Birth Injury Lawyer in Harris County, Texas | Todd E. Webb, Esq.

Birth injuries in Harris County cause devastating, lifelong consequences when medical negligence during pregnancy, labor, or delivery results in preventable harm to newborns and mothers. These tragic injuries, including cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy, brain damage, and oxygen deprivation, often stem from physician errors, delayed cesarean sections, improper use of forceps or vacuums, or failure to monitor fetal distress. Families face overwhelming medical expenses, specialized care needs, and emotional trauma. An experienced Harris County birth injury lawyer can hold negligent healthcare providers accountable, investigate medical malpractice thoroughly, and fight for maximum compensation, ensuring that injured children receive lifetime care and families obtain the justice they deserve.

Birth Injury Statistics

Birth injuries result from six to eight out of every 1000 live births in the United States. Roughly 30,000 babies are affected by injuries that they sustained during childbirth. These injuries can range from minor to severe lifelong challenges. Even when a child suffers a so-called minor birth injury, your family may still seek compensation in a lawsuit because the baby has been affected for some amount of time. 

Birth Injuries That Can Lead to a Lawsuit

Any type of injury that your child suffers because of a doctor’s negligence can be grounds for a birth injury lawsuit. Common birth injuries that are an issue in a lawsuit include the following:

• Cerebral palsy
• Erb’s palsy and brachial plexus injuries
• Brain damage and hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) 
• Skull fractures
• Spinal cord injuries
• Facial paralysis

When Does a Birth Injury Become Medical Malpractice?

There are times when a child is born with a defect. These circumstances are not considered to be medical malpractice because they would have happened regardless of what the doctor did or did not do. Birth injuries become medical malpractice when your child’s injury was caused by the fact that the doctor failed to exercise reasonable care under the circumstances.

In any medical malpractice case, you must prove that the doctor did not act as an ordinary medical professional would have done. The doctor is held to the standard of the average practitioner in their field, and they are not expected to be an expert. 

The following are examples of errors and omissions that could be considered medical malpractice in a birth injury case:

• Failure to monitor fetal distress before and during delivery.
• Failure to perform an immediate cesarean section procedure when the baby is experiencing any type of distress.
• Not accounting for any potential complicating factors that could make a delivery more difficult.
• Careless or improper use of delivery instruments.
• Negligent administration of medication to the mother during the labor and delivery process.

Defendants in a Birth Injury Lawsuit

The obstetrician is the most common defendant in a birth injury lawsuit. They are often the ones who have made a fateful mistake that has changed the course of your child’s life. When you sue a doctor, you can typically also hold their employer accountable through vicarious liability principles. You can also hold anyone else who played a role in the injury legally responsible for what happened. For example, if the injury resulted from improper administration of medication, you may be able to file a lawsuit against the anesthesiologist. 

How Do I Prove My Case in a Birth Injury Lawsuit in Harris County?

Any type of medical malpractice case can be difficult to prove. You must go back in time to the doctor’s office or labor and delivery room and show what the doctor did and why it departed from the duty of care that they owed to your child. Even when you have medical records, there is far more that you need to do to be in a position to prove your case.

Birth injury attorneys work with expert witnesses to reconstruct what the doctor did and compare it with what they should have done. These experts provide you with a valuable starting point for your case, but you still need more. When you file a birth injury lawsuit, your case will go through a discovery process where your birth injury lawyer will be able to speak directly with the doctor and other witnesses to formalize their side of the story. Further, your birth injury lawyer will be able to present evidence and cross-examine witnesses at trial to further distill their story. 

What Compensation Can I Recover in a Birth Injury Lawsuit?

Although there is no such thing as an “average value” of a birth injury lawsuit, chances are that the compensation that your child can receive is very high. Remember that they will be dealing with their injury for perhaps the rest of their life.

Birth injury compensation follows the same general principle as every other personal injury case. Your child and your family may be paid for all of the damages that they have suffered, whether they were financial or intangible. 

Birth injury compensation may include the following:

• Medical expenses to treat your child’s condition.
• Lost wages that your child could have earned over the course of their lifetime, and that you must forgo to care for your child.
• The cost of special adaptive medical equipment necessary for your child’s well-being.
• Special education expenses if your child cannot receive normal schooling.
• Pain and suffering that your child must endure over the course of their lifetime.

If the doctor made an egregious and serious error, your family may even seek punitive damages in a lawsuit. The prospect of these damages can give you more leverage in settlement negotiations because the defendant may be afraid to face the jury.

Why Birth Injury Lawsuits May Be Difficult

Any type of medical malpractice case presents a greater level of difficulty than a “standard” personal injury action. You are already dealing with a lawsuit that is scientifically intensive and requires you to overcome the natural credibility that a physician may have in front of a jury.

Because birth injury lawsuits may result in very high compensation, the defendant has even more motivation to fight harder. Even if the defendant knows that they are liable, they may be difficult in settlement negotiations, making modest offers. For the sake of your child and family, it is vital that you fight through these difficulties with the help of a birth injury attorney. 

Frequently Asked Questions About Birth Injury Lawsuits