Get Help With a Birth Injury Lawsuit Settlement

If your child has suffered a preventable injury at birth, a birth injury settlement can make all the difference for their future and your family.

The birth injury law firms in our network all have:

• A track record of successful settlements
• The ability to help families in all 50 states
• No upfront or out-of-pocket fees
• Registered nurses on staff
• Decades of experience

Call us at (888) 726-9160 right now or fill out our contact form to see if they may be able to get your family compensation and justice.