The Lifetime Cost of a Catastrophic Birth Injury

Few unexpected outcomes are as devastating as having the joyous expectancy of welcoming a new child into the world, crushed by a catastrophic birth injury. While not as common as in the past, tragically, birth injuries still occur, despite the advancements in maternal and fetal medicine in the 21st century. 

Some birth injuries are mild and fully recoverable, but a catastrophic birth injury leaves a child with a diminished quality of life and the parents and child facing lifelong financial consequences. While a Phoenix birth injury lawyer can help parents with their financial recovery, no legal process can recover the child’s lost quality of life and erase the parents’ emotional anguish. A successful claim can help the parents and child gain a sense of justice for their losses.

What Types of Birth Injuries Cause Catastrophic Injury?

In legal terms, a catastrophic injury is one that causes permanent harm. According to the Cleveland Clinic, birth injuries are also known as neonatal trauma, a term describing an injury that occurs to an infant during the labor and delivery process or in the minutes following birth. The most severe birth injuries to a child typically result from hypoxia, or the lack of oxygen to the child’s brain during the delivery.

Common catastrophic birth injuries include:

• Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE): Brain damage caused by oxygen deprivation, often leading to cerebral palsy and developmental delays
• Periventricular leukomalacia (PVL): Damage to brain white matter, especially in premature infants
• Spinal cord injuries: Resulting in partial or complete paralysis
• Intracranial hemorrhage: Brain bleeds causing neurological damage
• Skull fractures: Leading to traumatic brain injury
• Brachial plexus injuries: Causing permanent arm or hand paralysis

The most common causes of the above catastrophic injury include physical trauma, such as from improper use of vacuum extractors or forceps, lack of oxygen to the brain, undiagnosed infections, and respiratory distress after delivery. 

Tragically, most birth injuries are preventable and directly result from the medical provider’s malpractice. A doctor’s failure to identify a high-risk delivery, failure to identify a change in the mother’s or child’s medical status during childbirth, or failure to perform appropriate emergency treatment in a timely manner are all examples of medical malpractice that causes Arizona birth injury cases.

Understanding Birth Injury-Related Costs

The expense of a birth injury extends far beyond the immediate cost of post-delivery medical treatment. A child with a catastrophic injury has a lifetime of expenses, including the following common lifelong financial and emotional costs:

• Medical expenses for a lifetime of care for the injury, medical condition, and associated complications
• Therapy costs for physical therapy, speech therapy, and occupational therapy
• Special education costs
• Assistive equipment or mobility equipment costs
• Adaptive equipment for the home and vehicle
• Home health care assistance services
• Caregiver respite services
• Loss of parents’ income for time off for appointments or a reduced work schedule to care for a child with special needs
• Diminished future earning capacity for the child due to disability
• Compensation for the child’s pain, suffering, and diminished quality of life
• Compensation for permanent scarring or disfigurement
• Compensation for the child’s loss of enjoyment of life, loss of companionship, and loss of consortium due to a disability that makes it difficult to pursue hobbies or have a romantic relationship
• Compensation for the parents’ emotional anguish

All of the above birth-injury-related expenses impact the amount of recoverable damages in a birth injury claim against the at-fault medical provider. A birth injury claim requires careful handling and compelling evidence.

How Do I Recover the Lifetime Cost of a Child’s Catastrophic Injury?

Doctors and other medical providers owe a duty of care to their patients. This legal duty requires the provider to treat their patients within the medical community’s accepted standard of care. If the provider breached their duty and caused an injury to the patient resulting in significant damages, the injured party or their family has the right to recover compensation for those damages.

A birth injury claim against an at-fault medical provider recovers compensation for damages from the provider’s medical malpractice insurance. Claims are typically resolved through settlements, but sometimes require litigation in court.

Does Arizona’s Two-Year Statute of Limitations Apply to Birth Injury Claims?

Arizona has a two-year statute of limitations on personal injury and medical malpractice claims; however, when an injury occurs to a minor, they have up to two years after they turn 18 to file a claim. If a parent files a claim, they must do so within two years of the birth injury date. If the child or their legal representative—often the parent—files the claim, they have up to the child’s 20th birthday to seek compensation.

What Is the Birth Injury Claim Process In Arizona?

Birth injuries are life-altering for the child and their family. A successful claim process against the at-fault doctor or other medical professional not only provides the family with compensation for the substantial financial losses caused by the injury but also brings a sense of justice and financial accountability. 

Hiring an Arizona medical malpractice attorney is the first step in the following process:

• The attorney consults with a medical expert and examines all medical records related to the birth and the child’s medical condition
• The investigation identifies the liable party, typically the doctor, medical staff, or medical facility
• The attorney carefully calculates the extensive economic and non-economic damages, including past and future damages
• The attorney sends their findings to the at-fault provider’s medical malpractice insurance
• Negotiation meetings take place, with the attorney assertively arguing for the largest possible settlement

Most claims are resolved through a settlement from the medical malpractice insurer; however, some claims require a court case, such as when a medical provider denies fault or their insurer fails to offer an adequate settlement. While court cases take longer to resolve, they often result in a large jury award for the family’s damages in birth injury claims because juries tend to sympathize with injured children and their parents over powerful insurance companies.

A birth injury claim for a catastrophic injury is a complex legal process, but a successful claim alleviates financial stress and opens doors to the best possible care for an injured child.