Tampa Birth Injury Lawyer

Quick Summary: Tampa Birth Injury Lawyer

• Some birth injuries are still preventable when medical care falls below accepted standards.
• Substandard delivery practices can raise concerns about negligence.
• Different conditions and injuries are investigated in different ways.
• Florida’s NICA program may apply to certain serious neurological birth injuries.
• Compensation may include long-term medical care, therapy, equipment, and future losses.

The March of Dimes has given Florida a D+ report card for the quality of prenatal care. This report highlights some of the challenges mothers and infants face in getting adequate care in Florida which could cause the joy of welcoming a new member of the family to be overshadowed by fear and devastation if your child has suffered a birth injury.

At Darrigo & Diaz Personal Injury Attorneys, we understand the challenges and fears you are facing. We strive to answer many of the questions about seeking compensation and finding the right birth injury attorney in Tampa.

The Difference Between a Birth Defect and a Birth Injury

A birth defect (or congenital disability) is commonly caused by genetics or other circumstances that occur as the child develops in utero such as taking medications or alcohol consumption. Inadequate prenatal care, or injuries to the mother can also cause birth defects and conditions in a child that could have been avoided.

A birth injury happens during the labor or birth process and causes a disability or condition in what was supposed to be a healthy baby. These kinds of injuries can result from medications given during labor or medical professionals’ errors during the labor and birthing process. With this in mind,  it’s still important to remember that some types of injuries are unavoidable when complications arise.

How Common are Birth Injuries?

Birth injuries are not that common and have been steadily decreasing. Data in 2013 showed a decrease in birth injuries to 1.9 per 1,000 births, compared to 2.6 per 1,000 births in 2004 according to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ).

What Are the Most Common Types of Birth Injuries?

There are many types of minor and life-altering common birth injuries for both the child and the family. The most common birth injuries are:

• Cerebral Palsy
• Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)
• Erb’s Palsy
• Skeletal Fractures
• Hypoxia
• Spinal cord injuries
• Birth Asphyxia
• Bacterial Infections
• Fetal Stroke
• Internal Bleeding
• Stillbirth

Signs a Birth Injury May Have Been Preventable

Birth injuries don’t always mean someone made a mistake. Still, certain details surrounding labor and delivery may put into question whether the medical team responded the way they should have. Some warning signs may include:

• Labor continued for a long time as complications developed, without moving to a C-section.
• Fetal heart-rate monitoring is missing or poorly documented in the medical records.
• Doctors or nurses did not respond quickly when the baby showed signs of fetal distress.
• Forceps or a vacuum extractor may have been used improperly during delivery.
• A traumatic delivery occurred, but necessary imaging was not ordered soon afterward.

These signs don’t instantly prove medical negligence but can give families a reason to look more closely at what happened. Medical records from Tampa General Hospital or St. Joseph’s Women’s Hospital can help reveal important details about the delivery process or what could have gone wrong. Keeping this in mind, families should request copies immediately because records will become harder to obtain or incomplete over time.

Florida medical negligence claims fall under Chapter 766. It states that families must complete a presuit investigation and obtain a verified written medical opinion by an expert to support reasonable grounds for the claim before filing a lawsuit. A Tampa medical malpractice attorney will review these important records and help you figure out if the injury could have been prevented.

What are the Most Common Causes of Birth Injuries?

There are generally two types of birth injuries: avoidable and unavoidable. Avoidable birth injuries are typically the result of medical malpractice. Unavoidable birth injuries occur when the natural circumstances surrounding the birth cause birth trauma. However, the cause and type of injury blur the line between avoidable and unavoidable.

The difference can usually be spotted at the cause:

Common Causes of Avoidable Birth Injuries

• Cesarean section injuries or failure to perform a C-section when it was necessary.
• Incorrect use of medical devices during delivery.
• Dangerous drugs that were given to the mother at any point during pregnancy to delivery.
• Failure to diagnose infections or other conditions.
• Failure to diagnose or adequately treat high-risk pregnancies.
• Failure to detect signs of fetal distress or other issues during labor and delivery.

Common Causes of Unavoidable Birth Injuries

• The baby is large, causing difficulties in moving through the birth canal.
• Breech births, where the baby is not head-first.
• Premature birth. 
• The umbilical cord becomes wrapped around the baby’s neck or body.
• The size or shape of the baby or the mother’s birth canal makes natural delivery difficult.
• Inefficient contractions from prolonged labor don’t adequately move the baby through the birth canal.
• The mother is morbidly obese. 

How HIE, Cerebral Palsy, and Brachial Plexus Claims Can Differ

HIE, cerebral palsy, and brachial plexus injuries are not investigated the same way and raise different medical and legal questions about what happened during labor and delivery.

• HIE: Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy affects the brain when there is too little oxygen and blood flow around the time of birth. A claim may focus on factors such as:
  • Fetal monitoring
  • Oxygen levels
  • Whether doctors acted quickly enough when delivery or resuscitation became necessary.

• Cerebral palsy: Cerebral palsy can have many possible causes affecting movement and posture. Medical experts need to determine whether a labor or delivery injury, which could have been prevented, contributed to the condition or whether it resulted from:
  • Prenatal factors
  • Genetic factors
  • Infectious disease
  • Congenital factors

• Brachial plexus injuries: These injuries, including Erb’s palsy, affect the nerves that control the upper limbs. A claim may examine whether excessive pulling or improper delivery techniques were used during shoulder dystocia.

Medical records from Tampa General Hospital or AdventHealth Tampa often clear up these questions and are important when revealing key details about the events during delivery.

When a birth injury lawsuit is filed in Hillsborough County, it proceeds through the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit at the George E. Edgecomb Courthouse. The type of injury can determine the evidence needed and how medical experts approach the legal questions in the case.

My Child Suffered a Birth Injury. Can I Sue?

It depends on what caused the birth injury. You can’t sue for damages if the injury was unavoidable. Conversely, if the injury was caused by medical malpractice, you are allowed to seek compensation. To successfully recover damages, your attorney must be able to prove the four main elements of medical malpractice.

Could Florida’s NICA Plan Affect Your Birth Injury Claim?

Florida’s Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Association, or NICA, is a no-fault program for certain serious neurological injuries that happen during birth. When NICA applies, it can change how a family seeks compensation because the claim may go through the program instead of a traditional medical negligence lawsuit.

The first question is whether the injury actually qualifies. Under Florida Statutes § 766.302(2), it must meet the legal definition of a birth-related neurological injury. The obstetrical services must also have been provided in a Florida hospital by a NICA-participating physician or, in certain cases, by a certified nurse midwife in a teaching hospital under the supervision of a participating physician. The physician’s participation status and whether the required NICA notices were provided must also be reviewed.

If an administrative law judge determines that the injury is compensable under NICA, the program generally becomes the exclusive remedy for covered claims involving labor, delivery, or immediate postdelivery resuscitation, subject to statutory exceptions. If the injury does not qualify, the family may still have other civil options and may want to speak with a Tampa personal injury attorney or Tampa wrongful death lawyer.

NICA claims are filed through the Florida Division of Administrative Hearings rather than Hillsborough County Circuit Court. Because the answer depends on the delivery records, the provider’s participation status, and the circumstances surrounding the injury, each case requires a careful review before the family knows which path applies.

What is the Statute of Limitations for a Birth Injury Lawsuit in Florida?

Generally, a birth injury lawsuit must be filed within two years of the injury. However, due to the complex nature of birth injuries and when symptoms of injuries become apparent, you may be entitled to a more extended period to file your claim. It is best to contact us. We can help you determine if you still have time to file a claim

Who Will Get the Money from a Birth Injury Lawsuit?

The amount you can seek to recover from a birth injury lawsuit varies due to many factors. You can usually file a claim for economic damages, such as current and future medical bills. Also, you could possibly file a claim for non-economic damages such as loss of enjoyment of life and pain and suffering. 

There is also the Florida Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Plan (NICA) which provides benefits and other resources for families when certain birth injuries qualify. Whether NICA applies, however, depends on the specific circumstances surrounding the injury.

What a Birth Injury Can Cost Over a Lifetime

A serious birth injury can create needs that continue long after the first hospital bills are paid. Our goal when calculating damages is to look beyond what a family has already spent and consider what the child may need even in the future.

That can include past and future medical care, rehabilitation and therapy, adaptive equipment, special education, home modifications, and lost earning capacity. Damages may also include non-economic losses, such as the child’s pain and suffering.

Because no one can simply guess what decades of care may cost, these cases often rely on experts. A life care planner can map out the child’s expected medical, therapy, equipment, and daily-care needs. Vocational and economic experts may then help estimate those future costs and how the injury could affect the child’s ability to earn income later in life.

In Hillsborough County cases, those projections can become part of the damages evidence reviewed in the Thirteenth Judicial Circuit at the George E. Edgecomb Courthouse.

Florida law can also affect the final amount recovered. Medical negligence claims under Chapter 766 follow pure comparative negligence, so compensation may be reduced based on a claimant’s share of fault without automatically being barred by the 51% rule in § 768.81(6). Florida Statutes § 766.118 also addresses non-economic damages, although its current enforceability must be verified.

For families in South Tampa, New Tampa, and along Bruce B. Downs Boulevard, planning for those long-term costs can mean accounting for decades of care, not just today’s expenses.

Speak with Darrigo & Diaz About Your Birth Injury

Here at Darrigo & Diaz Personal Injury Attorneys, we specialize in all manner of personal injury and wrongful death cases. Since 1999, we have been a reliable advocate for the victims of birth injuries and their victims. We encourage you to connect with us by calling (813) 774-3341 for an immediate free phone consultation with an expert birth injury attorney or by setting up a complimentary consultation with us online.