Birth Injury Lawyer

Our birth injury attorneys have secured millions in birth injury settlements for our clients. Call us today to receive your free case evaluation.

Written and edited by our team of expert legal content writers and reviewed and approved by Daniel Harwin

Content last updated on:
August 22, 2023

A birth injury is defined as any injury to a child or fetus immediately before, during or just after the birthing process. Serious birth injuries often come with effects that last a lifetime and can even be fatal. There are many causes and mechanisms of injury, but many serious injuries are the direct result of negligence on behalf of doctors, hospitals or other care providers. If your baby was injured during birth, or immediately after, no matter what the circumstance, speak with an experienced attorney as soon as possible. Birth injury cases are extremely complex and it may not be immediately obvious who or what was responsible for the injuries to your child; and, doctors and nurses will usually not tell you that they made a mistake.

Common Types of Birth Injury

The two most common types of birth injury are hypoxic (lack of oxygen) brain injury and brachial plexus injury.

Hypoxic brain injury is also known as Hypoxic Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE). The stresses of labor can often result in a baby not getting enough oxygen during labor and delivery. This can happen: where labor is too long; where contractions are too strong; where contractions are too frequent; or, where there is inadequate resting time between contractions. The use of Pitocin or Oxytocin to induce or augment labor can cause this situation or make it worse. Through commonly used fetal heart monitoring devices, doctors, nurses and midwives can and should be able to recognize when baby is in distress and take immediate action.

If doctors and nurses don’t take immediate action when the baby is in distress, the results can be devastating. If the baby’s brain does not get enough oxygen, permanent brain damage can result. Babies with HIE often are transferred for cooling therapy if it is available in the area. Still, babies with HIE often have severe deficits including cerebral palsy. Children with cerebral palsy may need a lifetime of full-time care.

Brachial plexus injury is another common birth injury. It results where a baby’s shoulder essentially gets stuck in the birth canal and that condition is known as Shoulder Dystocia. If properly handled, the baby can usually be delivered by the doctor without injury. If the doctor or nurse midwife applies too much force during the delivery, it can cause the nerves to stretch and be permanently injured. A medical mistake can lead to a brachial plexus injury resulting in numbness, weakness, or partial or total loss of use of the arm. Brachial Plexus injury is also known as Erb’s Palsy.

Causes of Birth Injury

Birth injuries can be caused by what a doctor or nurses failed to do during birth or what they actually did. A failure to recognize the signs of fetal distress, or a delay in taking the appropriate actions, is one of the most common ways birth injuries occur. Also, failing to recognize the signs of complications that warrant delivering the baby via C-section often cause needless brain damage to babies before they are born.

Doctors or nurses may also cause injuries due to an improper use of delivery tools during labor. Using forceps too aggressively, or improperly using extraction devices, can injure vulnerable babies during delivery. In addition, using an obstetrical device such as a vacuum too many times can cause a traumatic injury to the baby’s head.

Signs Your Baby May Have Suffered a Birth Injury

Some signs that your baby may have suffered an injury during birth may not be immediately obvious.

Delayed development, cerebral palsy, shoulder dystocia, a lack of muscle coordination, muscle spasms, and diminished depth perception may take time to become apparent, but such injuries may be the result of birth trauma. These injuries are often severe and may cause your child difficulties throughout life.

Limited Time to File Claims

Florida law provides that an action for medical malpractice resulting in birth injury MUST be brought within 2 years from the time the incident occurred or should have been discovered with the exercise of due diligence. In no case may an action be brought more than the later of 4 years or the child’s eighth birthday even if the incident was not reasonably discovered before that time.

NICA

Florida’s NICA (The Florida Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Association) was created by a law in Florida which may or may not prevent you from suing doctors, hospitals and nurses. In our experience the amounts paid by the NICA program are a small fraction of what you might recover from a successful lawsuit and also a fraction of the real cost of properly caring for a disabled child. Even if you signed a NICA waiver it may be possible for you to bring a lawsuit. We have experience in avoiding NICA if the doctor or hospital did not give the appropriate notice under Florida law. Our experienced lawyers at Freedland Harwin Valori, PL can advise you competently on that issue and help you protect your child’s rights.

The attorneys of Freedland Harwin Valori, PL have the knowledge to help you determine whether you have a case and navigate the NICA process. In almost every case, the best advice is to seek professional consultation on a birth injury claim as soon as you suspect a birth injury.

Proven Results

Birth injury cases are often complex and benefit from specific expertise when seeking the compensation for medical expenses that may well last a lifetime. Freedland Harwin Valori, PL has successfully helped clients ensure their children’s future. While money alone can never replace what a child may lose at birth, providing for his or her future medical expenses is vital to ensuring the best care possible. Call us today for a free consultation.

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ALL FIELDS REQUIRED

CASE RESULTS

$24.5 Million

MEDICAL MALPRACTICE

JURY VERDICT

Damages Jury Verdict on behalf of the family of a 34-year-old woman who bled to death during childbirth. With the assistance of top experts, we were able to demonstrate that doctors did not follow proper safety protocols, forcing the defendants to admit liability shortly before trial.

$12.2 Million

PHARMACEUTICAL LIABILITY

SETTLEMENT

A settlement won on behalf of the family of a 47 year old woman whose death resulted from the use of a dangerous pharmaceutical drug. We proved the manufacturer knew of the dangerous side effects & did not provide proper warning.

$10 Million

BIRTH INJURY

SETTLEMENT

A settlement on behalf of a child who suffered a brain injury as a result of oxygen deprivation during birth. Through years of tactical and technical litigation, we were able to prove that the nurses and physicians both failed to intervene and prevent the brain injury.

$1.2 Million

MOTOR VEHICLE ACCIDENT

SETTLEMENT

A settlement on behalf of a middle-aged man who was read ended by a waste management truck.

$1.5 Million

NURSING HOME NEGLIGENCE

SETTLEMENT

A settlement on behalf of the family of an elderly man who died as a result of being neglected and uncared for by a nursing home.

TESTIMONIALS

I met Dan when I was in therapy and he came and right away it felt like a family member visiting you, a connection, like a brother. He’s been on both sides of the fence. He’s represented the hospitals and the doctors, and then he jumped over to the other side. It is a fantastic group, it was like Bell Belichick leading the team. They changed my life and still check on me. I recommend FHV to anybody and they thank me.

LARRY

I met Dan about a year ago. He never made me feel that it was about the money. When he spoke with me he was asking how Bill (my brother) was and if he was doing better. He made me feel like family and always asked if I was alright. That means a lot. Everyday is something new and I challenge for my brother. I would recommend [FHV] to everybody because I really believe that they’re helping from their hearts… from a really good place.

BILL

For anyone to represent anyone for 5 years and take the time to do it, not once just “get it out of the way” and “get it done with”. It was about what was best for Hunter and our family. It was about the case and the people.

ASHLEY