When medical professionals deviate from established care standards during childbirth, they must answer for the resulting harm to the mother and child. Birth injuries can require decades of medical treatment, specialized therapies, and health accommodations. This pressure creates substantial financial strain for families who are already overwhelmed by the arrival of a baby. 

A Silver Spring birth injury lawyer from Schochor, Staton, Goldberg and Cardea, P.A. represents families whose newborns have suffered harm due to medical errors during pregnancy, labor, or delivery. Our attorneys combine medical knowledge with legal expertise to build effective cases for children injured by healthcare negligence.

The goal of birth injury litigation is straightforward: obtaining the maximum resources necessary for your child’s medical needs while ensuring accountability from those responsible. 

Common Causes of Birth Injuries and Responsible Parties

In our years of experience, here are the cases we’ve seen in Silver Spring:

Physician and Obstetrician Errors

Doctors overseeing delivery bear primary responsibility for patient safety. Their mistakes frequently include:

  • Improper Tool Usage: Misapplied forceps or vacuum extractors can fracture skulls, damage nerves, or cause brain hemorrhages. Silver Spring physicians must follow strict protocols when using these instruments.
  • C-Section Delays: Medical standards require emergency cesarean sections within a specific timeframe, identifying severe fetal distress. When doctors hesitate despite clear warning signs, preventable brain damage often results.
  • Medication Mistakes: Incorrect Pitocin dosing can cause abnormally strong contractions that cut off fetal oxygen. Anesthesia errors can harm both mother and baby through blood pressure drops or respiratory issues.

Montgomery County physicians must maintain national standards of obstetrical care or face liability for resulting injuries.

Nursing Staff Failures

Labor and delivery nurses provide direct patient care throughout childbirth:

  • Monitoring Oversights: Nurses must correctly interpret fetal heart tracings and promptly report concerning patterns. Missing signs of distress or failing to alert physicians can lead to preventable oxygen deprivation.
  • Improper Medication Administration: Nurses who administer incorrect medications, doses, or timing can directly cause birth injuries through their mistakes.
  • Missed Warning Signs: Trained nurses should identify early indications of complications like preeclampsia, maternal bleeding, or umbilical cord problems.

Hospital Liability

Silver Spring medical facilities may bear direct responsibility through:

  • Staff Shortages: Insufficient nurse-to-patient ratios in labor and delivery units prevent adequate monitoring during critical periods.
  • Emergency Response Failures: Hospitals without proper protocols, equipment, or available operating rooms for obstetrical emergencies contribute to preventable injuries.
  • Equipment Problems: Malfunctioning fetal monitors, delivery tools, or other necessary equipment can prevent timely intervention.

Additional Responsible Parties

Birth injuries often involve multiple healthcare providers:

  • Anesthesiologists whose errors can reduce maternal blood pressure and fetal oxygen; 
  • Prenatal Care Providers who miss critical warning signs during pregnancy; and
  • Specialists providing consultation on high-risk pregnancies

A thorough investigation by your Silver Spring attorney will identify all potentially liable parties to maximize your child’s compensation.

Catastrophic Birth Injuries and Their Impact

Cerebral Palsy

Cerebral palsy results from brain damage, often caused by preventable oxygen deprivation during birth. This permanent condition affects muscle control, coordination, and movement, frequently requiring physical and occupational therapy, speech therapy, adaptive equipment, medications for muscle tone and seizures, and possible surgical interventions.

The financial impact typically exceeds $1 million over a lifetime, covering medical care, therapy, education, and support services.

Brachial Plexus and Erb’s Palsy

These injuries affect the nerve network controlling arm movement and typically result from excessive force during delivery, particularly when shoulder dystocia occurs. Symptoms include weakness, limited movement, or complete paralysis in the affected arm.

While some cases improve with therapy, more severe injuries require surgery and may cause permanent limitations.

Oxygen Deprivation Injuries (HIE)

Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE) occurs when a baby’s brain receives insufficient oxygen during birth. Without immediate intervention, permanent brain damage results within minutes, potentially causing developmental delays, intellectual disabilities, seizure disorders, motor function impairment, and vision or hearing problems.

Therapeutic hypothermia (cooling therapy) can reduce damage if started promptly after birth, making delayed treatment particularly harmful.

Maternal Condition Mismanagement

Proper monitoring and treatment of maternal health issues prevents many birth injuries:

  • Preeclampsia: This condition involving high blood pressure can restrict placental blood flow. Without treatment, it threatens both mother and baby with serious complications.
  • Infections: Untreated maternal infections like Group B Streptococcus can transmit to newborns during delivery, causing meningitis, sepsis, or pneumonia.
  • Gestational Diabetes: Uncontrolled blood sugar can lead to excessive birth weight, complicating delivery and increasing injury risks.

Birth Trauma and Fractures

Physical injuries during birth include:

  • Broken Bones: Most commonly clavicle fractures, but also skull, arm, or leg fractures during difficult deliveries 
  • Nerve Damage: Facial nerve injuries causing paralysis or more severe spinal cord damage

Fatal Birth Injuries

When medical negligence leads to a newborn’s death, Maryland law allows wrongful death claims. While no compensation addresses the true loss, these claims recognize families’ legal right to recovery for preventable deaths.

Proving Medical Negligence in Birth Injury Cases

The Four Elements of Negligence

Successfully proving a birth injury case requires establishing the following:

  1. Duty of Care: The healthcare provider had a professional obligation to the patient
  2. Breach of Duty: The provider failed to meet accepted medical standards
  3. Causation: This failure directly caused the specific birth injury
  4. Damages: The injury resulted in actual harm requiring compensation

Medical Expert Requirements

Birth injury cases depend on medical expert testimony to establish:

  • The appropriate standard of care in the specific situation
  • How providers deviated from this standard
  • How this deviation directly caused the particular injury

Maryland law requires a Certificate of Qualified Expert within 90 days of filing, making early medical expert consultation necessary.

Evidence in Birth Injury Cases

Building a strong case requires substantial evidence, including: 

  • Complete medical records from pregnancy through delivery;
  • Fetal monitoring strips showing signs of distress;
  • Documentation of interventions or lack thereof;
  • Medication administration records; 
  • Witness testimony from present healthcare staff, and expert medical opinions.

Your Silver Spring attorney organizes this evidence to demonstrate exactly how negligence caused your child’s injury.

Maryland Birth Injury Laws: Key Considerations

Timeframes for Filing Claims

Maryland’s statute of limitations sets these deadlines:

  • Standard medical malpractice claims: Earlier of five years from injury or three years from discovery
  • Minors with birth injuries: Generally until the child’s 11th birthday
  • Wrongful death claims: Three years from the date of death

Missing these deadlines typically bars recovery permanently. Consulting a Silver Spring birth injury attorney promptly protects your legal rights.

Maryland’s Filing Requirements

The state requires specific procedures for medical malpractice claims:

  1. Initial filing with the Health Care Alternative Dispute Resolution Office
  2. Certificate of Qualified Expert within 90 days attesting to negligence
  3. Potential arbitration or waiver to proceed to court

These technical requirements make experienced legal representation particularly valuable for Silver Spring families.

Compensation Limitations

Maryland law caps non-economic damages (pain and suffering) in medical malpractice cases. For 2025, this cap is approximately $905,000 for most cases, with annual adjustments for inflation.

However, Maryland places no cap on economic damages—allowing full recovery for all medical expenses, care costs, and lost income related to the injury.

Maryland’s Contributory Negligence Rule

Maryland follows a strict contributory negligence standard that can bar recovery if the plaintiff is found even slightly at fault. While rarely applicable to newborns (who cannot contribute to their own injuries), this rule emphasizes the importance of skilled legal representation to counter any defense arguments attempting to shift blame.

Recoverable Damages in Birth Injury Cases

Economic Damages

These cover actual financial losses:

  • Medical Expenses: Including hospital care, surgeries, specialist visits, therapies, medications, and medical equipment—both current and future.
  • Long-Term Care Costs: Many birth injuries require lifelong support, including specialized education, therapy, home modifications, and possibly residential care.
  • Lost Income: Both parents’ missed work during the child’s care and the child’s reduced future earning capacity deserve compensation.

A life care plan developed by medical and economic experts projects these costs over your child’s expected lifespan.

Non-Economic Damages

These address non-financial harms, such as:

  • Physical Pain: The injured child’s physical suffering from both the injury and subsequent treatments.
  • Emotional Suffering: Psychological effects on both child and family, including anxiety, depression, and mental anguish.
  • Diminished Quality of Life: Loss of normal childhood experiences and developmental opportunities.

While less tangible than medical bills, these real losses merit compensation under Maryland law.

Wrongful Death Compensation

When birth injuries prove fatal, families may recover:

  • Funeral and burial expenses
  • Lost companionship and society
  • Mental anguish and grief

How a Silver Spring Birth Injury Attorney Helps Your Family

Case Evaluation and Guidance

The legal process begins with a free consultation to review available medical records, discuss the circumstances surrounding the birth injury, explain your legal rights and options, assess the potential strength of your case, and answer your questions about the process ahead.

This initial meeting helps you make informed decisions about pursuing legal action.

Evidence Collection and Investigation

Your attorney will:

  • Obtain all relevant medical records
  • Secure fetal monitoring data and other technical information
  • Identify applicable medical standards
  • Consult with qualified medical experts
  • Interview witnesses from your delivery

This thorough investigation builds the factual foundation for your case.

Managing Legal Procedures

Your lawyer handles all technical aspects:

  • Filing with the Health Care Alternative Dispute Resolution Office
  • Obtaining expert certificates
  • Court filings if arbitration is waived
  • Discovery processes
  • Response to defense motions
  • Adherence to all court requirements and deadlines

This allows you to focus on your child rather than on paperwork and procedures.

Negotiation with Insurance Companies

Most birth injury cases may be resolved through settlement negotiations. Your attorney:

  • Presents comprehensive settlement demands
  • Counters defense tactics minimizing your child’s injuries
  • Advises you on offer adequacy
  • Ensures any settlement addresses long-term needs

Court Representation When Necessary

If settlement proves impossible, your attorney advocates in court:

  • Developing an effective trial strategy
  • Preparing all witnesses
  • Creating clear exhibits explaining medical concepts
  • Presenting your case persuasively to the judge and jury
  • Cross-examining defense witnesses

Ongoing Family Support

Beyond legal advocacy, your attorney can:

  • Connect you with resources for children with special needs
  • Advise on structured settlements or special needs trusts
  • Provide guidance on accessing benefits and services
  • Remain available for questions after case resolution

Taking Action for Your Child’s Future

If your child suffered a birth injury in Silver Spring that you believe resulted from medical negligence, swift legal consultation protects your rights. Maryland’s strict filing deadlines make early attorney involvement extremely important.

Our Silver Spring birth injury attorneys offer free, confidential consultations to discuss your potential claim. We handle these cases on a contingency fee basis—you pay nothing unless we secure compensation for your family.

Contact us today to learn how we can help your family obtain the resources needed for your child’s best possible future.