How Much Can I Sue for a Birth Injury?

Bringing a new child into the world should be a joyful occasion. Tragically, when medical negligence results in a birth injury, that joy can transform into confusion, anxiety, and fear for your child’s future in an instant. In many cases, the filing of a birth injury lawsuit is the first step in obtaining the compensation your family may need to provide your child with the best treatment and care as they grow.

Some of the most common birth injuries include:

• Cerebral palsy
• Brachial plexus injuries (including Erb’s palsy)
• Shoulder Dystocia
• Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE)
• Skull fractures
• Facial nerve damage
• Spinal cord injuries

Not all birth injuries are caused by medical malpractice, but when they are, babies and their families deserve compensation.

At the Phoenix office of Burg Simpson, our experienced birth injury lawyers work with medical experts to pore over records detailing prenatal, delivery, and post-natal care. Thorough in our investigations, we work to uncover all incidents of negligence, enabling us to identify the liable parties and fight for the maximum compensation injured babies and their families deserve.

Questions About a Birth Injury Lawsuit? Contact Us for FREE

If you have questions about your right to file a birth injury lawsuit in Phoenix or anywhere in Arizona, Burg Simpson is here to help. Call us at 602-777-7000 to schedule a FREE and confidential consultation and learn more.

The Consequences of Birth Injury

Birth injuries can result in severe and lasting consequences—physically, emotionally, and financially. Depending on the types and extent of the injury, a child may require lifelong support, including specialized medical care, therapy, schooling, adaptive technologies, and assistive care.

A study conducted by the CDC in 2003 found that the lifetime cost to care for a person with cerebral palsy and similarly severe birth injuries averaged $1 million per family. Adjusted for inflation, that is an average of $1,760,039 in lifetime costs related to direct expenses like medical costs and special education services, along with indirect costs such as lost productivity. These costs must be factored into the damages you seek through a birth injury lawsuit.

Not all consequences of birth injury are financial. Emotionally, families often experience overwhelming stress, depression, and anxiety as they adapt to life with a medically fragile child. Siblings may feel isolated or neglected, and parents may feel guilty or exhausted, even when doing everything right. These issues, too, must be factored into birth injury lawsuit damages, even though they have no tangible costs.

When a preventable birth injury occurs, the consequences ripple through every part of a family’s life. No amount of money can undo the harm, but a successful lawsuit can help ensure your child gets the resources they need to live the best life possible. A birth injury lawsuit will also hold negligent healthcare providers accountable for the pain they have caused.

When Is a Birth Injury Lawsuit Necessary?

Preventable birth injury occurs when a doctor, nurse, or other medical provider is negligent in their duty to provide a certain level of care. This can take several forms, but often includes issues such as:

• Failure to monitor fetal distress
• Improper use of delivery tools
• Failure to perform a medically necessary C-section on time
• Mishandling umbilical cord complications
• Negligent prenatal or postnatal care

Insurance offers for serious injury are often well below what is actually needed to make the best recovery. However, if you accept an offer from insurance, you will not be able to pursue additional damages through a birth injury lawsuit. It is always a good idea to discuss your case with a lawyer before accepting an insurance offer, just to make sure you are not voluntarily waiving your right to seek the full compensation you are entitled to.

Birth Injury Lawsuit Damages in Arizona

In Arizona, parents of children who sustained birth injuries may be able to recover a wide range of damages, including:

• Past and future medical expenses
• Rehabilitation and therapy costs
• Special education expenses
• In-home care
• Adaptive technologies
• Home modifications
• Lost earning potential
• Pain and suffering
• Emotional distress

There is no cap on damages in birth injury cases in Arizona. Article 2, Section 31 of the Arizona Constitution expressly prohibits laws that limit the amount of damages a person may recover after serious injury. This means that, through a birth injury lawsuit, your family can seek compensation that reflects the full scope of harm your child has suffered. Added to those damages can be all of the ways—emotionally and otherwise—that the injury has and will continue to impact every member of your household.

How Much Can I Sue for a Birth Injury in Arizona?

The state of Arizona does not place an arbitrary cap on birth injury damages. This means that the compensation you may be able to recover through a birth injury lawsuit will largely depend on:

• The severity and permanence of your child’s injury
• Your child’s future care needs
• How the injury affects the family’s dynamic and quality of life
• The strength of evidence proving negligence

Birth injury cases can result in significant compensation due to the costs of lifelong care, medical support, and other issues. Determining how much a case is worth requires careful consideration of all of these factors. This is another function of your birth injury lawyer.

Our attorneys are personally invested in every case we take. We will take the time necessary to gain a full understanding of how your child’s injury has impacted your family and build a case that seeks compensation for all of the harm you have suffered.

We Are Here to Help With Your Birth Injury Lawsuit

For more than 45 years, Burg Simpson has been helping families in Arizona navigate the aftermath of devastating injuries caused by medical malpractice. Our lawyers don’t take shortcuts or treat clients like numbers. We take time to understand your situation, answer your questions, and help you understand your rights and options. This enables us to customize your representation and craft a case that is reflective of your daily experiences.

An award-winning law firm with several locally and nationally recognized attorneys, Burg Simpson has recovered over $2 billion in settlements and verdicts for our clients. Experienced trial lawyers, we are prepared to take your birth injury lawsuit as far as necessary to help your family secure the compensation you need to move forward.

Contact an Arizona Birth Injury Lawyer for FREE

If your child suffered a birth injury and you suspect medical negligence played a role, we encourage you to reach out for a free, no-obligation consultation. Contact us today and let us help you understand your legal options for filing a birth injury lawsuit. Based in Phoenix, our attorneys fight for families living in Scottsdale, Gilbert, Chandler, Tempe, and throughout Arizona.