Birth Injury Lawyer in Tampa

Birth Injuries We Handle

A birth injury is harm a baby or mother sustains before, during, or shortly after delivery due to negligence. This is distinct from a birth defect, which arises from genetics or prenatal development. The conditions below represent the core areas we handle, each of which will be covered in depth on its own page.

• Cerebral palsy: Often caused by oxygen deprivation to the brain during labor or delivery, cerebral palsy can permanently affect motor function, cognitive development, and quality of life.
• Erb’s palsy (brachial plexus palsy): When the brachial plexus nerves are stretched or torn during delivery, typically in shoulder dystocia situations, the result can be partial or permanent paralysis of the arm.
• Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE): HIE occurs when the newborn’s brain is deprived of oxygen during labor or delivery. Complications can include seizures, respiratory damage, and long-term developmental impairment.
• Shoulder dystocia: When a baby’s shoulder becomes lodged behind the mother’s pubic bone during delivery, improper management can cause brachial plexus injury and dangerous oxygen deprivation.
• NICU errors: Medication mistakes, infection control failures, and monitoring failures after birth can worsen an existing injury or cause new harm to a fragile newborn.
• Other conditions: We also handle claims involving meconium aspiration syndrome, preeclampsia mismanagement, delayed or negligent C-section, forceps and vacuum extractor injuries, intracranial hemorrhage, and wrongful birth.

What Causes a Birth Injury Claim

Most birth injury claims trace back to a specific, identifiable failure by a healthcare provider. Florida law requires a qualified medical expert to confirm the deviation from the accepted standard of care under Fla. Stat. § 766.102. The following are among the most common negligence triggers our attorneys examine.

• Fetal distress monitoring failures: Failure to properly monitor fetal heart rate and recognize warning signs is one of the most frequent causes of preventable birth injury.
• Delayed or improper C-section: When vaginal delivery posed a known risk, failure to perform a timely C-section can result in oxygen deprivation or physical trauma to the baby.
• Improper instrument use: Forceps and vacuum extractors used incorrectly can cause facial nerve damage, skull fractures, or brachial plexus injury.
• Unmanaged maternal conditions: Failure to diagnose or treat preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, or Group B strep infection can directly harm both mother and child.
• Anesthesia errors: Mistakes during labor or C-section delivery carry serious risks for the mother and, in turn, the newborn.
• Failure to refer high-risk pregnancies: A provider who doesn’t escalate care to a specialist when circumstances warrant it may bear liability for the outcome.

Liable parties may include the delivering obstetrician, attending nurses and midwives, anesthesiologists, the hospital under respondeat superior (the legal principle holding employers responsible for employee negligence), and other providers involved in the patient’s care.