Birth injuries are unexpected and devastating. What is supposed to be the most joyful day in a parent’s life can mark the beginning of a lifelong medical nightmare.
Our Las Vegas birth injuries lawyers sue Nevada doctors who cause avoidable harm to mothers or babies during childbirth. And we pursue the largest settlement possible under Nevada law to cover both present and future expenses caused by the physician’s medical negligence.
1. What money can I get from a birth injury lawsuit?
Nevada personal injury lawyers seek compensatory damages for the following birth injury expenses:
- medical bills, including all future medical care associated with the birth injury;
- special education costs (if the injury caused the child brain damage);
- lost wages from being too injured to work;
- pain and suffering;
- funeral expenses (if the mother or child dies from the injury).
Predictably, plaintiffs with the most serious injuries receive the highest payouts. If the child is permanently disabled, parents can recover damages for medical expenses the child will incur even after reaching age 18.1
Delivery doctors can be sued for causing birth injuries.
2. How do I win birth injury lawsuits?
Birth injury lawsuits in Nevada are a type of medical malpractice claim. Should the case reach trial (which is rare), parents would need to demonstrate these four elements:
- The physician owed the parent and child a legal duty. In short, there was a doctor-patient relationship between the defendant and plaintiff.
- The physician breached that duty. Childbirth is a very crucial time that demands the doctor’s complete attention and skill. If the doctor failed to deliver the expected standard of care (such as by failing to notice the baby’s heart rate dropping and reacting accordingly), then a breach occurred.
- The mother or baby was harmed. Birth injuries can range from minor and temporary to serious and permanent.
- The doctor’s medical negligence caused the birth injury. Had the defendant acted as a competent medical provider would in the same situation, then the birth injury probably would not have occurred.2
Typical evidence in these cases includes medical records and eyewitness accounts. Las Vegas birth injury lawyers will also use a medical expert to scrutinize any doctors’ notes in case the doctors skewed the facts to hide their mistakes.
3. What is Nevada’s statute of limitations?
For injuries that occurred on or after October 1, 2023, Nevada’s statute of limitations to bring a birth injury lawsuit is the sooner of:
- 3 years after the medical professional caused the birth injury; or
- 2 years after you discovered – or should have discovered – the birth injury.3
4. What are birth injuries?
Like it sounds, birth injuries are injuries sustained by the mother and/or the newborn during a difficult birth. In some cases, these types of injuries are avoidable. They may be due to the delivering doctor’s negligence and failure to do a C-section.
Examples of a mother’s birth injuries include:
- vaginal tears
- post-partum hemorrhage
- a ruptured uterus
- a prolapsed uterus
- nerve damage
Examples of a baby’s birth injuries include:
- fractures
- subconjunctival hemorrhage
- brachial plexus injuries
- cerebral palsy
- erb’s palsy
- cephalohematoma
- caput succedaneum
- facial paralysis
- other brain injuries from a lack of oxygen
- forceps-induced bruising
Babies who sustained birth injuries may be permanently dependent and require lifelong care.
5. Do I need a personal injury attorney?
If you or your child suffered a birth injury in Nevada, then you should rely on an experienced Las Vegas birth injury attorney to handle the medical malpractice case against your healthcare providers.
Doctors and hospitals have very aggressive legal teams devoted to blame-shifting, burying you in paperwork, and paying out as little as possible. And if you are a new parent, you should not have to expend the time or energy necessary to fight fire with fire.
A lot of new parents – particularly mothers – blame themselves for any injuries they or their babies sustain. But in many cases, the fault lies with the doctors and nurses for not adequately monitoring the situation and failing to treat the mother and baby quickly enough to avoid injuries.
Our Las Vegas birth injury lawyers handle the entire personal injury case from beginning to end, including all the investigation, litigation, and negotiation necessary to achieve a favorable settlement. And since we do not get paid unless you get paid, hiring our medical malpractice lawyers is risk-free to you.
If you or your loved one is in need of a Nevada birth injury attorney, contact our Las Vegas, NV personal injury law firm for legal advice. Our law office’s medical malpractice attorneys bring injury claims throughout the state.
Our legal team’s practice areas also comprise motor vehicle accidents (including truck accidents, motorcycle accidents, and other car accidents), wrongful death, and products liability.
Legal References
- See Tam v. Eighth Jud. Dist. Ct. (2015) 358 P.3d 234131 Nev. Adv. Op. 80. NRS 125B.110.
- See, for example, Egan v. Adashek (2015) 2015 Nev. App. Unpub. LEXIS 634. AB 404 (2023).
- NRS 41A.097. See also Monroe v. Columbia Sunrise Hosp. & Med. Ctr. (2007) .
- Birth Injuries, Stanford’s Children’s Health.