West Palm Beach Birth Injury Lawyer
When a baby or mother suffers a serious injury during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or the immediate postpartum period, one of the hardest questions is whether it could have been prevented.
A West Palm Beach birth injury lawyer can investigate whether the injury resulted from an unavoidable medical event or whether the doctors, nurses, or hospital failed to respond appropriately while there was still time to change the outcome.
A bad outcome alone does not establish malpractice. Even when the care appears questionable, the evidence must show that a provider departed from the accepted standard of care and that the departure caused or worsened a serious injury to the baby or mother.
Gregg Hollander has practiced law for more than 30 years and handles serious medical malpractice cases throughout Florida. When we evaluate a potential birth injury claim, the goal is to determine what happened, whether the care fell below the accepted standard, and whether that failure changed the outcome.
If your family has unanswered questions about a serious injury or complication involving the mother or baby, Hollander Law Firm can review the medical evidence and explain whether it supports a birth injury malpractice claim.
Learn how our legal team can assist you during a free consultation by calling (561) 347-7770 or filling out our online form.
When Should a Baby’s Condition Raise Questions About a Possible Birth Injury?
A serious diagnosis after birth does not necessarily mean medical negligence occurred. Some conditions develop during pregnancy, result from congenital or genetic causes, or occur despite appropriate medical care. Others may be connected to how complications were recognized and managed before birth, during labor and delivery, or during the newborn period.
Causation is often more difficult to prove than the mistake itself. For a viable malpractice claim, your West Palm Beach birth injury lawyer must provide evidence that a healthcare provider departed from the applicable standard of care and that the departure caused or worsened the child’s injury. A provider may have made an error, but if the child’s brain injury or other condition would have occurred anyway, the negligence may not support a viable malpractice claim.
The investigation may involve:
- Prenatal records,
- Fetal monitoring,
- Delivery records,
- Cord blood gases,
- Placental pathology,
- Resuscitation notes,
- Imaging, and
- NICU records.
The timing of the symptoms and the medical evidence can help determine whether the condition developed before birth, resulted from an unavoidable complication, or may be connected to the medical care provided.
What Are Some Common Types of Birth Injuries?
Serious birth injury cases can involve injuries to the baby, dangerous pregnancy or delivery complications, or failures to respond to a developing emergency.
Some of the conditions and events we examine most closely include:
- Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE). HIE is a brain injury caused by inadequate oxygen and blood flow. Babies with HIE may experience seizures, abnormal muscle tone, breathing or feeding problems, and permanent neurological impairment.
- Cerebral palsy. Cerebral palsy affects movement, posture, coordination, and muscle control. Because it has several possible causes, determining whether it resulted from a birth-related brain injury requires careful review of the pregnancy, delivery, newborn condition, and brain imaging.
- Intracranial and traumatic brain injuries. Difficult deliveries can sometimes result in bleeding inside the skull, skull fractures, or other trauma to the brain. Imaging and delivery records can help distinguish birth trauma from bleeding or neurological injury caused by another medical condition.
- Brachial plexus injuries. The brachial plexus is the network of nerves that controls the shoulder, arm, and hand. An injury can cause weakness, limited movement, loss of sensation, or paralysis.
- Shoulder dystocia. Shoulder dystocia occurs when one or both of the baby’s shoulders become trapped after the head is delivered. Because it can occur unpredictably, a malpractice claim generally focuses on whether the delivery team responded appropriately, used recognized maneuvers, avoided excessive traction, and whether any failure caused permanent injury.
- Placental abruption and uterine rupture. Placental abruption occurs when the placenta separates from the uterine wall before birth, while uterine rupture is a tear in the uterus. Either can cause severe bleeding and interfere with the baby’s oxygen supply, sometimes requiring an emergency delivery.
- Spinal cord injuries. Injury to a newborn’s spinal cord can cause weakness, paralysis, breathing difficulties, or other serious neurological problems. These injuries are uncommon and often require imaging and specialist review to determine how and when the damage occurred.
- Preeclampsia and eclampsia. Preeclampsia involves dangerously high blood pressure during pregnancy or after delivery and can affect multiple organs. Eclampsia is a more severe complication involving seizures and can threaten both the mother and baby.
- Maternal hemorrhage and other injuries. Severe bleeding, surgical injuries, hypertensive emergencies, and other childbirth complications can cause organ damage, emergency hysterectomy, brain injury, or death. These cases often turn on whether the mother’s deteriorating condition was recognized and treated quickly enough.
None of these diagnoses or complications proves that malpractice occurred. A meaningful birth injury investigation looks beyond the diagnosis to determine what caused the injury, when the problem developed, how the medical team responded, and whether a departure from the standard of care changed the outcome.
Why Should I Hire Gregg Hollander As My West Palm Beach Birth Injury Attorney?
Birth injury cases require a lawyer who can understand complex medical evidence, work with qualified experts, and determine whether the facts support a serious malpractice claim.
Hollander Law Firm Personal Injury & Medical Malpractice Lawyers bring that focus to families in West Palm Beach and throughout Florida.
- Over 30 years of legal experience. Gregg Hollander has practiced law for over 30 years, giving him substantial experience evaluating serious injury and medical malpractice cases where causation, expert testimony, and long-term damages can determine the outcome.
- Millions recovered for injured clients. Hollander Law Firm has recovered millions of dollars through settlements and jury verdicts for people harmed by negligence.
- Local knowledge in West Palm Beach. The firm maintains an office in West Palm Beach and regularly serves clients throughout Palm Beach County. That local presence gives the firm familiarity with the medical providers, court system, and practical issues that can arise in cases originating in the area.
- Trial experience. Gregg Hollander has over three decades of practice with substantial litigation and courtroom experience.
For parents trying to understand whether a serious injury was caused by negligent care, that combination of medical scrutiny, trial experience, and local familiarity can matter from the earliest stages of the case.
What Are Some Common Causes of Birth Injuries?
Birth injuries can result from problems during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or immediate newborn care. In a malpractice case, the issue is whether the healthcare team recognized and responded appropriately to the complication before it caused serious harm.
Common causes we see include:
- Delayed or prolonged labor,
- Failure to monitor fetal distress,
- Failure to perform a timely Cesarean section,
- Improper medication or dosage,
- Improper use of forceps or vacuum extraction,
- Failure to recognize an obstetric emergency, and
- Problems during newborn resuscitation.
A complication by itself does not establish negligence. The medical records must show what was happening at the time, what the healthcare team knew or should have recognized, how it responded, and whether a different response probably would have prevented or reduced the resulting injury.
What Is Florida’s NICA Program, and How Can It Affect My Potential Claim?
Florida’s Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Plan, commonly called NICA, is a no-fault program for a narrow group of severe neurological injuries that occur during labor, delivery, or immediate resuscitation after birth. Families who qualify can receive benefits without having to prove that a doctor or hospital committed malpractice.
NICA can significantly change how a birth injury claim proceeds. When an injury qualifies, and the statutory requirements are satisfied, NICA may provide the exclusive remedy against participating healthcare providers rather than allowing a traditional medical malpractice lawsuit.
Florida law considers factors such as the type and timing of the brain or spinal cord injury, the child’s level of permanent impairment, birth weight, and whether the obstetric provider participated in NICA.
Not every child diagnosed with HIE, cerebral palsy, or another serious neurological condition qualifies. Determining whether NICA applies requires reviewing how and when the injury occurred, as well as the circumstances surrounding the delivery. A Florida administrative law judge has the authority to decide whether an injury falls within NICA, even when the family intends to pursue a malpractice claim instead.
NICA compensation varies based on the child’s qualifying care and benefits.
For that reason, Hollander Law Firm examines NICA early in a serious neurological birth injury case. Whether the claim belongs within NICA or can proceed through Florida’s civil court system can affect the legal process, available compensation, and strategy from the outset.
How Are Lifetime Care Costs Valued in a Florida Birth Injury Case?
When a birth injury qualifies for a traditional medical malpractice lawsuit, future damages cannot be based on guesswork. And once a case is resolved, the family generally cannot reopen it years later because the child develops additional needs. The claim, therefore, has to account for the medical care, assistance, equipment, and financial losses the child is reasonably expected to experience over a lifetime.
Hollander Law Firm will consult multiple experts, such as life care planners, pediatric specialists, rehabilitation professionals, vocational experts, and economists. Together, they can translate the child’s diagnosis and prognosis into a medically and financially supported projection of future needs.
Lifetime Future Medical Expenses
A life care plan can project the cost of specialized care your child may reasonably need from infancy through adulthood, including:
- Specialized medical care. Ongoing treatment may involve pediatric specialists, neurologists, orthopedic surgeons, and other providers.
- Therapy and rehabilitation. Physical, occupational, speech, and other therapies may continue through different stages of development.
- Assistive technology and home modifications. Wheelchairs, communication devices, accessible bathrooms, ramps, and other adaptations may be necessary to support mobility and independence.
These projections should reflect your child’s actual diagnosis, prognosis, and expected long-term needs.
Lost Earning Capacity
A severe birth injury may limit or eliminate a child’s ability to work as an adult. Because a newborn has no earnings history, vocational and economic professionals may use medical evidence, educational and functional projections, work-life expectancy, and economic data to estimate the child’s lost future earning capacity.
Noneconomic Damages
Permanent disabilities can also affect a child’s comfort, mobility, independence, relationships, and ability to participate in everyday activities. Those consequences may support noneconomic damages for pain, suffering, and loss of enjoyment of life, depending on the circumstances of the claim.
West Palm Beach Birth Injuries FAQs
How Much Does It Cost to Hire a Birth Injury Attorney?
Hollander Law Firm handles personal injury and medical malpractice matters on a contingency fee basis, so clients do not pay any attorney fees upfront. Attorney fees are collected from a recovery if the case results in compensation, subject to the fee agreement and applicable Florida requirements.
What’s the Statute of Limitations for Birth Injury Cases in Florida?
Florida generally requires a medical malpractice claim to be filed within two years of the incident or of when the malpractice was discovered or reasonably should have been discovered.
The law generally does not allow a medical malpractice claim to be brought more than four years after the incident, even if the injury is discovered later. However, Florida creates an important exception for children: the four-year limit cannot bar a claim brought on behalf of a child on or before the child’s eighth birthday.
That exception does not eliminate the two-year rule. Depending on when the possible malpractice was discovered or should have been discovered, the deadline may still arrive much sooner than the child’s eighth birthday.
Also, NICA claims have a separate deadline of five years after the child’s birth.
Does Florida Require a Medical Expert Before a Birth Injury Lawsuit Can Be Filed?
Yes. Before filing a Florida medical malpractice lawsuit, the claimant must conduct a presuit investigation to determine whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that a healthcare provider was negligent and that the negligence caused the injury. A verified written opinion from a qualified medical expert must support that investigation.
The claimant must then send a presuit notice of intent to initiate medical malpractice litigation to the prospective defendant. After receiving that notice, the defendant generally has 90 days to investigate the claim before filing a lawsuit.
This requirement is especially important in a birth injury case because the expert must address both parts of the claim: what the provider should have done differently and whether that failure actually caused the child’s serious injury.
Contact Hollander Law Firm to Learn About Your Legal Options
A serious birth injury case can turn on details that are easy to miss without a careful review of the medical record. Those details can determine whether a family has a viable malpractice claim.
Hollander Law Firm approaches these cases by reconstructing the medical timeline, identifying the providers whose decisions mattered, and working with qualified specialists to evaluate both the standard of care and causation.
If you have unanswered questions about an injury to your baby or a serious maternal complication, reach out online or call (561) 347-7770 to speak with a West Palm Beach lawyer for birth injuries and whether the evidence supports a malpractice or NICA claim.
Visit Our West Palm Beach Law Office
Hollander Law Firm Personal Injury & Medical Malpractice Lawyers
319 Clematis St #203, West Palm Beach, FL 33401
Phone: 561-347-7770
Hours: Open 24 hours daily
Free no-obligation consultation!