Legal Help for Birth-Related Brain Injuries
A birth-related brain injury is one of the most devastating outcomes a family can experience. When medical negligence during pregnancy, labor, or delivery deprives a newborn of oxygen or causes physical trauma to the brain, the consequences can last a lifetime — including cerebral palsy, hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), seizure disorders, and severe developmental disabilities. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), cerebral palsy affects approximately 1 in 345 children in the United States, with a significant percentage of cases linked to birth-related oxygen deprivation.
At Roden Law, our birth-related brain injury lawyers represent families across Georgia and South Carolina whose children suffered preventable brain damage due to medical malpractice during the birth process. These cases require specialized medical and legal expertise, and the damages — accounting for a lifetime of care — are among the most substantial in personal injury law.
Common Causes of Birth-Related Brain Injuries
Birth-related brain injuries are frequently caused by medical errors and failures in the standard of care:
- Failure to monitor fetal heart rate: Ignoring or misinterpreting fetal heart rate tracings showing distress
- Delayed C-section: Failing to perform a timely emergency cesarean when fetal distress indicates oxygen deprivation
- Improper use of forceps or vacuum: Excessive force causing skull fractures, intracranial hemorrhage, or brain compression
- Umbilical cord complications: Failure to manage prolapsed cord, nuchal cord, or cord compression
- Placental abruption: Failure to diagnose and respond to placental separation cutting off the baby’s blood supply
- Medication errors: Improper administration of Pitocin causing hyperstimulation and fetal oxygen deprivation
- Failure to treat maternal infections: Untreated Group B strep, chorioamnionitis, or other infections affecting the fetus
- Failure to manage high-risk pregnancies: Inadequate monitoring of preeclampsia, gestational diabetes, or other complications
Types of Birth-Related Brain Injuries
The most common birth-related brain injuries include:
- Hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE): Brain damage from oxygen deprivation during labor and delivery — the most common cause of birth-related brain injury
- Cerebral palsy: A group of motor disorders caused by brain damage before, during, or shortly after birth
- Periventricular leukomalacia (PVL): Damage to the white matter surrounding the brain’s ventricles
- Intracranial hemorrhage: Bleeding in or around the brain from traumatic delivery or blood vessel rupture
- Neonatal seizures: Seizure activity in newborns resulting from brain injury during birth
Georgia Birth Injury Legal Standards
Birth injury malpractice claims in Georgia are governed by the Georgia Medical Malpractice Act. Key provisions include a 2-year statute of limitations for medical malpractice (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-71) with a 5-year statute of repose, an expert affidavit requirement at filing (O.C.G.A. § 9-11-9.1), and special provisions extending the statute of limitations for minors until age 7 (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-73). Georgia does not cap compensatory damages in medical malpractice cases (the cap was struck down as unconstitutional in 2010).
South Carolina Birth Injury Legal Standards
South Carolina medical malpractice claims are subject to a 3-year statute of limitations (S.C. Code § 15-3-545) with a 6-year statute of repose, a mandatory pre-suit mediation requirement, and special tolling provisions for minors. South Carolina caps non-economic damages in medical malpractice cases at $350,000 per defendant and $1.05 million aggregate (S.C. Code § 15-32-220), though these caps do not apply to economic damages such as lifetime medical care costs.
Damages in Birth-Related Brain Injury Cases
Birth-related brain injury cases involve the most substantial damages in medical malpractice law, frequently reaching millions or tens of millions of dollars. Recoverable damages include lifetime medical care and therapy, assistive technology and adaptive equipment, special education costs, 24/7 attendant care and supervision, home modifications for accessibility, lost lifetime earning capacity, pain and suffering, and the child’s diminished quality of life. Life care planning experts develop comprehensive projections of the child’s needs from infancy through their projected life expectancy.
Why Choose Roden Law for Birth Injury Brain Damage Cases
Birth injury cases are among the most medically complex and emotionally demanding in our practice. Our attorneys work with leading obstetricians, neonatologists, pediatric neurologists, and life care planners to build cases that demonstrate exactly how the medical team’s negligence caused your child’s brain injury. We advance all costs and charge no fee unless we win. Contact us for a compassionate, confidential consultation about your child’s birth injury. If the injury involves broader birth injury claims, our medical malpractice team handles the full scope of the case.