Birth Injury Lawsuit Settlements

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.

Source: TDC Group study

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.

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.

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.

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

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.

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

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.

TALK TO OUR REGISTERED NURSE

Beth C., RN18+ Years Experience

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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.

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.

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.

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.