English 
Spanish Welcoming a new baby is a joyous life event. So, it is unfortunate when preventable medical mistakes complicate the baby’s delivery, seriously injuring them. Suddenly, the baby’s health is on the line, and the family may not know where to turn or what an injury means for their child’s future.
If you or a loved one is in a similar situation, filing a medical malpractice claim for a birth-related injury may be the next step to take. A personal injury attorney who handles obstetric negligence can review your legal options for holding the medical professional or facility financially liable for your injuries and damages.
What Qualifies as Medical Malpractice in a Birth Injury Lawsuit Case?
If you experienced any of the following before, during, or after a pregnancy or childbirth, you might be able to seek legal action with a medical malpractice lawsuit:
- Anesthesia errors
- Misdiagnosis
- Missed diagnosis
- Failure to recognize problematic symptoms
- Failure to order the proper testing
- Misreading, misinterpreting, or ignoring test or lab results
- Improper treatment
- Failure to warn of known risks
- Operating on the wrong site
- Medication errors
- Medical device errors or equipment failures
- Hospital infections
A birth injury lawyer will investigate what happened and led up to the birth injury. They also can review the patient’s medical records to determine if medical malpractice during pregnancy occurred, such as negligent prenatal care.
Common birth injuries in medical malpractice cases include:
- Breech birth complications
- Cerebral palsy
- Fetal oxygen deprivation (fetal distress)
- Traumatic brain injury (TBI)
- Shoulder dystocia
- Forceps bruising, injuries
- Brachial plexus injuries (Erb’s palsy)
- Fractures (e.g., skull fractures, clavicle fractures, collarbone fractures)
- Failure to monitor life-threatening infant medical conditions (e.g., respiratory distress)
- Failure to perform a necessary C-section
How Do Medical Malpractice Claims for Birth Injuries Work?
Birth trauma cases are often complex and require an in-depth understanding of the medical and legal professions. You should hire an attorney with experience with medical malpractice cases, as they differ from other personal injury cases.
Required Elements of a Birth Injury Compensation Claim
Before you can sue for a birth-related injury, you must first establish that medical negligence occurred. It will require proving the following elements:
- A doctor-patient relationship existed between the medical professional and the birthing parent. This relationship is easy to establish if the birthing parent and their baby received direct medical care from the professional or facility during childbirth.
- The medical professional or healthcare facility acted negligently, breaching their duty of care. All medical professionals have a legal obligation to treat their patients with care that is in line with the accepted standard of care in their field. They have a legal obligation to follow guidelines and ethics that keep patients safe.
- The breach harmed the patient, directly causing a birth-related injury. This element requires the patient to prove the health care professional’s careless or reckless actions “more than likely” caused them harm.
- As a result of the injury, the patient suffered financial and non-financial losses. Here, the patient must demonstrate how the injuries led to losses and/or more expenses. These losses can also include physical and mental pain and suffering, medical bills for further medical treatment needed to address the injury, impaired quality of life, and other losses.
An attorney can review your situation and identify if your case has these four elements. They will also know what evidence and documentation you need to present a strong case and the procedural rules your case must follow.
How a Medical Malpractice Attorney Can Lead Your Birth Injury Lawsuit
The attorney or personal injury law firm representing you can take care of your entire case while you take care of your baby. They can:
- Collect, assemble, and review evidence to prove negligence caused the birth injury
- Identify all potentially liable parties that could owe you financial compensation
- Assess your economic and non-economic losses and determine how much money to seek from the liable parties (e.g., medical expenses, income loss, lost earning ability, pain and suffering, loss of consortium)
- File a birth injury compensation claim to cover your losses
- Lead talks for a favorable settlement
- File a lawsuit and seek to recover damages at trial if they cannot settle your case
You Have a Limited Time to File a Birth Injury Compensation Claim
Birth injuries affect the child, the birthing parent, and their families. These injuries can be emotionally and mentally trying and require full attention on recovery. The courts, however, require plaintiffs to pay attention to the calendar when it comes to injury cases.
You can talk to an attorney to confirm how long you have to file your case. Your state’s statute of limitations deadline typically sets the filing deadline. In California, plaintiffs suing for birth trauma injuries have three years from the injury date or one year after discovering the medical issue to file legal action, per CCP § 340.5. If the child brings a lawsuit forward, they have until their eighth birthday.
Want Help With a Medical Malpractice Birth Injury Claim? We Can File It for You
Suing for medical malpractice after a birth injury can help families seek justice for their child and recover financial compensation for their child’s care, which they may need for a long time or the rest of their lives.
If you believe medical negligence caused your baby’s injuries, KJT Law Group can represent you and take on the insurance provider to recover the monetary compensation that helps your family recover. Call us today at (818) 507-8525 for a free, private consultation. Our supportive team will give you straightforward legal counsel and handle your entire birth-related injury claim or lawsuit for you.
