Birth Injuries Overview
Birth Injuries Resources
What is a Birth Injury?
Birth injuries refer to the many types of injuries sustained by babies during pregnancy or the delivery process. During a pregnancy, a fetus may be harmed if a doctor prescribes and the mother ingests some medicine that is not safe for pregnant women. The fetus may also be injured if a physician does not properly detect and treat certain complications that arise during the pregnancy.
The delivery process also poses certain risks for babies. Babies may experience difficulty exiting the birth canal. Babies may experience distress if the labor becomes too prolonged. Babies also risk suffocation if they become entangled with their umbilical cords. Likewise, how a physician assesses and treats these complications can determine whether or not the baby avoids a birth injury.
Are Medical Professionals Liable for All Birth Injuries?
Not all birth injuries will result in a successful medical malpractice claim. For such a claim to succeed, the parents of the injured child must establish that the health care provider acted negligently during the pregnancy or child birth, and that such negligence was the proximate cause of the birth injury and damages. Because the pregnancy and delivery process involves many health care professionals and different forms of treatment, potential defendants in a birth injury case may include a primary care doctor, nurse, anesthesiologist, obstetrician, pharmacist, hospital, and drug manufacturer, as well as any other parties involved in the delivery of care.
In short, to be successful on a birth injury medical malpractice claim, the plaintiff must show:
- a health care provider owed the injured party a duty of care (which is shown by evidence that the plaintiff sought care, treatment or services from the health care provider),
- a health care provider breached the duty of care (which is shown by evidence that the health care provider failed to provide services meeting the standard of care practiced within the relevant medical community), and
- the breach caused the birth injury and damages.
Like other types of medical malpractice cases, birth injury cases rely on expert testimony regarding the relevant medical standard of care and an opinion of whether the health care provider met the standard.
Typically, the injured baby's parents will file the birth injury lawsuit on the baby's behalf. Any recovery is usually placed into a trust account for the baby.
What Law Governs Birth Injuries?
In the United States, state laws govern birth injury law, as a subset of medical malpractice and tort law. Under the auspices of tort reform, many states have limited the amount of recovery available in medical malpractice cases, including birth injury claims.