- Fractures: Bones broken during childbirth, typically caused by trauma or difficult deliveries. Some fractures may require medical intervention such as casting or surgery.
- Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE): Brain injury due to oxygen deprivation and reduced blood flow during childbirth; can lead to developmental delays, cognitive impairment, and lifelong challenges, requiring extensive medical care and support.
While some birth injuries result from complications or birth defects that cannot be avoided, some are entirely preventable if not for the negligence of treating medical professionals. When negligence is the underlying cause of a birth injury, families may have grounds to pursue a lawsuit.
Birth Injury Lawsuits & Medical Negligence: Do I Have a Case?
Birth injury lawsuits are civil legal actions brought against medical professionals and/or healthcare entities alleged to have caused preventable birth injuries. As claims based on medical malpractice, birth injury lawsuits require victims to prove a few essential legal elements. These include:
- Duty: Plaintiffs must prove that there was a legitimate doctor-patient relationship, and that the defendant owed them a duty of care.
- Breach of Duty: It must be shown that the defendant breached the standard of care, usually because of their negligence.
- Causation: To have a valid claim, plaintiffs must prove that the medical professional’s substandard care directly led to the birth injury.
- Damages: Victims must show that the birth injury resulted in physical, emotional, or financial harm.
Determining whether you have a viable birth injury case is very difficult. That’s because these are highly fact-specific matters that involve very technical legal and medical concepts. This includes the concept of medical negligence, which occurs when a healthcare professional fails to meet the “standard of care.” In Texas, the standard of care is defined generally as the level of care that a reasonably competent healthcare professional would provide under similar circumstances.
Some examples of medical negligence during childbirth include:
- Failure to monitor fetal distress signs during labor.
- Mismanagement of complications such as umbilical cord prolapse or shoulder dystocia.
- Improper use of medical instruments such as forceps or vacuum extractors.
- Administering incorrect doses of medication to the mother or newborn.
- Delayed or improper response to complications during delivery.
- Failure to perform a timely cesarean section when medically necessary.
For those without medical or legal training, it’s simply too difficult to assess when a provider fails to meet the standard of care, or when a provider’s substandard care rises to the level of actionable malpractice. To make these assessments, you need to have qualifications, training, and insight into current accepted standards and practices within a specific medical field, and the experience to determine when the essential claim elements listed above can be effectively proven.
At James Wood Law, we’ve focused exclusively on litigating medical malpractice cases for over six decades and know how to prove these elements. We also have connections to a network of medical professionals who help us evaluate quality-of-care issues, determine when providers deviated from the standard of care, and provide testimony that supports our clients’ claims.
Compensation for Birth Injury Victims in Midland, TX
In Texas, birth injury lawsuits allow plaintiffs to seek compensation for their damages, which may include:
- Medical Expenses: Compensation for past and future medical costs related to the birth injury, including hospitalization, surgeries, medications, therapy, assistive devices, and other necessary medical treatments.
- Pain and Suffering: Damages for the physical and emotional pain, trauma, and suffering endured by the child and their family due to the birth injury. This may encompass both past and future pain and suffering.
- Loss of Enjoyment of Life: Compensation for the loss of the ability to enjoy life's activities and experiences because of the birth injury, including limitations on mobility, social interactions, and recreational pursuits.
- Lost Earnings: If the birth injury results in long-term disability or impairment, compensation may be awarded for the loss of future earnings or earning capacity that the child would have otherwise attained.
- Punitive Damages: In cases of extreme recklessness, punitive damages may be awarded to punish the defendant and deter similar conduct in the future. However, punitive damages are rare and typically reserved for cases involving egregious negligence.
It's important to note that Texas imposes statutory caps on certain types of damages in medical malpractice cases, including birth injury lawsuits. Notably, this includes a cap on noneconomic damages, such as pain and suffering, mental anguish, and loss of companionship. The cap is adjusted annually for inflation and varies depending on the number of healthcare providers involved in the case. There are also caps on punitive damages. Should these apply to your case, we can discuss how they work.
How Long Do I Have to File a Birth Injury Lawsuit in Texas?
In Texas, the statute of limitations for filing a birth injury lawsuit is generally two years from the date of the injury or from the date when the injury should have been discovered through reasonable diligence (known as the discovery rule).
At James Wood Law, we encourage clients with potential birth injury claims to reach out to our team as soon as possible. That’s because there are exceptions and circumstances that can change the statute of limitations, and because failing to file within the statute of limitations will bar you from being able to recover damages. Taking prompt legal action also provides more time to thoroughly investigate a childbirth, preserve important evidence, and build a strong claim.
What If My Child’s Birth Injury Occurred at a Military Hospital?
If your child's birth injury occurred at a military hospital or clinic, you may still have options for pursuing compensation. The process for filing a claim against the federal government under the Federal Tort Claims Act (FTCA) differs from filing a lawsuit in state court, so it's essential to seek guidance from an attorney experienced medical malpractice actions in federal court. Our attorneys can discuss your options and how these cases work during a consultation.
Do I Need to Hire a Birth Injury Attorney?
While it's not legally required to hire a birth injury attorney, it's highly recommended. Birth injury cases are complex and require a thorough understanding of medical and legal principles. An experienced attorney can help you navigate the legal process, gather evidence, consult with medical experts, and advocate for your rights.
If you’re concerned about legal costs, you should know that many birth injury attorneys – including ours at James Wood Law – work on a contingency fee basis. This means we don’t charge fees to retain our services and that we only get paid if a successful recovery is made in your case. This arrangement gives individuals with viable claims, but without the funds to pursue them, the opportunity to pursue justice without upfront costs.
Call For a FREE Consultation: (505) 906-6774
At James Wood Law, we recognize that every birth injury case is unique, and we approach each one with the individualized attention and care it deserves. With a deep understanding of both medical and legal principles, our attorneys work tirelessly to hold negligent healthcare providers accountable for their actions and help families fight for the compensation they deserve.
If you have questions about a birth injury lawsuit anywhere in Midland County or beyond, our Midland birth injury attorneys are standing by to help. Call (505) 906-6774 or contact us online to request your FREE case evaluation.
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