How Much Compensation Can You Claim In A Birth Injury Lawsuit?

Preventable birth injuries create profound and life-altering consequences for victims and families. In addition to significant financial strains that can persist for years or even lifetimes, families also struggle with tremendous emotional burdens. Fortunately, our civil justice system allows victims to recover both economic and non-economic damages associated with preventable injuries caused by negligence – including negligent care provided by nurses, doctors, and other health care providers.

If your child suffered a birth injury you believe was the result of substandard care during pregnancy, labor, or delivery (as well as any injury to the mother), you have a right to pursue compensation for your losses through a birth injury lawsuit. As a victim of negligence, the amount of compensation you may be entitled to will depend on the unique facts and circumstances involved. After all, every injury and its impact on victims and families is different. This means the answer to questions about the value of a lawsuit is usually always: it depends.

At Clark, Fountain, La Vista, Littky-Rubin & Whitman, we work closely with our clients to not only assist in establishing fault and liability, but to also understand the full scope of their damages, including future damages, so as to secure the compensation they deserve. While it is difficult to place a value on a case without personalized information and a full grasp on the scope of damages involved, victims can gain an understanding of the recoveries they can make by understanding what compensation is available in birth injury lawsuits. These damages include:

• Economic Damages – Birth injury victims are able to recover their economic damages associated with preventable injuries. These include the verifiable financial losses associated with medical expenses and lost wages caused by parents who must take time off work to care for their injured newborn, or even for their departure from the work force. In addition to past economic damages, birth injury lawsuits also enable families to recover compensation for their future financial needs, which can range depending on the severity of injuries and the needs of a child as they grow and mature. For example, babies born with serious birth injuries, including permanent disabilities, often have long-term medical needs, including the need for future medical appointments, procedures, and therapy. Families may also need to pay for accommodations that help their child grow and engage with the world, including medical devices such as wheel chairs, modifications to vehicles and homes, special education, and more. In the most severe cases, compensation can also be awarded for the costs of daily assistive care, and the lost earnings of a child who may not be able to maintain employment due to their injuries.
• Non-economic damages – While recovering compensation for financial losses and future financial needs is critical to helping families care for the needs of their child, our justice system also recognizes the profound emotional losses of families. That means they can also recover compensation for non-economic damages such as pain and suffering, loss of quality or enjoyment of life, physical impairment, disability, mental anguish, and more. As birth injuries commonly entail life-altering consequences, families are often awarded substantial sums for their emotional and non-economic damages. Although awards for non-economic damages had been limited due to legislative caps in the state of Florida, a recent Florida Supreme Court decision ruled that those caps were unconstitutional in medical malpractice cases. With this precedent, birth injury victims and families are now entitled to a full and fair recovery of their non-economic damages.

It is important to note that while there are legal pathways in place that enable families to recover their economic and non-economic damages following preventable birth injuries, compensation is never automatically granted or guaranteed. This is particularly true when health care providers and insurance companies work aggressively to dispute, deny, and underpay claims. By working with proven lawyers like those at Clark, Fountain, La Vista, Littky-Rubin & Whitman, families gain support, experience and resources, from attorneys who can level the playing field and fight for the maximum compensation possible.

By leveraging our extensive experience in medical malpractice cases, as well as the insight and experience of Board Certified attorneys, our legal team has been able to successfully resolve some of the most complex and high stakes cases involving preventable medical errors and substandard care. We focus on using our abilities and resources to help clients hold negligent medical professionals accountable for serious injuries, and we take the time to understand just how families were impacted in order to pursue the full amount of compensation they deserve.

If you have questions about a potential birth injury lawsuit, the value of your case, and how our award-winning West Palm Beach birth injury lawyers can help you, do not hesitate to contact us for a free case evaluation. Our legal team works cases on contingency fees (there are no fees unless a recovery is made in your case), and proudly serves clients throughout the state of Florida.