A birth injury can have a devastating impact on the health of an infant and the emotional well-being of the entire family. A birth injury lawsuit is a type of medical malpractice claim. Since medical malpractice cases can be difficult to win, it's best to hire an experienced birth injury lawyer in Baltimore to get started on your case as soon as possible.

Who Can File a Birth Injury Lawsuit?

In Maryland, people who can file a birth injury lawsuit are the parents of the child and the child who has the birth injury. One or both parents can file a lawsuit for a birth injury. Depending on the health of the mother, the other parent may be able to file additional claims for delivery complications, which can harm both the mother and child.

How Are Parents' Claims Different From a Child's Claims?

Typically, parents will file a birth injury lawsuit to seek compensation for medical expenses. A birth injury can incur medical expenses for the initial treatment of the child, future treatments for the child, medications, medical aids, health services, and more.

When the child with the birth injury files a lawsuit, the compensation will typically be related to pain, suffering, loss of earning potential, and other damages. Compensation for a child's claims is intended to compensate for a lifetime of reduced quality of life and other consequences of growing up with a disability related to a birth injury.

Birth Injury Statute of Limitations

In Maryland, the statute of limitations for a birth injury lawsuit is three years from the date the birth injury was discovered or five years from the date the injury was committed. This means if parents discover a birth injury three months after a child is born, the statute of limitations begins at this time rather than the time of birth. If the injury is discovered at birth because of delivery complications, then the statute of limitations starts at that time.

Exceptions

There are clear exceptions to the three-year statute of limitations in Maryland for birth injury medical malpractice claims. While the parents of the child have three years from the date of injury discovery to file a lawsuit, the child with the birth injury will have until their 21st birthday to file a lawsuit. This can be considered a separate claim from the parent's lawsuit, depending on the circumstances of the case.

Ask a Birth Injury Lawyer in Baltimore: How Can You Prove Your Case?
To prove your medical malpractice claim, your birth injury lawyer in Baltimore will need to meet several elements of medical negligence. These elements are duty of care, breach of duty, causation, and damages.

Duty of Care

First, your lawyer will need to prove that there was a relationship between you, your child, and the liable party. Usually, this means establishing a physician-patient relationship. After establishing this relationship, your lawyer will outline the duty of care this physician owed you and your child during delivery.

Breach of Duty

Next, your lawyer will prove that there was a breach of duty by the liable party. All medical providers are expected to adhere to a standard of care, which is the reasonable actions a medical professional should take to diagnose, prescribe, and perform procedures on a patient. For a birth injury case, a breach of duty could include failure to monitor the health of the mother and child, delaying a C-section, failing to perform tests, and making other delivery errors.

Causation

Causation is the element that requires your lawyer to demonstrate how a breach of duty directly caused harm to the infant or mother. Essentially, your lawyer will prove that the birth injuries or the delivery complications sustained were caused by the physician's failure to meet the standard of care.

Damages

Finally, your lawyer will use evidence to prove that the injuries caused by the breach of duty also caused damages. Damages from a birth injury can be economic and non-economic. Depending on who is filing the claim, the evidence used to prove damages will vary. Visit this page to learn about the evidence your lawyer can use to prove your claim.

Who Can Be Held Liable for a Birth Injury?

Just like any other medical malpractice case, the liability for the birth injury can be assigned to many parties. Sometimes, the physician or hospital staff are liable for the injury, while other times, the medical facility may be held liable for the injury. Your lawyer will need to prove that all liable parties failed to meet the standard of care during delivery.

Birth injuries can cause life-long medical complications and harm the health of the mother during delivery. Both parents and children can file a birth injury lawsuit to recover compensation for economic and non-economic damages caused by the birth injury. Minor children who were injured at birth may have until their 21st birthday to file a lawsuit.