If your baby was injured or died at birth due to birth related medical malpractice or negligence, you may be entitled to recover compensation from a birth injury lawsuit case or settlement claim. Contact a birth injury lawyer to request a free case review.
A team of birth injury lawyers and personal injury attorneys is investigating potential birth injury lawsuit cases and settlement claims of family and parents whose babies, children or infants suffered from birth-related injury or death due to medical malpractice or negligence.
A birth injury is any injury or harm that occurs during labor and delivery or after delivery. Every year, about 7 babies out of every 1000 children born in the United States (about 28,000 babies) suffer from birth related injuries and complications, often resulting in permanent disabilities.
Many birth-related injuries are preventable with proper medical care. Unfortunately, however, many babies do suffer birth injury or harm due to the medical malpractice or negligence of healthcare providers and medical professionals including doctors (OB-Gyn, Obstetrician, etc.), nurses and hospitals and others who may have (despite their best intentions) failed to use reasonable care during the birth delivery process.
Birth Injury Lawsuits and Settlements: Overview
- What Is A Birth Injury?
- What Are Possible Signs of a Birth Injury?
- What Types of Birth Injury Cases Are Being Investigated?
- Who May Qualify For a Birth Injury Lawsuit or Settlement?
- What Are Common Birth Injuries and Complications?
- What Are Birth-Related Medical Malpractice Claims?
- Who Could Be Held Liable For Causing My Child’s Injury or Death?
- Can I Recover Compensation From a Birth Injury Lawsuit Case?
- Is There A Deadline To File a Birth Injury Lawsuit?
- Request A Free Case Review From A Birth Injury Lawyer
Birth Injury Lawsuit Cases
Birth injury lawsuit and settlement cases potentially being investigated include claims involving children who suffered serious birth related injuries or complications, including, among others, the following:
- Cerebral palsy
- Brain damage
- Hypoxic ischemic encephalopathy (HIE)
- Neonatal encephalopathy
- Erb’s palsy
- Brachial plexus injury
- Klumpke’s palsy
- Peripheral nerve injury
- Caput succedaneum
- Cephalohematoma
- Periventricular leukomalacia
- Brain bleed (hemorrhage)
- Bone fractures
- Skull, clavicle or collarbone fracture
- Kernicterus
- Spinal cord injuries
- Fetal stroke
- Hydrocephalus
- Infant anemia
- Facial paralysis
- Infection
- Sepsis, meningitis, encephalitis or pneumonia
- Other serious birth injury
- Stillborn/stillbirth
- Neonatal death
- Other birth injury lawsuit cases
- Other medical malpractice lawsuit claims
If your child suffered complications like cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy, Klumpke’s palsy, brachial plexus injury, brain damage or other injury during labor and delivery, you may be eligible to recover significant monetary compensation from a birth injury lawsuit or settlement case.
Signs of Possible Birth Injury
Signs and symptoms of birth injury can vary. Although most birth injuries are diagnosed when a baby is born, about seven percent of birth injuries are diagnosed in the first year of the baby’s life and about 14 percent of birth injuries (typically those involving cognitive and developmental impairments) are diagnosed when the child is school age.
Signs that a newborn suffered a birth injury after delivery can include:
- Blue or pale skin
- Slow breathing rate or wheezing
- Apnea
- Slow heart rate (bradycardia)
- Low oxygen levels
- Low blood pressure
- Need for CPR or breathing tube
- Need to be revived or resuscitated
- Neotnatal Intensive Care Unit (NICU) admission
- Lethargy
- Low APGAR scores
- Awkward body movements
- Unusual stiffness or floppiness
- Weak muscle tone
- Lack of interest in or difficulty feeding
- Abnormal neonatal reflexes
- Organ problems
- Coma
- Low birth weight
- Paralysis
- Seizures
- Grunting
- High-pitched crying
- Unusually shaped skull or head
- Unusual eye movements
- Microcephaly
- Jaundice (yellow skin color)
- Elevated bilirubin
- Neonatal hypoglycemia (infant low blood sugar)
- Bruising, swelling, cuts or bleeding
- Other birth injury signs
Signs of birth injury during childhood can include, for example:
- Developmental delay
- Intellectual or cognitive deficit
- Mental retardation
- Attention deficit disorder
- Motor function impairments
- Speech-language disorders
- Vision impairments or blindness
- Hearing impairment or deafness
- Behavioral problems
- Other signs of birth injury
If your baby or child has experienced signs of possible birth injury, connect with a birth injury attorney to see if you may qualify for a birth injury lawsuit case.
Birth-Related Medical Malpractice Injury Claims
Common medical malpractice-related causes of birth injury include:
- Failure to monitor or respond to fetal distress: Failure to monitor or respond to fetal distress is one of the most common causes of preventable birth injuries. This includes not properly monitoring the fetal heart rate, misinterpreting signs of distress such as bradycardia or late decelerations, and failing to respond quickly to decreased fetal movement. Negligent use or interpretation of fetal monitoring equipment can result in missed signs of oxygen deprivation, leading to lasting harm.
- Delayed or unnecessary C-section: Delays in performing an emergency C-section can also lead to severe injuries. When doctors fail to act on clear signs of labor complications, wait too long to order surgery, or experience preventable delays due to poor hospital coordination or staff shortages, the baby may suffer irreversible damage from prolonged distress. Conversely, an unnecessary C-section when a vaginal birth would have been safe could also be considered negligence if it leads to complications.
- Improper use of delivery tools or techniques: The improper use of birthing delivery tools or techniques is another preventable cause of birth injuries. When vacuum extractors or forceps are used with excessive force or without proper indication, they can cause nerve injuries, skull fractures, or brain damage. Similarly, failure to respond correctly to shoulder dystocia or breech positioning may lead to brachial plexus injuries like Erb’s palsy.
- Excessive force during delivery: Apart from assisted delivery tools, direct excessive pulling, twisting, or compressing force on the baby’s head, neck, or shoulders by the medical team can cause nerve damage, fractures (e.g., clavicle), or even spinal cord injuries
- Improper management of shoulder dystocia: If a baby’s shoulder becomes lodged behind the mother’s pelvic bone during delivery, specific maneuvers are required to free it. Performing these maneuvers incorrectly or applying excessive force can lead to severe brachial plexus injuries (like Erb’s palsy or Klumpke’s palsy).
- Failure to prevent oxygen deprivation (hypoxia/anoxia): Birth injuries often result from oxygen deprivation, also known as hypoxia or anoxia. Medical teams must respond immediately to umbilical cord compression, uterine rupture, placental abruption, or nuchal cords (when the umbilical cord wraps around the baby’s neck). Delayed intervention in these situations can result in permanent brain injury, such as cerebral palsy or hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE).
- Mismanagement of umbilical cord or placental issues: Conditions like umbilical cord prolapse (where the cord comes out before the baby) or placental abruption (where the placenta detaches too early) require immediate and expert intervention. A failure to recognize and appropriately manage these emergencies can quickly lead to severe oxygen deprivation and brain injury.
- Negligence in prenatal care: Negligence during prenatal care can set the stage for birth injuries long before delivery. This includes failing to diagnose or manage conditions like gestational diabetes, preeclampsia, infections (e.g., Group B Strep), or Rh incompatibility. Providers may also fail to detect fetal growth restrictions or abnormalities on prenatal ultrasounds, depriving parents of the chance to plan for a safe delivery.
- Failure to diagnose or treat maternal infections: If a healthcare provider fails to screen for, diagnose, or adequately treat infections in the mother (such as bacterial vaginosis, or chorioamnionitis) before or during labor, the infection can be transmitted to the baby, leading to serious conditions like sepsis, meningitis, or pneumonia, which can cause long-term disabilities or neonatal death.
- Failure to address cephalopelvic disproportion (CPD): While CPD itself is a physical reality (i.e., when a baby’s head is too large or the mother’s pelvis is too small), negligence can occur if healthcare providers fail to recognize it or persist with a vaginal delivery when it’s clear the baby cannot safely pass, potentially leading to prolonged labor complications and injury.
- Improper resuscitation of a newborn: If a newborn requires resuscitation immediately after birth due to breathing difficulties or other issues, inadequate or delayed resuscitation efforts by the medical team can lead to further oxygen deprivation and irreversible brain damage.
- Medication errors: Improper medication administration or anesthesia can be harmful during labor. This may involve administering the wrong drugs, overdosing Pitocin (oxytocin), or poorly managing epidurals and other forms of anesthesia. Such errors can lead to excessive uterine contractions, distress, or complications for both mother and baby.
- Negligence in postnatal care: After birth, negligent postnatal care can allow injuries to worsen. This includes failing to treat neonatal jaundice or infections, delaying NICU transfer, or mishandling the infant during initial care. Improper resuscitation efforts or poor vital sign monitoring can further endanger newborns already at risk.
- Communication failures: Systemic failures and communication breakdowns often contribute to birth related medical malpractice. These include poor handoffs between shifts, miscommunication about critical test results, failure to follow hospital protocols, incomplete charting, and staff shortages. Even highly skilled providers can make dangerous errors when systems fail around them.
- Other birth-related medical malpractice cases: Other serious birth injuries can result from medical malpractice during pregnancy, labor, or delivery. Medical malpractice can occur when a healthcare provider fails to meet the accepted standard of care (i.e., the level of skill, attentiveness, and treatment that a reasonably competent medical professional would provide under similar circumstances), resulting in harm to a patient.
Each of these avoidable mistakes can result in devastating injuries. Identifying the specific cause or combination of failures is crucial to building a strong birth injury malpractice case.
Common Causes Of Birth Injuries & Complications
Childbirth injuries can include those caused by or that involve the following types of birth related complications, among others:
- Oxygen deprivation (birth asphyxia)
- Umbilical cord injuries
- C-Section errors and delays
- Uterine rupture complications
- Uterine tachysystole injuries
- Placental abruption injuries
- Placenta previa injuries
- Placenta accreta
- Shoulder dystocia
- Respiratory distress syndrome
- Induced labor
- Delayed delivery
- Prolonged labor complications
- Delivery room errors
- Fetal distress
- Improper fetal monitoring
- Improper anesthesia
- Medication issues
- Pitocin, Oxytocin, Cervidil or Cytotec injuries
- Birth trauma
- Abormnal fetal position (breech, brow, face, shoulder)
- Premature birth complications
- Fetal acidosis & fetal hypoxia
- Meconium aspiration syndrome
- Obstetrical forceps injury
- Vacuum extractor injuries
- Fetal macrosomia Injury
- Cephalopelvic disproportion injury
- Cerebral compression injuries
- Vasa previa
- High risk pregnancies
- Preeclampsia (maternal high blood pressure)
- Chorioamnionitis (maternal infection)
- Gestational diabetes
- Vaginal birth after C-section (VBAC)
- Other birth injury lawsuit cases
Defendants Who Could Be Sued For Malpractice
Defendants in birth injury lawsuits have included:
- Obstetricians (OB-GYNs)
- Labor and delivery nurses
- Anesthesiologists
- Midwives
- Resident physicians or interns
- Pediatricians
- Neonatologists
- Radiologists/Sonographers
- Family doctors
- Hospitals and medical centers
- Birthing centers
- Private OB-GYN practices
- Urgent care clinics
- Medical device manufacturers
- Pharmaceutical companies
- Triage staff
- Ambulance services/paramedics
- Other birth injury defendants
In birth injury lawsuits, a wide range of defendants may be held liable depending on the circumstances surrounding the pregnancy, labor, delivery, or immediate postnatal care. The most common individual defendants include obstetricians (OB-GYNs), who oversee the pregnancy and delivery process, and labor and delivery nurses, who may be responsible for failing to monitor fetal distress, improperly administering medications, or not escalating emergencies in a timely manner.
Anesthesiologists can also be named if there were errors in administering an epidural or anesthesia during a C-section. Midwives, particularly those attending home births or operating outside their licensed scope, may also be held accountable if their actions led to preventable harm.
Additional individual defendants can include resident physicians or interns, especially in teaching hospitals where lack of supervision contributes to medical mistakes, as well as pediatricians or neonatologists who fail to properly treat complications after birth. Radiologists and sonographers might be liable if they misinterpret prenatal imaging, and family doctors could face liability if involved in prenatal care or delivery decisions that result in injury.
Medical institutions themselves are often named in birth injury lawsuits. This includes hospitals and medical centers, which can be held responsible for negligent hiring, improper supervision, understaffing, or systemic failures such as delays in performing emergency C-sections. Birthing centers may face liability, particularly if they lacked proper emergency equipment or staffing. Private OB-GYN practices, urgent care clinics can also be sued if their policies or actions contribute to substandard care.
In certain birth injury cases, corporate defendants such as medical device manufacturers may be held liable if defective tools (like vacuum extractors or fetal monitors) caused the injury. Similarly, pharmaceutical companies may face claims if unsafe medications taken during pregnancy caused harm to the baby and proper warnings were not provided.
Less commonly, liability may also extend to triage staff who fail to prioritize critical patients, ambulance services or paramedics involved in emergency birth situations, or third-party contractors hired by hospitals to provide specialized services such as radiology or anesthesiology. Ultimately, determining the appropriate defendants in a birth injury case requires a thorough investigation into every individual and entity involved in the child’s prenatal and delivery care.
Compensation For Birth Injury Claims
Plaintiffs who bring birth injury lawsuits may be able to recover compensatory damages (i.e., money) for injuries suffered, including for:
- Pain and suffering and discomfort the child endures
- Loss of quality or enjoyment of life
- Inability to participate in normal childhood or adult activities
- Mental anguish/emotional distress
- Psychological trauma for both child and parents
- Loss of consortium/parental Impact
- Strain on family relationship
- Loss of companionship or affection
- Medical care expenses incurred or to be incurred
- Past, present, and future medical costs
- Hospital stays, surgeries, medications, and rehabilitation
- In-home nursing care and home modifications
- Cost of ongoing and future care
- Long-term therapies (physical, occupational, speech)
- Special education services and assistive technology
- Life care planning and structured trust funds
- Loss of future earning capacity
- Child’s inability to work in the future
- Parent’s time missed from work to care for the child
- Lost career opportunities for parents who become full-time caregivers
- Other out of pocket expenses
- Other possible birth injury lawsuit damages
Settlements or verdicts in birth injury cases can reach hundreds of thousands to several millions of dollars or more, depending on, among other things: the severity and permanence of the child’s injury, the cost of current and future medical treatment, the projected loss of earning capacity over the child’s lifetime, pain and suffering or emotional distress of the child and family, impact on quality of life and lifetime care needs of the child, the jurisdiction in which the birth injury case is in, the strength of medical evidence and expert testimony and the egregiousness of the medical provider’s deviation from the standard of care.
Parents and certain family and loved ones of children who died as a result of birth-related complications may be able to recover financial compensation from a birth injury wrongful death lawsuit case or settlement claim.
Wrongful death lawsuit damages might include pecuniary losses suffered by parents and other next of kin of the deceased child, such as loss of money or income, benefits, goods, services, and loss of society (i.e., the mutual benefits that each family member receives from the other’s continued existence, including love, affection, care, attention, companionship, comfort, guidance, and protection).
Time Is Limited To File A Birth Injury Lawsuit.
Deadlines known as statutes of limitation and statutes of repose may limit the amount of time that parents and loved ones have to file a birth injury lawsuit case to try to recover compensation for injuries suffered by their children due to medical negligence.
This means that if a birth injury lawsuit is not filed before the applicable time limit, a claimant may be barred from ever pursuing legal action regarding the birth injury claim. That is why it is important to connect with a birth injury lawyer or attorney as soon as possible.
If your child was injured or died at birth, you may be entitled to compensation from a birth injury lawsuit or settlement. Contact a birth injury lawyer to request a free case review.
*If you or a loved one are experiencing health issues or complications, we urge you to promptly consult with your doctor or physician for an evaluation.
**The listing of a company or product is not meant to state or imply that the company acted illegally or improperly or that the product is unsafe or defective; rather only that an investigation may be, is or was being conducted to determine whether legal rights have been violated.
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