Fort Lauderdale Birth Injury Lawyer

You walked into the delivery room expecting the hardest part to be labor.

Weeks later, a pediatric neurologist is showing you scans and using words like hypoxic injury and cerebral palsy.

No one on the medical team can explain how a routine delivery turned into this.

You replay the hours before your child was born: the monitor alarms, nobody rushed to check, the delivery that came later than it should have. 

Hollander Law Firm has spent more than three decades untangling moments like this one, buried in fetal heart rate strips and nursing notes that only make sense to someone who knows what to look for.

We step in as your advocate, working through the medical record to find out what actually happened to your child.

Contact us online or call (561) 347-7770 for a free consultation.

What Should Parents Expect from a Fort Lauderdale Birth Injury Lawyer That They Can’t Get from a Regular Attorney?

We read the labor and delivery record the way the hospital’s own defense team eventually will: looking for the information that explains what the chart says happened and what the fetal monitoring strips, nursing timestamps, and physician orders show. Hospital records document care as it happens, so the strongest evidence in a birth injury case is often a timing inconsistency across several entries rather than a single admission. 

Hollander Law Firm builds that timeline first, confirms its clinical meaning with qualified medical experts, and then determines whether Florida law permits your claim to proceed.

What Does a Birth Injury Lawyer Need to Prove About Your Baby’s Injury for a Malpractice Claim to Succeed?

Negligence is not the hardest part of a birth injury case to prove. In plain terms, negligence means a doctor, nurse, or hospital did not do what a reasonably careful provider would have done in the same situation. The harder question is causation, meaning whether that lapse actually changed what happened to your child, and in obstetrics, that link is rarely obvious.

A baby can be born with a low Apgar score, an infection, or a low birth weight, and any of those factors can explain an injury without a single provider doing anything wrong. 

Proving a case means separating a preexisting condition or an unavoidable complication from a specific, identifiable failure, such as a:

• A fetal heart rate strip that should have prompted an earlier cesarean delivery;
• A nurse who did not escalate a warning sign to the delivering physician; or
• A failure to adjust or stop a labor-inducing medication, such as oxytocin, once the baby’s heart rate showed signs of distress.

Florida law requires that one of these breaches be connected to a specific, permanent injury that a competent provider would have prevented.

What Is Florida’s NICA Program, and Why Does It Change Everything?

Here’s the part of a Florida birth injury claim that catches most families off guard: you may not be able to sue at all, even when a hospital was genuinely negligent.

Florida created the Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Association, or NICA, as a no-fault alternative to a malpractice lawsuit.

No-fault means a family does not have to prove negligence to receive compensation, but it also means giving up the right to sue. 

NICA applies only when each condition below is met:

1. Oxygen deprivation or a mechanical injury damaged your child’s brain or spinal cord during labor, delivery, or resuscitation immediately after birth, in a hospital;
2. Your baby weighed at least 2,500 grams (5 lbs 8 oz) or 2,000 grams (4 lbs 6.5 oz) in a multiple birth; and
3. The injury left your child permanently and substantially impaired, both mentally or physically.

When those elements are met, NICA may be the only path to compensation, regardless of fault, and it generally replaces, rather than adds to, a civil lawsuit against the participating hospital or physician.

That sounds like the door closes there, but participation in NICA is not automatic: a physician must affirmatively enroll and pay an annual assessment, and some providers, including residents and certain government-employed physicians, are ineligible to participate. If the physician who delivered your child was not a participating physician at the time, NICA’s exclusivity does not apply, so an ordinary malpractice claim may still be available. 

Hospitals and physicians who do participate must also give obstetrical patients notice of the plan before delivery, using an approved form that explains the trade-off: giving up the right to sue in exchange for guaranteed, no-fault compensation. When a hospital or physician fails to provide that notice, or provides incomplete or misleading notice, Florida courts have held that they cannot invoke NICA to block a civil case. We start every birth injury intake by checking both participation status and notice compliance, because either one can determine whether your case belongs in NICA’s process or in a civil courtroom.

What Are the Most Common Ways Birth Injuries Happen in Fort Lauderdale Hospitals?

Families deliver at hospitals across Broward County, from Broward Health Medical Center to Holy Cross Hospital and Memorial Regional, and serious birth injuries tend to trace back to a handful of recurring clinical failures.

How Does Oxygen Deprivation Cause Permanent Brain Injury?

When a baby’s brain is cut off from oxygen or blood flow during labor, delivery, or the minutes right after birth, the resulting condition is called hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). The initial injury is often only the first phase: a second wave of cell damage, called reperfusion injury, typically develops 6 to 48 hours later, which is why the speed of decision-making in the first hours is so important. 

In litigation, the fight is rarely whether HIE occurred, but whether the oxygen loss happened acutely, meaning suddenly, during labor, when a faster delivery could have prevented it, or began earlier in the pregnancy from a cause no one at the hospital could have stopped. The extent of the damage sometimes isn’t clear until a child reaches school age.

What Happens When a Baby’s Shoulder Becomes Stuck During Delivery?

Shoulder dystocia occurs when a baby’s shoulder catches behind the mother’s pelvic bone after the head has been delivered. The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists describes it as a largely unpredictable emergency. That unpredictability is why a case rarely depends on shoulder dystocia happening, but on how the delivery team responded: whether staff used recognized maneuvers to free the shoulder, how much traction they applied to the baby’s head and neck, and how quickly they acted. Excessive pulling force during a stuck delivery is a leading cause of brachial plexus injuries, leaving a child with a weakened or paralyzed arm.

What Role Do Placental Abruption and Uterine Rupture Play?

Placental abruption happens when the placenta separates from the uterine wall before delivery, cutting off the baby’s oxygen and nutrient supply. Uterine rupture carries the same risk of sudden, severe oxygen loss for the baby and life-threatening hemorrhage for the mother, most often during a vaginal delivery attempted after a prior cesarean, sometimes called a VBAC. 

A hospital that offers a VBAC is expected to have immediate cesarean capability and continuous monitoring in place, not a plan to call for help once rupture is suspected, because both emergencies can turn catastrophic within minutes of the first warning sign.

How Soon Should You Talk to a Fort Lauderdale Birth Injury Attorney to Get the Best Outcome?

Labor and delivery records are detailed, but hospitals are not required to preserve all monitoring data indefinitely, and some systems overwrite raw fetal heart rate tracings on a rolling basis. That record needs to be obtained as quickly as possible, because Florida requires a qualified medical expert to confirm in writing that a breach in care occurred before a notice of intent, the formal letter that starts the case, can even be sent to the hospital or physician. 

The sooner a birth injury attorney requests the complete chart, including nursing notes, physician orders, and any fetal monitoring strips, the sooner the review can happen, and the less likely it is that critical evidence will be disposed of.

How Long Do You Have to File a Birth Injury Claim in Florida?

Florida law sets more than one deadline for a medical malpractice claim, and in a birth injury case, several apply:

• Generally, two years from the date the injury was discovered, or should have been discovered;
• No more than four years from the date of the incident itself, regardless of when it was discovered; and
• An exception for a minor child, allowing a claim filed on your child’s behalf to proceed until their eighth birthday, even after the four-year window has closed

That extended window for children exists because the full extent of a birth injury, particularly a brain injury, often isn’t apparent for months or years after delivery. Just remember that the 90-day presuit investigation and notice period covered above take precedence, so the practical deadline for starting the process is earlier than the court-filing deadline. Missing the applicable deadline can prevent you from recovering compensation through a medical malpractice claim.

What Compensation Can a Birth Injury Claim Recover to Help My Family Survive This Unexpected Outcome?

A viable birth injury claim is built around a life care plan: a detailed projection, developed with treating physicians and economic experts, of what your child will need across an entire lifetime, not just the bills already on file. 

A jury typically weighs a combination that includes:

• Future medical treatment, therapy, and equipment;
• Attendant or custodial care over the child’s lifetime;
• Lost earning capacity for a child who may never work in the way they otherwise would have; and
• Noneconomic damages, the legal term for compensation tied to pain, suffering, and the loss of a normal life, rather than a specific bill or paycheck.

Florida does not cap those noneconomic damages in a medical malpractice case.

Why Does Hiring a Fort Lauderdale Birth Injury Lawyer with Over Three Decades of Experience Matter?

Birth injury cases ask an attorney to be fluent in both the mother’s chart and the newborn’s, often reviewed years after the delivery itself, and to know which entries actually matter once a family finally has a diagnosis. Hollander Law Firm built that fluency on cases in which the negligence was buried in nursing shorthand and vital-sign trends rather than in a single obvious error. 

Gregg Hollander has represented injured children and their families for decades, including cases where a delayed diagnosis or a missed warning sign caused permanent harm to a minor. That experience is why he checks NICA eligibility and notice compliance first in every new matter, since a missed notice can cost a family its case. 

Gregg stays rooted in Fort Lauderdale through his work with the Broward Children’s Center and the Junior League of Greater Fort Lauderdale. These organizations support children and families in the community he serves. That combination of medical fluency and 30+ years in Florida courtrooms is what these cases tend to demand, not just a name on a retainer agreement.

Talk to Hollander Law Firm About What Happened During Your Child’s Delivery

You do not need every medical answer before reaching out. Hollander Law Firm Personal Injury & Medical Malpractice Lawyers can review your child’s delivery record, explain what Florida law allows in your situation, and outline what happens next. Contact us online or call (561) 347-7770 for a free consultation to start finding out what happened to your child.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Do I Know If My Child’s Cerebral Palsy Was Caused by Malpractice?

Cerebral palsy has many causes unrelated to negligence, including genetic conditions and prenatal factors that exist before labor even begins. A claim requires medical evidence connecting your child’s specific injury to a preventable failure during labor, delivery, or the immediate newborn period, which is why an early records review matters.

Why Do Some Birth Injury Cases Take Years to Resolve?

A life care plan requires input from treating physicians and economic experts who project a child’s needs decades into the future, and that analysis cannot be rushed without shortchanging the claim. Cases that may fall under Florida’s NICA program can also take time to resolve because eligibility must be determined before anything else can move forward.

What Are Common Causes of Birth Injuries?

Florida medical professionals are required to provide competent care. Generally speaking, a negligent mistake can happen at any stage of pregnancy, labor, or delivery. 

Common causes of birth injuries include:

• Failure to monitor the mother during pregnancy
• Failure to monitor during labor and delivery
• Improper use of forceps, vacuum extractors, and other medical devices
• Failure to order a C-Section when one becomes necessary
• Administering the wrong medications or an incorrect dosage
• Failure to take relevant patient risk factors into consideration
• Uterine rupture
• Failure to diagnose a prolapsed umbilical cord or breech position

Doctors are trained to react appropriately in an emergency. They also have countless tests and tools at their disposal to identify signs of danger. If your medical team failed in their duty to you, give our law firm a call today to schedule a free consultation. We’re ready to go to battle and get the fair compensation you need.

What Are Common Types of Birth Injuries?

Any type of birth injury can dramatically alter the happy childhood you’ve wished for your child. Instead of playdates and days at the park, you could be facing months, if not years, of physical therapy, rehab, and medical care.

It’s important to demand full compensation at the outset to protect your child’s future. At Hollander Law Firm Personal Injury & Medical Malpractice Lawyers, we handle all types of birth injury cases. 

Common types include:

• Brain injuries
• Hypoxia
• Cerebral palsy
• Erb’s palsy
• Brachial plexus injuries
• Asphyxia
• Seizure disorders
• Broken bones
• Shoulder dystocia
• Facial paralysis
• Spinal cord injuries
• Wrongful death 

Whether the injury is permanent or will heal with time, we’re here to help you overcome any challenges you’re facing. We’ll also help you understand what to expect going forward.

Who Can Be Held Liable in a Fort Lauderdale Birth Injury Lawsuit?

Many people think solely of doctors when they imagine a medical malpractice lawsuit. In reality, any medical professional can be held liable for carelessness. In fact, Florida shared responsibility rules allow responsibility to be shared by multiple negligent parties.

Our experienced Fort Lauderdale birth injury lawyer will demand fair compensation from each and every one of them.

Examples of responsible parties in a birth injury lawsuit include:

• Obstetricians and OBGYNs
• Nurses
• Lab technicians
• Surgeons
• Anesthesiologists 
• Pediatricians
• Administrative staff
• Hospitals 
• The medical team responsible for providing prenatal care

Identifying all responsible parties early gives you the best shot of recovering the fair compensation you need to protect your child’s future.

Legal References Used to Inform This Page

To ensure the accuracy and clarity of this page, we referenced official legal and other resources during the content development process:

• The Florida Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Association.
• Definitions, Fla. Stat. § 766.302 (2025).
• Florida Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Plan; exclusiveness of remedy, Fla. Stat. § 766.303 (2025).
• Assessments; plan of operation, Fla. Stat. § 766.314 (2025).
• Notice to obstetrical patients of participation in the plan, Fla. Stat. § 766.316 (2025).
• Galen of Fla., Inc. v. Braniff, 696 So. 2d 308 (Fla. 1997), discussed in Fla. S. Comm. on Judiciary, Analysis of CS/SB 1070.
• National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NIH), Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy.
• American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists, Practice Bulletin No. 178: Shoulder Dystocia.
• National Institutes of Health, Placental Abruption at Near-Term and Term Gestations: Pathophysiology, Epidemiology, Diagnosis, and Management (May 2024).
• Presuit investigation of medical negligence claims and defenses by prospective parties, Fla. Stat. § 766.203 (2025).
• Limitations other than for the recovery of real property, Fla. Stat. § 95.11(5)(b-c) (2025).
• Notice before filing action for medical negligence, Fla. Stat. § 766.106 (2025).
• Estate of McCall v. United States, 134 So. 3d 894 (Fla. 2014), and N. Broward Hosp. Dist. v. Kalitan, 219 So. 3d 49 (Fla. 2017), discussed in Court Rules Med Mal Caps Unconstitutional, The Florida Bar News.