Birth Injury Lawsuit Settlements

Quick Answer

Most birth injury lawsuits are resolved with a settlement instead of going to trial. A birth injury lawsuit settlement awards money to victims of birth injuries while saving the time, money, and risks of a trial. Many birth injuries are lifelong conditions and can require over $1 million in lifetime medical care. Birth injury settlements can help families cover these costs.

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What Is a Birth Injury Settlement?

Birth injury lawsuit settlements occur when the negligent health care providers that delivered the child (defendants) agree to pay a lump sum of compensation to the family of the injured child (plaintiff).

Birth injury settlements provide families with the financial aid needed to care for a child that suffered from a preventable birth injury. Some birth injury settlements have awarded millions of dollars to children and families in need.

Birth Injury Settlements Video Thumbnail

Learn how birth injury settlements, which average $1 million, can offer crucial financial support to families impacted by preventable harm during childbirth.

Duration: 1 min 23 sec

Most birth injury lawsuits are resolved with a settlement instead of going to trial.

A birth injury lawsuit settlement provides much-needed compensation to families of children with birth injuries without the risks and delays associated with a trial.

These settlements play a crucial role in ensuring justice for families affected by birth injuries.

Many birth injuries result in lifelong conditions that require extensive medical care over a child’s lifetime.

Birth injury settlements help families cover these substantial costs, providing financial support for the necessary care and treatments their child may need. The average medical malpractice settlement for a child under one month old is $1 million, according to the TDC Group.

At The Birth Injury Justice Center, we understand the financial burden families face when caring for their injured child.

Our team can connect you with experienced lawyers who’ve negotiated multiple birth injury settlements on behalf of their clients.

You don’t have to go through this alone. Together, we can help you pursue the financial resources needed to give your child the care they deserve. Contact us today to explore your legal options and learn how a birth injury settlement can make all the difference in your family’s life.

Working with an experienced birth injury lawyer can help increase the chances of a successful payout from your birth injury claim. A specialized lawyer can strengthen your case and help you get the compensation to pay for the treatment your child needs.

Get a free case review today to see if you qualify to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.

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A free case review is the first step in pursuing compensation for you and your family.

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Notable Birth Injury Lawsuit Settlements and Verdicts

Although each case varies, knowing what other families have won from a birth injury settlement or verdict can be helpful.

Birth Injury Justice Center partners with some of the best birth injury law firms in the country. Together, our partner law firms have helped families of children with birth injuries secure over $862 million.

Here are some birth injury lawsuit settlements and verdicts our legal partners have achieved:
  • $10.4 million for a Pennsylvania family

  • $9 million for an Alaska family

  • $8 million for a New York family

  • $7.8 million for a Florida family

  • $4.25 million for a California family

  • $950,000 for a New Jersey family

There are many elements that can affect birth injury lawsuit settlements. A skilled birth injury lawyer can help you estimate your potential case value and when you may get a payout.

What is the Average Birth Injury Settlement Amount?

The average birth injury settlement amount is estimated at about $1 million. This figure reflects a payout for children under 1 month old who have been affected by medical negligence during the birthing process.

However, it’s important to note that each case is unique, and compensation from birth injury lawsuit settlements can vary widely based on the specifics of the injury and other factors.

Factors Affecting Birth Injury Settlement Amounts

Birth injury lawsuit settlements vary depending on the specifics of each case. This is because they are meant to account for all potential costs to ensure plaintiffs are compensated fairly.

An experienced attorney can explain the factors that are likely to affect your potential settlement prior to filing your lawsuit.

Learn more about key factors that affect settlement amounts below.

Severity of the Birth Injury

The severity of your child’s condition directly impacts birth injury settlement amounts, with more severe injuries typically resulting in higher payouts. This is because the medical bills, cost of ongoing care, and decreased quality of life are usually greater with severe injuries.

Medical Expenses

A child sitting in a wheelchair wearing orthotic leg braces for cerebral palsy.If a preventable birth injury caused your child to develop a long-term disability, your settlement award should cover most or all of their medical expenses.

For example, children with severe birth injuries may require daily medications, several types of therapy, and more rigorous treatment such as surgery.

Your lawyer will determine your child’s estimated lifetime treatment costs and seek enough compensation to cover them.

Quality of Life

Birth injuries can greatly affect all aspects of a child’s life. Some patients require adaptive equipment to move independently. Homes may also need to be modified to fit a child’s needs. Without these changes, the child’s quality of life may suffer.

Lost Wages of Parents

Additionally, one or both of the child’s parents may have to quit their jobs to provide care, leading to a loss of income. While this can help manage the child’s immediate health care needs, caregiving duties and less money can place a lot of stress on families.

Which State the Baby Was Born In

Your birth injury settlement amount can vary based on the state where the harm occurred due to differing laws. Some states place caps on how much money people can be awarded in medical malpractice lawsuits. Therefore, birth injury settlement amounts could depend on the state where your baby was born.

Benefits of Birth Injury Lawsuit Settlements

Children with birth injuries such as a brain injury, cerebral palsy, and Erb’s palsy may require various long-term medical treatments to manage their conditions.

Birth injury lawsuit settlements can provide money to help pay for the life-changing birth injury treatments your child needs to have the best quality of life.

$1.65 Million

The estimated lifetime cost for caring for a child with cerebral palsy

Source: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) adjusted for 2023

Birth injury settlements can help cover costs such as:
  • Assistive devices
  • Lost wages if you miss work to provide care
  • Medications
  • Occupational therapy
  • Pain and suffering
  • Physical therapy
  • Special education
  • Speech therapy
  • Surgery
  • Transportation modifications
  • Other associated costs

Birth injury lawsuit settlements award families with compensation quicker than trial verdicts. Most lawyers will fight for a settlement instead of taking a case to trial since trials are costly, time-consuming, and risky. If the court does not rule in your favor, you may not win any compensation at all.

Birth injury lawsuit settlements also hold negligent doctors accountable for their actions. Although nothing can change what happened during your child’s birth, financial compensation from the parties responsible can give you a sense of justice.

Many families are unsure if medical negligence played a role in their child’s condition. This crucial question is often what guides families on whether to pursue compensation through birth injury lawsuit settlements.

If you have questions about whether you may be eligible for a birth injury settlement, our registered nurses can help. They can talk with you in confidence about whether a medical mistake could have caused your child’s condition.

Connect with one of our labor and delivery nurses now.

Nurse Beth Carter

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Call or chat with a caring, experienced nurse right now — we’re standing by to get you help and answers.

How to Pursue Birth Injury Settlements

To secure a birth injury settlement, you will first need to file a personal injury or wrongful death lawsuit. Working with a top birth injury law firm is often the best way to get started.

Attorneys at birth injury law firms can build a strong case that explains how your health care provider did not meet the standard of care. They will also lay out why your family deserves compensation for the harm done.

An experienced birth injury lawyer can:
  • File your lawsuit correctly within the statute of limitations
  • Gather testimonies, medical records, and other evidence to support your claim
  • Identify who is responsible for your child’s birth injury
  • Work on your behalf to negotiate the best possible birth injury settlement

Labor and Delivery Malpractice Cases

In birth injury medical malpractice cases, a settlement is usually reached before the case goes to court.

Birth injury lawsuit settlements occur when both sides agree on a compensation amount that the defendants will pay to cover the costs associated with the birth injury. If a settlement cannot be reached, the case may move forward into the trial phase.

Did you know

Birth injury settlements often include a non-disclosure agreement (NDA). This prevents the details of the settlement from becoming public.

Doctors or hospitals may insist that you sign an NDA so the incident does not affect their reputation.

Additionally, an NDA can be helpful if you want to keep the details of your child’s birth injury private.

An experienced birth injury lawyer can explain more about NDAs and whether you can expect to sign one if you achieve a settlement.

If your child may have been harmed by medical negligence, get a free consultation now — our advocates can help you start the settlement process if you qualify.

Get a Free Case Review

A free case review is the first step in pursuing compensation for you and your family.

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Pursue a Birth Injury Settlement Today

Doctors, nurses, and other health care professionals have a duty to safely deliver babies and navigate emergency birthing situations. Unfortunately, negligent actions in the delivery room can lead to birth injuries and lifelong disabilities.

You should not have to pay for your child’s treatment – especially if their birth injury could have been prevented. Birth injury lawsuit settlements can provide your family with the compensation needed to give your child a comfortable life.

Get a free case review today to find out if you can file a lawsuit and secure a birth injury settlement. Our caring patient advocates are standing by to help you.

Birth Injury Lawsuit Settlements FAQs

How much is a personal injury settlement worth?

Personal injury settlement amounts vary greatly due to factors such as the severity of the injury, long-term impact, and level of medical negligence involved. While some personal injury settlement amounts could be a few thousand dollars, severe cases can reach into the millions.

A skilled personal injury lawyer can help you estimate the potential value of your claim.

What is the average settlement for birth injury lawsuits?

Medical malpractice cases involving children under 1 month old award nearly $1 million on average, according to TDC Group (a physician-owned provider of medical malpractice insurance.) This money can be used to help cover the costs of caring for a child with disabilities.

How much does it cost to file a birth injury lawsuit?

Filing a birth injury lawsuit typically doesn’t require upfront costs, as the best birth injury lawyers work on a contingency fee basis. This means they only receive a payment if they win your case, taking a percentage of birth injury lawsuit settlements or court-awarded damages.

What are birth injuries due to negligence?

Birth injuries due to negligence occur when health care professionals fail to provide an acceptable standard of care during childbirth, leading to preventable harm like cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy, or brain damage. These injuries can cause lifelong harm to a child’s health and development.

Can you sue a hospital for traumatic birth?

Yes. If a hospital’s negligence resulted in a traumatic birth causing harm to your child, you may have grounds to file a lawsuit. For example, a hospital may be held responsible for the lack of training of an employee who caused harm to your child.

Who pays out a birth injury lawsuit settlement?

Birth injury lawsuit settlements are usually paid out by the insurance companies of the doctors, nurses, medical professionals, and/or hospitals that caused your child’s injury.

When will I receive money from a birth injury settlement?

It depends. All cases are different and can be resolved in different ways. A settlement offer can be made at any point in the lawsuit process. An experienced birth injury lawyer can help you get an idea of how much money you may receive and when you will be paid.

How do I get a birth injury lawsuit settlement?

The first step in pursuing a birth injury lawsuit settlement is finding an experienced lawyer to file your lawsuit before any applicable deadlines and build a strong medical malpractice case on your behalf. While there are no guarantees, working with a skilled attorney can increase your chances of obtaining a birth injury settlement.

Take the first step in the legal process and see if you can connect with a birth injury attorney through a free case review right now.

Birth Injury Support Team

The Birth Injury Justice Center was founded in 2003 by a team of legal professionals to educate and empower victims and families affected by birth injuries. Our team is devoted to providing you with the best resources and legal information for all types of birth injuries.

View Sources
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  2. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Data and statistics for Cerebral Palsy. (2020, December 31). Retrieved July 11, 2023, from https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/cp/data.html
  3. Pre-trial settlement percentage: Statistics on personal injury settlements. (2013, September 30). Retrieved July 11, 2023, from https://thelawdictionary.org/article/pre-trial-settlement-percentage-statistics-on-personal-injury-settlements/
  4. Ranum, D. (2019, March 20). Study of malpractice claims involving children. Retrieved July 11, 2023, from https://www.thedoctors.com/articles/study-of-malpractice-claims-involving-children/