Generally there is no legal liability for the doctors or health care providers, if during the pregnancy and delivery, the level of medical care was consistent with accepted community standards relating to such medical practice.

To make a determination as to whether the birth injury is the result of medical malpractice, a review of all medical records of the mother and the fetus during the pregnancy is required. That review will be carried out by board certified medical specialists in Obstetrics. Other board certified doctors may also be involved depending upon the birth injury or defect detected in the newborn. If the reviewing specialists will provide an affidavit that indicates malpractice, and if there is evidence that the malpractice caused the defect, a legal claim may be justified.

Issues such as the failure to warn the mother of the risks associated with pregnancy based upon her (or her husband’s) medical history, are also subject to investigation, but the recovery of damages in such cases is far less certain.

All the special rules, including a limited statute of limitations, provisions of payment of attorney fees and costs if the defense prevails, and limitations on available damages are also involved.

The attorneys at Carlson, Meissner, Hart & Hayslett, have experience in the review and evaluation of birth defect and injury claims. For close to forty years, our personal injury lawyers have helped parents in Pinellas, Hillsborough, Manatee, Pasco, Hernando, and Citrus counties in Florida, reach informed conclusions about the filing of a medical malpractice lawsuit in birth injury cases.