Birth injuries can shatter dreams in an instant. When medical professionals make preventable mistakes during childbirth, families face an altered reality filled with extraordinary medical bills, specialized care needs, and countless unanswered questions about their child’s future.
At Schochor, Staton, Goldberg and Cardea, P.A., our attorneys help Prince George’s County families uncover the truth about what happened during delivery, identify those responsible, and secure the financial resources needed for both immediate treatment and lifetime care.
Role of a Birth Injury Lawyer
Compassionate Legal Guidance
Families facing the reality of a birth injury need more than cold legal advice—they need understanding advocates who recognize both the emotional and practical challenges ahead.
Our attorneys take time to listen to your concerns, explain your options in straightforward terms, and develop legal strategies aligned with your family’s specific needs and values.
Investigating and Determining Liability
Attorneys with specialized experience in these cases know exactly what to look for when reviewing medical records, including subtle warning signs that healthcare providers may have missed or ignored during labor and delivery.
This process involves:
- Obtaining and analyzing complete prenatal, labor, delivery, and postnatal records
- Consulting with respected medical experts who can identify deviations from the standard of care
- Interviewing witnesses, including other healthcare providers who were present
- Examining hospital protocols and comparing them to actions taken during your child’s birth
Explaining Rights Under Maryland Law
Maryland maintains specific legal frameworks for addressing birth injuries that Bowie families must understand to protect their rights fully.
- Malpractice Requirements: Maryland law imposes several unique requirements for medical malpractice claims, including the certificate of qualified expert and specific procedures for filing with the Health Care Alternative Dispute Resolution Office (HCADRO).
- Wrongful Death Statutes: When birth injuries prove fatal, Maryland Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 3-904 allows certain family members to seek compensation for their loss. These claims follow distinct procedures and timelines compared to non-fatal injury cases.
Managing Insurance and Legal Procedures
Birth injury attorneys handle all procedural aspects of your claim, allowing you to focus on your child’s care rather than paperwork and legal deadlines. This includes:
- Filing Insurance Claims: Attorneys communicate directly with malpractice insurers, preventing common tactics used to minimize compensation.
- Managing Legal Documents: From the initial filing with the HCADRO to discovery requests and motions, birth injury cases involve substantial documentation that requires precision and attention to detail.
- Certificate of Merit: Maryland Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 3-2A-04 requires obtaining a certificate from a qualified medical expert confirming that healthcare providers failed to meet accepted standards and directly caused the injury. This certificate must be filed within 90 days of the initial claim.
Building a Strong Negligence Case
Experienced attorneys build persuasive cases by:
- Gathering Compelling Evidence: Beyond medical records, attorneys collect fetal monitoring strips, hospital policies, staffing records, and other documentation that helps demonstrate exactly how and why care fell below acceptable standards.
- Securing Expert Testimony: Medical specialists explain technical aspects of proper care during childbirth, identifying precisely where healthcare providers made mistakes and how these errors caused specific injuries.
Negotiating Settlements or Litigating Aggressively
While many birth injury cases may be resolved through settlement negotiations, achieving fair compensation requires attorneys prepared to take cases to trial when necessary. This dual approach includes:
- Strategic Settlement Negotiations: Attorneys present compelling evidence and damages calculations to insurance representatives, positioning your case for maximum compensation without prolonged litigation.
- Effective Courtroom Advocacy: When settlement offers prove inadequate, experienced trial lawyers present your case persuasively to judges and juries, humanizing your family’s experience while explaining medical evidence clearly and convincingly.
Providing Emotional and Legal Support
Throughout the legal process, birth injury attorneys serve as both legal advocates and supportive allies. They understand the unique challenges families face when caring for children with birth injuries and provide resources, connections to support groups, and regular updates that help reduce stress during an already difficult time.
Common Causes of Birth Injuries in Maryland
Delayed Emergency C-Section
When complications arise during labor, timely cesarean delivery often prevents permanent injury. Delays typically occur when hospital staff fails to recognize urgent situations, communication breakdowns occur between nurses and physicians, or facilities lack adequate surgical resources.
These preventable delays can result in hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), a serious brain injury caused by oxygen deprivation that often leads to cerebral palsy, intellectual disabilities, or seizure disorders.
Improper Use of Delivery Tools
When labor progresses slowly, physicians sometimes employ forceps or vacuum extractors to assist delivery. While these instruments can be necessary in certain situations, improper application causes numerous preventable injuries.
Forceps applied with excessive force can fracture an infant’s skull, damage facial nerves, or cause intracranial bleeding. Vacuum extractors used incorrectly may lead to scalp injuries, subgaleal hematomas (blood collection beneath the scalp), or brain hemorrhages.
Excessive Force or Shoulder Dystocia Mismanagement
Shoulder dystocia occurs when an infant’s shoulder becomes lodged behind the mother’s pubic bone during delivery. This emergency requires specific maneuvers to free the baby without causing injury.
When physicians apply excessive traction to the head and neck rather than following established protocols, brachial plexus nerves can tear or stretch, resulting in Erb’s palsy or similar conditions.
Failure to Monitor Fetal Vital Signs
Throughout labor, medical staff must vigilantly track fetal heart rate patterns to detect signs of oxygen deprivation or distress.
When healthcare providers miss warning signs on fetal monitoring equipment or fail to communicate concerns promptly, babies may suffer preventable brain damage resulting in birth asphyxia.
Medication or Anesthesia Errors
Mistakes in medication administration during labor or delivery can cause severe injuries. Improper dosing of labor-inducing drugs like Pitocin can cause excessive contractions that restrict fetal oxygen supply.
Similarly, anesthesia errors may compromise maternal blood pressure, affecting placental blood flow and fetal oxygenation.
Untreated Infections or Maternal Complications
Failure to identify and address maternal conditions like preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, or infections can lead to serious complications during delivery. When physicians miss these conditions or fail to appreciate their severity, both mothers and babies face preventable risks.
