Childbirth should mark one of life’s most treasured moments for Frederick families. Yet when medical providers make preventable errors during pregnancy, labor, or delivery, this joyful occasion can transform into the beginning of a difficult journey. Birth injuries caused by medical negligence can result in lifelong disabilities requiring extensive care and treatment.

A Frederick birth injury lawyer from Schochor, Staton, Goldberg and Cardea, P.A. provides valuable legal support for families whose children have suffered preventable birth injuries. Our attorneys help parents secure financial compensation while holding negligent medical providers accountable for their actions.

Understanding Birth Injury Claims in Frederick, Maryland

Birth injury claims represent a distinct subcategory of medical malpractice law with unique characteristics and requirements. Recognizing how these claims function under Maryland law is the first step toward securing justice for your child.

Birth Injuries as Medical Malpractice

Birth injury claims occur when medical professionals fail to provide the appropriate standard of care during pregnancy, labor, or delivery, resulting in preventable harm to the infant or mother. Unlike general medical malpractice cases, birth injury claims frequently involve:

  • Longer timeframes for recovery projections
  • Multiple potentially responsible healthcare providers
  • Specialized medical experts in obstetrics, neonatology, and pediatric neurology
  • Detailed life care planning for children with permanent disabilities

These distinctive elements require attorneys with specific experience in birth injury litigation rather than general medical malpractice.

Maryland’s Medical Malpractice Framework

Frederick birth injury cases must adhere to Maryland’s medical malpractice laws, which include several key provisions:

  • Statute of Limitations: Standard medical malpractice claims in Maryland must be filed within five years of the injury occurring or three years from when the injury was discovered, whichever occurs first. However, for minors injured at birth, Maryland law extends this deadline until the child’s 11th birthday in most cases, providing families additional time to recognize developmental issues and pursue legal action.
  • Health Care Alternative Dispute Resolution Office: All medical malpractice claims in Maryland, including birth injury cases, must first be filed with the Health Care Alternative Dispute Resolution Office (HCADRO).  This administrative filing initiates the legal process and includes specific documentation requirements. While parties typically waive arbitration to proceed directly to court, this initial filing remains mandatory.
  • Certificate of Qualified Expert: Within 90 days of filing with HCADRO, Maryland law requires the submission of a certificate from a qualified medical expert attesting that the healthcare provider violated the standard of care and that this violation caused the injury. This expert must have clinical experience or teaching credentials in the relevant medical specialty within five years of the incident.
  • Contributory Negligence: Maryland follows the contributory negligence doctrine, which can bar recovery if the plaintiff is found even partially at fault. While this rarely applies to infant victims in birth injury cases, it highlights the importance of working with knowledgeable attorneys who can counter defense attempts to shift blame.

These procedural requirements create potential obstacles for Frederick families pursuing birth injury claims without experienced legal representation. A single missed deadline or improperly prepared filing can result in case dismissal, regardless of the merits of your claim.

Common Causes of Birth Injuries Leading to Legal Claims

Not all birth complications result from medical negligence—childbirth carries inherent risks even with proper care. However, certain patterns of substandard care frequently lead to preventable birth injuries and subsequent legal claims in Frederick.

Failure to Monitor Fetal Distress or Delayed C-Section

Medical standards require continuous monitoring of both mother and baby during labor. When healthcare providers miss signs of fetal distress or delay necessary emergency C-sections, oxygen deprivation can occur, potentially causing permanent brain damage.

Electronic fetal monitoring tracks the baby’s heart rate during labor, providing key information about their condition. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists stated that when patterns indicate distress, medical professionals must respond promptly. Failure to recognize concerning patterns or communicate them to physicians can result in delayed intervention and preventable injury.

Similarly, when complications arise during delivery, a timely cesarean section is often necessary. Undue delays can result in permanent neurological damage.

Improper Use of Forceps or Vacuum Extraction

When labor progress slows, physicians sometimes employ delivery assistance tools like forceps or vacuum extractors. While these instruments can be appropriate in certain situations, their misuse causes numerous preventable birth injuries in Frederick hospitals.

Forceps used with excessive force can fracture an infant’s skull, damage facial nerves, or cause intracranial bleeding. Vacuum extractors applied improperly can lead to scalp injuries, cephalohematomas, or intracranial hemorrhages. These tool-related injuries often result in conditions like cerebral palsy, Erb’s palsy (brachial plexus injury), or facial paralysis.

Medication Errors During Pregnancy or Delivery

Medication mistakes during pregnancy, labor, or delivery pose serious risks to both mother and baby. Common errors include:

  • Improper dosing of labor-inducing drugs like Pitocin, causing uterine hyperstimulation and fetal oxygen deprivation
  • Incorrect administration of epidural anesthesia, leading to maternal hypotension and reduced fetal blood flow
  • Prescribing medications contraindicated during pregnancy
  • Anesthesia errors during cesarean deliveries

These medication errors are typically preventable through proper verification protocols and staff communication.

Failure to Diagnose or Treat Maternal Infections

Maternal infections can be transmitted to the baby during pregnancy or delivery if not properly diagnosed and treated. Group B streptococcus, chorioamnionitis, and urinary tract infections require timely antibiotic treatment to prevent serious complications for the newborn.

When Frederick healthcare providers fail to screen for these infections, misinterpret test results, or delay appropriate treatment, newborns may develop meningitis, sepsis, or pneumonia—potentially resulting in permanent neurological damage or developmental disabilities.

Oxygen Deprivation (Birth Asphyxia)

Oxygen deprivation during birth can occur through various mechanisms, including umbilical cord complications, prolonged labor, or respiratory issues immediately after delivery. Even brief periods without adequate oxygen can damage a baby’s brain, leading to conditions like hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), cerebral palsy, or intellectual disabilities.

The severity of these injuries often correlates with the duration of oxygen deprivation and how quickly resuscitation occurs. Medical professionals must recognize signs of respiratory distress and intervene immediately to prevent permanent brain damage.

Hospital or Staff Errors

Systemic issues within Frederick hospitals and birthing centers can contribute to birth injuries, including:

  • Inadequate staffing levels, particularly during nights and weekends
  • Poor communication between nurses, physicians, and specialists
  • Insufficient training on emergency protocols
  • Equipment failures or unavailability
  • Administrative policies that prioritize financial considerations over patient safety

These institutional failures often compound individual provider errors, creating dangerous situations for mothers and babies during childbirth.

A Frederick birth injury attorney investigates these potential causes of injury, working with medical experts to identify exactly how and why your child was harmed. 

Proving Negligence in a Birth Injury Case

Birth injury claims require proving that medical negligence—not simply an unfortunate outcome—caused your child’s injury. This requires establishing four specific legal elements while meeting Maryland’s procedural requirements.

The Four Elements of Medical Negligence

For a Frederick birth injury claim to succeed, your attorney must prove:

  • Duty of Care: Healthcare providers involved in your pregnancy, labor, and delivery owed a professional duty to provide care meeting accepted medical standards. This element is typically straightforward to establish in birth injury cases, as a clear provider-patient relationship existed.
  • Breach of Duty: The provider failed to meet the standard of care expected of a reasonable healthcare professional in the same specialty under similar circumstances. This might involve actions taken (like using excessive force with forceps) or actions not taken (like failing to order a timely C-section despite signs of distress).
  • Causation: This breach directly caused your child’s injury. Your attorney must demonstrate that without the provider’s negligence, your child would not have suffered the specific harm. This often requires establishing both actual cause (the negligence directly led to the injury) and proximate cause (the injury was a foreseeable result of the negligence).
  • Damages: Your child and family suffered actual harm because of the negligence. In birth injury cases, damages typically include medical expenses, future care needs, pain and suffering, and diminished quality of life.

These elements must be proven through medical records, expert testimony, and other evidence. The burden of proof rests with the plaintiff in these cases.

Expert Testimony Requirements

Maryland law requires birth injury claims to be supported by qualified medical experts who can testify about the standard of care and how it was violated. Under Maryland Courts and Judicial Proceedings § 3-2A-04, experts must:

  • Have clinical experience, provided consultation, or taught medicine in the relevant specialty within five years of the incident
  • Be board-certified in the relevant specialty if the defendant provider is board-certified
  • Spend no more than 20% of their professional time as expert witnesses in personal injury cases

Finding appropriate experts who meet these qualifications requires extensive professional networks and the resources that experienced birth injury attorneys possess.

Certificate of Qualified Expert

Within 90 days of filing with the Health Care Alternative Dispute Resolution Office, Maryland law requires submission of a Certificate of Qualified Expert. This document must:

  • Be signed by a medical professional meeting Maryland’s expert witness requirements
  • Attest that the healthcare provider violated the standard of care
  • State that this violation was the proximate cause of the injury

The certificate must be accompanied by a report from the expert detailing the specific standard of care violations and how they caused the injury. Failure to file a proper certificate within the required timeframe can result in dismissal of your claim.

Maryland’s Contributory Negligence Doctrine

Maryland follows a strict contributory negligence rule, which can bar recovery if the plaintiff is found even 1% at fault for their injury. In birth injury cases, this rule rarely applies to the injured infant, as newborns cannot contribute to their own injuries.

However, defense attorneys may attempt to argue that maternal actions during pregnancy contributed to the injury. Your Frederick birth injury attorney will anticipate and counter these arguments to protect your right to compensation.

Types of Compensatory Damages Available in Frederick Birth Injury Claims

Families affected by birth injuries may recover various forms of compensation to address both current and future needs resulting from the injury. Maryland law recognizes two primary categories of compensatory damages.

Economic Damages

Economic damages cover actual financial losses related to the birth injury, including:

Medical Expenses: Birth injuries often require immediate intensive care and ongoing treatment throughout childhood and potentially into adulthood. Recoverable medical expenses include:

  • Neonatal intensive care unit (NICU) costs
  • Surgeries and hospital stays
  • Physician specialists and therapies (physical, occupational, speech)
  • Medications and medical equipment
  • Future medical expenses related to the injury

For children with permanent disabilities like cerebral palsy, lifetime medical costs often exceed $1 million, making full compensation for these expenses essential.

Rehabilitation Costs: Many birth injuries require extensive rehabilitation services to maximize function and development:

  • Early intervention programs
  • Physical, occupational, and speech therapy
  • Behavioral therapy and psychological services
  • Specialized educational services

These services aim to help children reach their maximum potential despite their injuries.

Lost Income or Earning Capacity: Birth injuries impact finances beyond direct medical costs:

  • Parents’ lost wages when they must reduce work hours or leave employment to care for their injured child
  • Reduced earning capacity of the child throughout their lifetime due to disability
  • Costs of specialized childcare or assistance

Maryland places no cap on economic damages, allowing families to recover the full amount of these financial losses. Detailed documentation and expert economic analysis help ensure your claim includes all applicable economic damages.

Non-Economic Damages

Non-economic damages address intangible losses that significantly impact quality of life:

  • Pain and Suffering: The physical pain experienced by your child due to the birth injury and subsequent treatments.
  • Emotional Distress: The psychological impact of the injury on both the child and family members, including anxiety, depression, and grief.
  • Loss of Enjoyment of Life: Many children with birth injuries cannot participate in normal childhood activities or experience typical developmental milestones.

Unlike economic damages, Maryland law caps non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases. This cap increases annually; for cases arising in 2025, it stands at approximately $905,000 for most cases. When the claim involves a wrongful death with multiple beneficiaries, higher caps may apply.

Documenting Damages

Comprehensive documentation of both economic and non-economic damages strengthens your birth injury claim. Your Frederick attorney will help gather and organize evidence of damages, including:

  • Medical records and billing statements
  • Expert opinions on future care needs
  • Life care plans projecting lifetime costs
  • Economic analysis of lost earnings
  • Documentation of pain, suffering, and quality of life impacts

This thorough documentation helps ensure your family receives fair compensation for the full extent of harm caused by medical negligence.

Notable Frederick Birth Injury Cases and Legal Precedents

Maryland courts have addressed numerous birth injury cases that provide insight into how these claims are evaluated and resolved. While each case has unique facts, these precedents help Frederick families understand the potential outcomes of birth injury litigation.

Significant Verdicts and Settlements

Recent Maryland verdicts highlight the serious consequences of medical negligence during childbirth. 

  • In 2019, a Prince George’s County jury awarded $900,000 to parents whose unborn child died after healthcare providers failed to diagnose and treat pregnancy complications timely. 
  • In March 2023, a jury awarded nearly $34 million to a family whose child suffered permanent brain damage when doctors at the University of Maryland St. Joseph Medical Center performed an unjustified emergency C-section at just 23 weeks without obtaining proper consent. The infant now requires lifelong specialized care due to these preventable injuries.

These cases demonstrate that Maryland juries recognize the substantial costs associated with birth injuries and the importance of holding negligent providers accountable.

Legal Principles Established

Birth injury cases in Maryland have established important legal principles that affect current claims:

  • Standard of Care Determinations: Courts have clarified that the standard of care for obstetrical providers is national rather than local—Frederick providers must meet the same standards as those in major metropolitan areas.
  • Causation Requirements: Maryland courts require plaintiffs to establish both that the negligence caused the injury and that proper care would have prevented the specific harm. This “but for” causation standard requires strong expert testimony linking the substandard care to the particular injury.
  • Certificate of Qualified Expert: Several cases have addressed the specific requirements for expert certificates, emphasizing the importance of having experts with recent clinical experience in the relevant specialty who can clearly articulate how the standard of care was violated.
  • Damages Assessments: Court decisions have provided guidance on calculating economic damages for lifetime care and lost earning capacity, helping current claimants develop comprehensive damages models.

These precedents underscore the importance of working with experienced Frederick birth injury attorneys who understand Maryland case law and can apply these principles to strengthen your claim.

How a Birth Injury Lawyer Can Help

A skilled Frederick birth injury attorney provides invaluable assistance throughout the tedious legal process, handling technical requirements while offering support during a difficult time.

Building a Strong Case Through Investigation

Your attorney conducts a comprehensive investigation into the circumstances surrounding your child’s birth injury:

  • Obtaining and analyzing all medical records from pregnancy, labor, delivery, and neonatal care
  • Identifying deviations from the standard of care through detailed record review
  • Consulting with qualified medical experts who can testify about proper medical standards
  • Interviewing witnesses, including medical staff present during the birth
  • Researching facility policies and protocols to identify systemic issues

This detailed investigation establishes the foundation of your claim, identifying exactly how and why your child’s injury occurred and who bears responsibility.

Managing Legal Procedures and Deadlines

Birth injury claims involve numerous procedural requirements and strict deadlines. Your Frederick attorney handles these technical aspects:

  • Filing required documentation with the Health Care Alternative Dispute Resolution Office
  • Obtaining properly executed Certificates of Qualified Expert within the 90-day timeframe
  • Waiving arbitration when appropriate to proceed to court
  • Filing court complaints and responding to defense motions
  • Managing discovery, including document requests, interrogatories, and depositions
  • Ensuring compliance with all court deadlines and procedural rules

These procedural requirements can create pitfalls for the unwary, making experienced legal representation essential for birth injury claims.

Negotiating with Insurance Companies

Most birth injury claims may be resolved through settlement rather than trial. Your attorney represents your interests in these negotiations:

  • Preparing comprehensive settlement demands supported by medical evidence and economic analysis
  • Countering defense tactics designed to minimize compensation
  • Evaluating settlement offers against the full value of your claim
  • Advising you on whether to accept settlement offers or proceed to trial

Insurance companies employ skilled negotiators and attorneys to protect their interests. Having an experienced birth injury attorney levels the playing field, ensuring your family’s needs remain the priority.

Court Representation

When settlement isn’t possible, your Frederick birth injury attorney prepares your case for trial:

  • Developing a trial strategy based on the specific facts of your case
  • Preparing witnesses, including parents and medical experts
  • Creating demonstrative exhibits to explain complex medical concepts to jurors
  • Presenting compelling opening and closing arguments
  • Examining witnesses and cross-examining defense experts
  • Addressing legal issues that arise during trial

Effective courtroom advocacy requires both legal knowledge and persuasive communication skills—qualities our Frederick birth injury attorneys bring to every case.

Compassionate Support Throughout the Process

Beyond legal representation, your attorney provides guidance and support during an incredibly challenging time:

  • Explaining legal concepts and procedures in understandable terms
  • Keeping you informed about case developments
  • Answering questions and addressing concerns promptly
  • Connecting you with resources for families of children with special needs
  • Offering emotional support throughout the legal process

This compassionate support allows you to focus on your child’s care while your attorney handles the legal aspects of your case.

Contact a Frederick Birth Injury Attorney for a Free Consultation

If your child suffered an injury during birth that you believe resulted from medical negligence, urgent legal action is essential. Maryland’s statute of limitations creates time constraints for birth injury claims.

Our Frederick birth injury attorneys offer free initial consultations to discuss your potential claim. These meetings come with no obligation, and our firm handles birth injury cases on a contingency fee basis—meaning you pay no legal fees unless we secure compensation for your family.

The legal process for birth injury claims takes time, and building a strong case requires thorough investigation and preparation. Contact our team today to schedule your free consultation and take the first step toward securing the compensation your child deserves.