The birth of a child should be one of the happiest moments of a person’s life, but when something goes wrong, it can quickly turn into one of the worst.
When delivery room doctors, nurses, and other medical professionals make mistakes or act negligently, infants and mothers can suffer severe, life-altering injuries. In more extreme cases, medical negligence can lead to the death of an unborn or newborn child.
Dealing with a birth injury lawsuit can be complicated, which is why our attorneys are here to provide the support and guidance you need through each step of the process. We can help you understand your legal options, including your right to recover compensation.
How Birth Injuries Happen: Common Medical Errors
Not every difficult birth results in a birth injury, but when medical professionals fail to meet the standard of care expected of them, the consequences can be devastating. Errors made during labor and delivery are among the most common causes of preventable birth injuries, and understanding how they occur can help families recognize when something may have gone wrong.
Delivery rooms present fast-moving, high-stakes situations that demand constant vigilance. When healthcare providers fail to act appropriately, or act too slowly, infants and mothers pay the price.
Some of the most frequently seen medical errors in birth injury cases include:
- Failure to monitor fetal heart rate
- Delays in ordering an emergency C-section
- Improper use of delivery tools like forceps or vacuum extractors
- Failure to recognize and treat umbilical cord complications
- Medication errors before or during labor
It is also worth noting that birth injuries do not always stem from a single dramatic mistake. In some cases, a series of smaller oversights can compound over time, ultimately resulting in a serious injury that may not become apparent for days or even years.
What Are the Different Types of Birth Injuries?
Despite modern advances in the delivery and birth process, medical professionals can and do still make mistakes. In some cases, attending nurses or hospital staff act negligently, leading to serious birth injuries that can affect both the infant child and the mother.
Some common birth injuries that affect infants include:
- Birth asphyxia and other forms of oxygen deprivation
- Cerebral palsy, which often results from a lack of oxygen during birth
- Cephalohematoma, or bruising that occurs between outer layers of skin and the brain
- Brachial plexus injuries, which typically affect the shoulders, hands, and arms
- Erb’s palsy, which often results in complete paralysis of one arm
- Shoulder dystocia (the infant’s shoulders become lodged behind the pelvic bone)
- Vacuum extraction and/or forceps injuries, including bruises, broken bones, and more
- Persistent pulmonary hypertension of the newborn (PPHN) due to lack of oxygen
Common birth injuries affecting mothers include:
- Uterine rupture
- Prolapsed uterus
- Perineal tears
- Hemorrhaging
- C-section errors
- Abnormal uterine bleeding
- Preeclampsia/eclampsia
- Infection
Birth injuries often occur when delivery room doctors and nurses fail to properly monitor an infant’s heart rate or fail to order a timely C-section. However, birth injuries can occur for a wide variety of reasons, including mistakes made during delivery, poor pregnancy care, medication errors, and much more. Our firm can help you investigate the cause.
Understanding the Long-Term Impact of a Birth Injury
The effects of a birth injury can last a lifetime, shaping a child’s development, independence, and quality of life in profound ways. Conditions like cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy, and infant brain injuries often require years of therapy, specialized medical equipment, and around-the-clock care that places enormous financial and emotional strain on families.
According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, cerebral palsy is the most common motor disability in childhood and is frequently associated with damage to the developing brain during or around the time of birth. Children with severe forms of the condition may require lifelong assistance with everyday tasks and may never live independently. These long-term realities are exactly why pursuing full and fair compensation matters so much for affected families.
Beyond the physical and medical challenges, birth injuries can also affect a child’s ability to learn, communicate, and participate in social activities. Families often face not only immediate medical bills, but also costs for ongoing physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, assistive devices, and specialized educational services over the course of their child’s life.
Who Can Be Held Responsible for a Birth Injury?
One of the most common questions families ask is who is actually responsible when a birth injury occurs. The answer depends on the specific facts of each case, and in many situations, more than one party may share liability. Our birth injury attorneys in Indianapolis thoroughly investigate every case to identify all responsible parties.
In many birth injury cases, the delivering physician or obstetrician is the primary at-fault party, particularly when poor decision-making or a lack of timely action contributed to the injury. However, hospital nursing staff can also be held accountable for failing to properly monitor a mother or infant during labor. Additionally, medical device manufacturers may face liability when defective tools, such as forceps or vacuum extractors, cause harm during delivery. Pharmaceutical companies may share responsibility if a medication prescribed or administered during pregnancy or labor was unsafe.
Identifying the full scope of liability is critical to ensuring that a family receives the compensation they truly deserve, rather than an incomplete recovery that falls short of covering their actual losses.
Birth Injuries vs. Birth Defects: What’s the Difference?
Birth defects typically form early during or before the pregnancy, usually because of genetics, maternal or paternal health problems, infection, or other issues. A birth injury, on the other hand, occurs because something went wrong during the baby’s birth.
What Compensation May Be Available in a Birth Injury Case?
Families who pursue a birth injury lawsuit in Indiana may be entitled to recover a wide range of damages depending on the severity of the injury and the circumstances of the case. Compensation is not limited to past medical bills; it can also account for the full, ongoing financial impact that a birth injury places on a family over time.
Damages commonly sought in birth injury cases include current and future medical expenses, costs for therapy and rehabilitation, specialized educational support, lost earning capacity for the child in adulthood, pain and suffering, emotional distress, and loss of enjoyment of life. In cases involving particularly egregious conduct, punitive damages may also be available. Our medical malpractice attorneys work with medical and financial professionals to build a complete picture of your family’s losses and fight for the full compensation you deserve.
No amount of money can undo the harm your child has suffered, but holding negligent parties accountable can provide your family with the resources needed to get the best possible care and prevent the same thing from happening to another family in the future.
Indiana’s Statute of Limitations for Birth Injury Claims
Time is an important factor in any birth injury case, and Indiana law places strict deadlines on when a claim must be filed. In Indiana, medical malpractice claims, including those involving birth injuries, are generally subject to a two-year statute of limitations. However, there are important exceptions that may apply when the injured party is a minor, which can extend the time to file.
Because the rules surrounding these deadlines can be complex and fact-specific, it is always advisable to consult with an attorney as soon as possible after discovering a potential birth injury. Waiting too long can jeopardize a family’s ability to pursue compensation, even if the injury is clear and the negligence is evident. Our attorneys can help you understand how Indiana’s statutes apply to your specific situation.
Do not assume that because time has passed, your options are gone. Reach out to our team to discuss the details of your case and find out where you stand.
Seeking Compensation for a Birth Injury
If your child suffered a serious injury, such as shoulder dystocia or hypoxia, or they were diagnosed with a condition like cerebral palsy or Erb’s palsy after a difficult pregnancy, labor, or delivery, he or she may have suffered what is known as a birth injury.
A birth injury not only alters the course of your child’s life (as well as your own), but it can also result in a serious financial burden for families. Medical bills are pricey, and depending on the severity of the injury, care may be required for the rest of the child’s life.
In most birth injury cases, the doctor, nurse, or hospital may be liable for your child’s injury. Drug or medical device manufacturers may also share responsibility. When you contact Wagner Reese, we can help you explore your options for financial compensation.
Why Choose Wagner Reese?
For more than 20 years, Wagner Reese has been helping individuals and families affected by medical malpractice throughout the state of Indiana. Our personal injury lawyers in Indianapolis have over 150+ years of combined experience and have earned a reputation for winning results. We have recovered millions of dollars on behalf of victims of birth trauma, allowing families to heal and children to receive the crucial medical care they needed.
If your child was injured during delivery or was diagnosed with a serious condition as a result of a birth injury, we encourage you to reach out to our firm as soon as possible. We offer free initial consultations and contingent fees, so there is absolutely no cost for you. We also offer legal services in Spanish, if needed.
