The Difference Between Birth Injury Lawsuits and Birth Defect Lawsuits

The family of a severely disabled girl who suffered from birth injuries as a result of negligent treatment by the doctors and hospital involved in the child’s 2001 birth has been awarded a settlement from the defendants to compensate them for the damages caused by the medical negligence. This case is useful to demonstrate the difference between birth injury claims and lawsuits filed because of birth defects. Birth injuries and birth defects can each be the source of terrible grief for the families involved, as well as a successful lawsuit to compensate the family for the loss, although there are key differences between the two types of lawsuits that sometimes cause plaintiffs confusion.

Birth Injury Lawsuits Generally Allege Medical Malpractice; Most Birth Defect Claims Concern Products Liability

Birth injury claims are usually centered on the medical care that was provided to a mother and child during the time immediately before, during, and after the child’s delivery. A child who is injured or disabled as a result of a birth injury claim generally would have been born healthy if not for the medical negligence surrounding the delivery of the child. Maryland birth injury plaintiffs can receive compensation for a birth injury claim if they can prove that the attending doctors and medical staff provided inadequate or substandard care, which resulted in the injured or disabled child.

According to a news report, this was the type of negligence that caused the child to be born disabled back in 2001. Making matters worse, the family sought the advice of a medical consultant who misled them as to the source of the child’s injuries, convincing the family for over five years that their child’s disability was not caused by negligent treatment during the child’s delivery.

Many personal injury claims based on birth defects have alleged that something (often a drug or treatment) that was done to (or taken by) the mother during the pregnancy hurt the baby’s development, causing the baby to develop a disability or defect while in the womb. A baby born with birth defects can be the product of a perfect delivery that occurred without negligence, but because the problems developed over time in the womb the child may be disabled at birth.

The family of a child born with birth defects because of a drug being taken by the mother during pregnancy may have an unsafe product claim against the manufacturer of the drug, as well as a Maryland medical malpractice claim if a doctor negligently prescribed the harmful treatment to a pregnant woman.

What to Do if You Suspect a Disabled Child is a Victim of Negligence

If you or a loved one has given birth to a child with disabilities that may be the result of a negligent birth, birth injury, or birth defects, consulting a qualified Baltimore birth injury attorney from the start will help you obtain compensation for the injuries and losses. The experienced birth injury and medical malpractice attorneys at Wais, Vogelstein, Forman, Koch & Norman have decades of experience handling complex birth injury and malpractice cases, and we can help you get the relief that you deserve. We focus our practice on birth injuries and medical malpractice, and we represent victims of negligence nationwide. Contact the qualified Maryland and D.C. birth injury attorneys at Wais, Vogelstein, Forman, Koch & Norman today. Call us at 410-998-3600 or contact us through our website to schedule a risk-free consultation.