What to Do if You Suspect Your Child’s Birth Injury Was Caused by Medical Malpractice

The birth of a child should be a joyful moment. When a baby experiences an unexpected injury, however, parents may suddenly find themselves facing medical uncertainty, mounting expenses, and difficult questions about what happened during pregnancy, labor, or delivery.

In the first hours and days after a suspected birth injury, protecting your child’s health should remain the priority. At the same time, the steps you take early on may help you understand what happened and preserve important information if you later discover that a medical professional’s negligence contributed to the injury.

You cannot prepare for every possible complication. However, knowing what records to request, what information to document, and when to seek additional guidance can help you make informed decisions for your child.

Understand That a Birth Injury Is Not Automatically Medical Malpractice

A birth injury may occur before, during, or shortly after delivery. Some injuries result from unavoidable complications, congenital conditions, infections, premature birth, or other factors that may not involve medical negligence.

Medical malpractice may be involved when a healthcare professional fails to provide the accepted level of care and that failure causes or worsens an injury. Depending on the circumstances, potentially negligent conduct could include:

• Failing to recognize signs of fetal distress
• Delaying a medically necessary cesarean delivery
• Improperly using forceps or a vacuum extractor
• Failing to diagnose or treat a maternal infection
• Failing to respond appropriately to an umbilical cord complication
• Administering the wrong medication or dosage
• Failing to properly monitor the mother or baby
• Delaying resuscitation or other necessary newborn treatment

Determining whether malpractice occurred generally requires a detailed review of the medical records by attorneys and qualified medical professionals. Parents should not assume that an injury proves negligence, but they also should not ignore unexplained complications or accept incomplete answers.

Learn What Happened During Labor and Delivery

Parents are often exhausted, frightened, or medicated during childbirth. Medical personnel may move quickly, and explanations may be brief or filled with unfamiliar terminology. It can be difficult to process what is happening in real time.

Ask the medical team to explain your child’s condition in clear terms. Consider asking:

• What injury or condition has been diagnosed?
• When did the complication first become apparent?
• What may have caused it?
• Were there changes in the fetal heart rate?
• Did the baby experience a lack of oxygen?
• Was an emergency delivery considered or performed?
• What treatments did the baby receive?
• What testing or follow-up care will be necessary?
• What is the anticipated short- and long-term outlook?

Write down the names and roles of the professionals who speak with you. When possible, have another trusted person present to take notes. You can also ask the provider to include explanations and care instructions in the discharge paperwork.

An Apgar score may provide information about a newborn’s condition immediately after birth by assessing factors such as heart rate, breathing, reflex response, muscle tone, and color. However, an Apgar score alone does not establish that malpractice occurred or predict an individual child’s long-term outcome.

Prioritize Immediate and Ongoing Medical Care

A potential legal claim should never take priority over necessary medical treatment. Follow the treating provider’s instructions and attend all recommended appointments with pediatricians, neurologists, therapists, and other specialists.

Depending on the injury, a child may benefit from physical therapy, occupational therapy, speech therapy, developmental services, medication, surgery, or assistive equipment. Early evaluations can help identify areas in which a child needs support.

Parents should also monitor their child’s development over time. Developmental milestones include the ways children play, learn, communicate, behave, and move. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention provides milestone information beginning at two months of age and recommends discussing concerns with a child’s doctor.

Seek urgent medical attention whenever your child appears to be experiencing an emergency. Do not wait for a scheduled appointment or an attorney’s guidance when your child needs immediate care.

Consider Seeking an Independent Medical Opinion

Parents do not have to rely exclusively on the hospital or provider involved in the delivery for answers. An independent pediatric specialist may offer another perspective on the diagnosis, likely cause, treatment options, and prognosis.

A second opinion can be particularly valuable when:

• The explanation for the injury is unclear or keeps changing
• Your child’s symptoms appear more serious than you were initially told
• Recommended treatments are not improving your child’s condition
• You are told that no additional testing is necessary despite ongoing concerns
• Different providers give conflicting accounts of what occurred
• You feel your questions are being dismissed

Be honest with each provider about your child’s medical history and current symptoms. The purpose of an independent evaluation is to obtain appropriate care and a clearer understanding, not to direct a doctor toward a predetermined conclusion.

Request Complete Medical Records

Medical records may be central to understanding what happened. Under the HIPAA Privacy Rule, patients and their authorized representatives generally have the right to inspect or obtain copies of their health information. Covered providers normally must act on an access request within 30 calendar days, although limited extensions may apply.

Ask for complete records for both the mother and child, not merely the discharge summary. Relevant materials may include:

• Prenatal records
• Maternal medical history
• Laboratory and imaging results
• Admission and triage records
• Medication administration records
• Physician and nursing notes
• Labor progression records
• Fetal monitoring strips
• Operative reports
• Anesthesia records
• Delivery-room records
• Apgar scores
• Umbilical cord blood gas results
• Neonatal resuscitation records
• NICU records
• Imaging studies
• Specialist consultations
• Discharge instructions
• Billing records

Ask whether fetal monitoring data, imaging files, and other electronic information must be requested separately. Keep copies of every request you submit and note when it was sent.

Do not alter, highlight, or write directly on original records. Save unmodified electronic copies and create separate working copies for your own notes.

Create a Written Timeline

Memories can fade quickly, especially during a traumatic and stressful period. As soon as you are able, write down what you remember about the pregnancy, labor, delivery, and your child’s treatment.

Include details such as:

• When contractions began or the mother’s water broke
• When you arrived at the hospital
• Symptoms reported to medical personnel
• Changes in the fetal heart rate that staff discussed
• Requests for a physician or additional evaluation
• Medications administered
• Discussions about inducing labor or performing a cesarean delivery
• When instruments such as forceps or a vacuum were used
• When the baby was delivered
• Whether the baby cried, breathed independently, or required resuscitation
• When the baby was transferred to the NICU
• Statements made by doctors, nurses, or other witnesses

Clearly distinguish what you personally observed from what someone else told you. Include approximate times when exact times are unavailable, but do not guess or add details you do not remember.

A contemporaneous timeline can help an attorney and medical reviewers compare your recollection with the hospital’s documentation.

Preserve Bills, Receipts, and Care Information

A serious birth injury can affect a child and family for years. Keep organized records of the financial and practical consequences of the injury, including:

• Hospital and physician bills
• Therapy expenses
• Prescription costs
• Medical equipment
• Transportation and lodging for appointments
• Home or vehicle modifications
• Childcare expenses
• Insurance statements and denial letters
• Time missed from work
• Educational or developmental services
• Evaluations of anticipated future care

Parents may also wish to keep a care journal describing appointments, symptoms, treatments, developmental concerns, and how the injury affects daily life. Keep the entries factual and date each one.

This information may help medical providers coordinate care. It may also help establish the extent of the child’s needs if a legal claim is later pursued.

Be Careful About Social Media and Recorded Statements

Sharing updates online may feel natural when friends and relatives are concerned. However, insurance companies, hospitals, and defense attorneys may review publicly available posts in an effort to challenge a claim.

Avoid posting detailed accusations, photographs of medical documents, descriptions of settlement discussions, or statements about your child’s prognosis. A seemingly harmless post may be taken out of context.

You may also be contacted by a hospital representative or insurance company seeking a statement or asking you to sign documents. You do not have to speculate about what caused the injury. Before signing a release, accepting compensation, or providing a recorded statement, consider speaking with an attorney who represents birth injury victims.

Speak With a Birth Injury Attorney as Soon aS Possible

Birth injury and medical malpractice laws vary by state. Deadlines known as statutes of limitations restrict how long families have to bring a claim. Although some states provide special rules for children, parents should not assume that they can wait until the child reaches adulthood. Notice requirements, deadlines involving government-run hospitals, and rules governing the parents’ own claims may apply much sooner.

The American Bar Association notes that every state imposes filing deadlines on injury claims and that missing the applicable deadline may prevent a case from proceeding.

An attorney can help determine which deadlines apply, obtain and preserve records, consult appropriate medical experts, identify potentially responsible parties, and evaluate the child’s current and future needs.

Contacting an attorney does not require you to file a lawsuit. It can simply help you understand your rights and make an informed decision before important evidence is lost or a deadline expires.

What Can a Birth Injury Claim Help a Family Recover?

The compensation available depends on the applicable law and the specific circumstances. A birth injury claim may seek recovery for losses such as:

• Past and future medical treatment
• Rehabilitation and therapy
• Assistive devices
• Home and vehicle modifications
• In-home nursing or attendant care
• Special education and developmental services
• Lost future earning capacity
• Pain and suffering
• Other injury-related losses

No attorney can guarantee that a claim will succeed or predict its value without investigating the facts. The child’s diagnosis, prognosis, treatment needs, available evidence, and state law can all affect the case.

Preparing Now Can Help You Protect Your Child Later

Parents dealing with a potential birth injury do not need to have every answer immediately. Focus first on getting your child appropriate care. Ask questions, request the records, document what you remember, and seek independent guidance when something does not seem right.

You should not have to investigate a complicated medical event alone. Morgan & Morgan’s birth injury attorneys can review the circumstances surrounding your child’s delivery and help determine whether medical negligence may have contributed to the injury.

Morgan & Morgan has the resources to take on hospitals, medical providers, and their insurance companies. Contact us today for a free, no-obligation case evaluation ro learn more about your legal options.