Miami Birth Injury Lawyer
A birth should be one of the most carefully monitored events in healthcare. When complications develop during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or the immediate period after birth, physicians, nurses, and other healthcare providers may need to recognize changing conditions and respond appropriately. When a doctor or hospital fails to meet the applicable standard of care and a child is injured as a result, the consequences can be profound and lifelong.
Birth injuries can take many forms. Some involve neurological damage associated with oxygen deprivation or other complications during labor and delivery. Others involve physical injuries, including injuries to the brachial plexus, fractures, or other trauma. A child may require immediate treatment, hospitalization, therapy, assistive equipment, or long-term care.
At Sotolongo Law, we understand that birth injury cases require careful analysis of both the medicine and the law. Miami birth injury lawyer Pedro P. Sotolongo has more than 20 years of medical malpractice experience, including five years representing healthcare providers and insurers in medical malpractice defense. That experience helps our firm evaluate complex questions involving prenatal care, fetal monitoring, labor and delivery, emergency intervention, and newborn care.
What Is a Birth Injury?
A birth injury is an injury that occurs before, during, or around the time of birth. Some injuries are unavoidable complications of pregnancy or delivery. Others result from medical negligence.
A medical malpractice claim requires more than showing that a child was injured. Under Florida law, the claimant must establish that the healthcare provider breached the prevailing professional standard of care and that the breach proximately caused the injury. Florida law also specifically provides that the existence of a medical injury does not, by itself, create a presumption of negligence.
That distinction is important in birth injury cases. Childbirth can involve unexpected complications even when medical providers act appropriately. The question in a malpractice case is whether the care provided was consistent with what a reasonably prudent similar healthcare provider would have done under the circumstances.
Potential Birth Injury Claims
Birth injury cases may involve different types of alleged negligence. A physician or other provider may fail to recognize signs that a fetus is in distress, fail to respond appropriately to abnormal fetal monitoring, delay an indicated intervention, improperly manage complications, or fail to provide appropriate care after delivery.
A case may also involve negligent prenatal care. Problems that arise before labor can require appropriate testing, monitoring, referral, or treatment. If a provider fails to recognize or appropriately address a significant prenatal condition and the child is injured as a result, the prenatal care may become an important part of the investigation.
Other cases involve physical injuries during delivery. For example, a difficult delivery can result in an injury to the baby’s brachial plexus or another part of the body. Whether such an injury constitutes malpractice depends on the circumstances, including the condition of the mother and baby, the delivery process, the decisions made by the medical team, and the available alternatives.
How Birth Injury Cases Are Investigated
Birth injury cases require an extensive review of medical records. Prenatal records may establish the mother’s health, pregnancy complications, testing, and treatment before labor. Labor and delivery records may document fetal monitoring, medications, examinations, contractions, interventions, and decisions made by the medical team.
The newborn’s records can be equally important. Apgar scores, blood-gas results, neonatal examinations, imaging, intensive-care records, and treatment provided after delivery may help establish the child’s condition and the timing of the injury.
As with any medical malpractice claim, expert medical review is central to the investigation of a birth injury. Depending on the allegations, experts may include obstetricians, maternal-fetal medicine physicians, neonatologists, pediatric neurologists, or other qualified professionals. Experts can evaluate whether the care met the applicable standard and whether the alleged departure caused the child’s injury.
The child’s subsequent medical history is also important. Therapy records, developmental assessments, specialist treatment, adaptive equipment, and other services may document the continuing effects of an injury. The goal is to reconstruct what happened medically and determine whether the evidence supports a claim.
The Long-Term Consequences of a Birth Injury
A serious birth injury can affect virtually every aspect of a child’s life. Depending on the injury, a child may require physical, occupational, or speech therapy; specialized education; assistive technology; medical equipment; medications; transportation; or personal and custodial care.
Families may also face substantial future expenses. The child’s needs can change as the child grows, making an evaluation of long-term care particularly important in a serious injury case.
Parents may have to reduce working hours or leave employment to provide care. The emotional and practical effects on a family can be substantial as well.
A legal claim may seek compensation for damages supported by the applicable law and medical evidence. Determining the extent of those damages requires understanding both the child’s present condition and the care that may be required in the future.
Florida Presuit Requirements for Medical Malpractice Claims
Florida medical malpractice cases are subject to specific presuit requirements. Before filing a medical negligence lawsuit, a claimant must investigate to determine whether there are reasonable grounds to believe that negligence occurred and caused an injury.
That determination must be corroborated through a verified written medical expert opinion. The law further requires an attorney filing a medical negligence action to certify that they conducted a reasonable investigation supporting a good faith basis for filing the claim.
In addition, Florida law requires pre-suit notice to each prospective defendant after the investigation, giving the party a 90-day presuit screening period after the notice is received before a lawsuit can be filed.
These requirements make early investigation particularly important in birth injury cases. Medical records can be extensive, and the case may involve multiple providers, including obstetricians, nurses, hospitals, neonatologists, and other healthcare professionals.
Why Medical Malpractice Experience Matters
Birth injury litigation can involve some of the most complicated medical evidence in personal injury law. An attorney must understand the chronology of care, work effectively with medical experts, and distinguish an unavoidable complication from an injury caused by negligent treatment.
Miami injury lawyer Pedro P. Sotolongo brings more than two decades of medical malpractice experience to that process. Before representing injured patients, he spent five years defending healthcare providers and insurers. That experience gave him insight into how hospitals, physicians, insurers, and defense attorneys analyze medical negligence claims.
At Sotolongo Law, we combine extensive medical malpractice experience with a personal approach to representing injured patients and their families.
A Boutique Miami Firm for Birth Injury Cases
Sotolongo Law is a boutique personal injury firm serving Miami and South Florida. We understand that a birth injury affects an entire family, not simply the child who suffered the injury.
We are prepared to take on powerful hospitals, healthcare systems, physicians, and insurers when the evidence supports a claim. At the same time, we provide the personal communication and attention that families deserve when dealing with a serious injury.
Sotolongo Law is pleased to serve Miami’s Spanish-speaking communities. We understand the importance of communicating clearly with families about medical records, expert opinions, legal procedures, and the potential options available to them.
Frequently Asked Questions About Birth Injuries
Can a birth injury be caused by medical malpractice?
Yes. A birth injury can result from medical negligence, but the existence of an injury alone does not establish malpractice. The evidence must show that a healthcare provider breached the applicable standard of care and caused the injury.
What are some examples of birth injuries?
Birth injuries can include neurological injuries as well as physical injuries such as brachial plexus injuries or fractures. The nature and cause of an injury must be evaluated based on the individual circumstances.
Is cerebral palsy caused by medical malpractice?
Cerebral palsy has multiple possible causes, and its presence does not by itself establish that medical negligence occurred. A medical investigation is necessary to determine whether an injury was caused by negligent care.
What is NICA?
NICA is Florida’s Birth-Related Neurological Injury Compensation Plan. It provides no-fault compensation for a limited category of qualifying birth-related neurological injuries. Because the plan can affect whether a civil malpractice action is available, the statutory requirements should be evaluated in an individual case.
How long do I have to pursue a birth injury claim in Florida?
The applicable timeframe may be as short as two years or as long as four years, depending on the nature of the claim and the circumstances of the injury. Florida law contains special provisions affecting claims involving minors and qualifying birth-related neurological injuries. Because both limitations periods and presuit requirements can affect a family’s rights, prompt legal evaluation is important.
Contact Sotolongo Law About a Birth Injury in Miami
When a child suffers an injury during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or the immediate period after birth, the family may have questions about what happened and whether the injury could have been prevented. Answering those questions requires careful review of the medical evidence rather than assumptions based solely on the outcome.
Sotolongo Law brings more than 20 years of medical malpractice experience to serious injury cases. Pedro P. Sotolongo’s experience defending healthcare providers before representing injured patients gives our firm a perspective that can be valuable when investigating complex birth injury claims.
Contact Sotolongo Law for a free consultation. We can discuss the circumstances surrounding your child’s birth, explain the investigation process, and help you understand the legal options that may be available. You pay no legal fee unless we obtain a recovery for you. Because We Care®.