Baltimore Birth Injury Lawyers

Did your child suffer a birth injury due to medical negligence? If so, you might feel overwhelmed by medical expenses, unanswered questions, and concerns about your child’s future. A Baltimore birth injury attorney can help you file a legal claim to recover compensation for medical treatment, specialized care, and other costs related to your child’s injury. Taking legal action can also push hospitals and doctors to follow safer practices, which could prevent future mistakes.

If you believe your child suffered a birth injury due to medical negligence, Greenberg Law Offices can help. Our firm has served families in Baltimore and across Maryland for over 60 years. We have more than 100 years of combined legal experience, including medical malpractice and birth injury cases. We approach every case with a commitment to fighting for the compensation you deserve, and we are ready to stand up for you.

Contact us today for a free, no-obligation consultation to discuss your case and take the first step toward justice. You pay nothing unless we win compensation for your birth injury lawsuit.

What a Baltimore Birth Injury Attorney Can Do for Your Case

If you know or suspect you have a birth injury claim, an experienced lawyer from Greenberg Law Offices can make a significant difference throughout the Maryland legal process. We are prepared to work tirelessly to hold negligent medical providers accountable, negotiate with insurance companies, and take cases to trial when necessary. When you work with us, you receive personal attention from attorneys who genuinely care about your family’s well-being.

From the moment you contact us, we start working on your case and developing the robust legal strategy you deserve by:

  • Doing a full investigation into the details of your case
  • Gathering medical records and other documents important to supporting your claim
  • Consulting medical experts who can attest to what happened
  • Identifying all responsible possible parties and sources of compensation
  • Calculating the full extent of your financial losses
  • Negotiating with insurance carriers on your behalf
  • Filing all required legal documents correctly and on time
  • Taking your case for trial, if necessary

Our firm provides the resources of a large practice while maintaining the personal service of a family-run office. Because we take a limited number of cases, we make sure every client gets our full attention and commitment to do what we can to get the accountability and compensation you deserve. Contact us today to learn more about how we can help.

What Compensation Can I Recover in a Baltimore Birth Injury Claim?

The compensation or damages (money) you receive for a successful birth injury claim can include both economic and non-economic damages. Economic damages cover financial losses that have a clear dollar value, while non-economic damages account for more personal and subjective losses.

Economic damages in a Maryland birth injury claim aim to cover the financial burden your family experienced due to medical negligence. These damages can include compensation for the following:

  • Medical expenses for past and future treatment
  • The cost of specialized care or assistive devices
  • Lost income if a parent must leave work to provide care,
  • Any future lost earning potential for the injured child

The purpose of non-economic damages is to address the subjective harm your family suffered. These damages do not have a fixed price, so they are more challenging to calculate. They compensate families for the impact the birth injury has had on daily life, including in the form of the following:

  • Pain and suffering
  • Emotional distress
  • Loss of enjoyment of life

Maryland law places a cap on non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases. For injuries that occur in 2024, the limit is $890,000. For injuries that occur in 2025, the limit is $905,000. This cap increases by $15,000 each year. If a wrongful death claim involves two or more beneficiaries, the total cap increases to 125 percent of the standard limit. However, no cap applies to economic damages, meaning families can seek full compensation for their financial losses in birth injury claims.

When you talk to a Baltimore birth injury lawyer from Greenberg Law Offices, we can explain how this cap rule could apply to your case.

Who Can Commit and Be Held Responsible for Birth Injuries?

Obstetricians and other doctors can be liable for birth injuries if they make errors in monitoring, diagnosing, or treating complications during pregnancy or delivery. They could also be responsible if they use improper delivery techniques or fail to order C-sections when necessary. Nurses and other medical staff can also be liable if they fail to follow proper procedures or report concerns to a doctor.

Additionally, hospitals can be liable for hiring unqualified staff, failing to train employees, or not maintaining proper policies for labor and delivery care. If a medication error causes harm, the pharmacist or the hospital pharmacy could be responsible. In some cases, medical device manufacturers could also be liable if a faulty tool or machine contributes to a birth injury.

How Do You Prove Liability in a Birth Injury Case?

Your medical malpractice lawyer can prove liability in a birth injury case by showing that your healthcare provider’s negligence caused the birth injury. This requires gathering evidence to show that the provider failed to meet accepted medical standards and that this failure led to harm.

Your attorney will start by reviewing medical records, fetal monitoring reports, and any notes from the labor and delivery process. They might work with medical experts to analyze whether the provider’s actions met the standard of care. Expert witnesses can explain how a doctor, nurse, or hospital should have responded to the situation and how their failure contributed to the injury.

Lawyers also examine hospital policies, staff training records, and prior complaints against the providers involved. If necessary, they collect witness statements from other medical professionals or those present during the birth to demonstrate liability and build a strong case.

What Are the Requirements for Filing a Birth Injury Claim in Maryland?

As with any other injury claim, the first steps in bringing a birth injury claim in Maryland involve filing a complaint and summons in court and serving them on the defendant. However, Maryland law adds additional requirements for medical malpractice cases.

Within 90 days of filing your claim, you must submit a certificate from a qualified medical expert to the court. This certificate must state that your provider did not meet the accepted medical standard of care and that this failure caused the birth injury. Without this certificate, the court may dismiss the case unless the judge grants an exception.

If you seek more than $30,000 in compensation, you must bring your claim to Maryland’s Health Care Alternative Dispute Resolution Office before you can sue. A three-member arbitration panel will review the case to determine liability and damages. The panel’s decision is not final, however, and either party can appeal to a Maryland Circuit Court.

You can seek to waive arbitration by filing a written request within 60 days after all defendants submit their expert certificates. If you wish to waive arbitration, you must file your lawsuit in court within 60 days, or the court may dismiss the case.

Is There a Deadline for Filing a Birth Injury Claim in Maryland?

Yes. Maryland law gives you five years from the date of the medical error or three years from when you discover the injury, whichever comes first, to file a medical malpractice lawsuit.

The statute of limitations for birth injury claims, however, extends the filing deadline for minors. For children who were under 18 when the injury occurred, the filing deadline does not start until they turn 18. This means the birth injury lawsuit must be filed by the child’s 21st or 23rd birthday.

If you wait to file your lawsuit until after the deadline, the court will likely dismiss your case, and you will lose your right to sue. This is why you should act quickly and contact a lawyer as soon as possible after a birth injury for information about protecting your right to seek compensation.

What Are Common Causes of Birth Injuries?

If medical providers fail to act or make errors in labor or delivery, it can lead to complications during childbirth that result in severe birth injuries. The following are some common causes of these injuries:

  • Oxygen deprivation from umbilical cord compression or prolonged labor without intervention
  • Delayed C-sections due to failure to recognize signs of fetal distress
  • Improper use of forceps or vacuum extractors
  • Medication errors, such as prescribing or administering the wrong drug or dosage during labor
  • Excessive force during delivery

What Injuries Can Babies and Mothers Experience During Childbirth?

Birth injuries can occur any time a medical provider fails to monitor, diagnose, or respond to complications during labor and delivery. Common types of birth injuries include the following:

  • Anoxic/Hypoxic Brain Injuries – Anoxic injuries occur when the brain receives no oxygen, while hypoxic injuries happen when oxygen flow is reduced. These conditions can result from umbilical cord problems, prolonged labor, or a failure to recognize fetal distress.
  • Cerebral Palsy – This neurological condition affects movement, coordination, and muscle tone. It can develop if a baby experiences oxygen deprivation, infections, or head trauma during birth.
  • Shoulder Dystocia – Shoulder dystocia occurs when a baby’s shoulders get stuck in the birth canal after the head has emerged. If a doctor applies excessive force or fails to respond properly, the baby can suffer nerve damage, fractures, or oxygen deprivation.
  • Brachial Plexus Injuries – The brachial plexus is a network of nerves controlling movement in the arms and hands. Stretching or tearing these nerves during delivery can cause weakness, loss of function, or paralysis in the affected limb.
  • Intracranial Hemorrhage – Bleeding in the brain can occur if a baby experiences head trauma during delivery. This could happen due to improper use of forceps or vacuum extractors.

Contact a Birth Injury Lawyer in Baltimore Today

If you believe medical negligence caused your child’s birth injury, take action today. Your case deserves personal attention, so our team is here to listen and help you move forward. Contact us today to discuss your case with a Baltimore birth injury lawyer who handles cases throughout Maryland, and let our family help your family.