If your child has suffered a birth injury, it’s natural to want to know what type of medical malpractice settlement or verdict you might expect to receive. Birth injuries often mean ongoing medical care and other support for the child, which can be very expensive, that’s why a common question people ask is what is the average of the birth injury lawsuit settlements.
A birth injury settlement is a payment that aims to compensate families for damages resulting from medical malpractice during childbirth. These settlements are designed to cover a broad range of current costs and other essential needs that arise due to the injury.
Birth injuries can be minor, temporary issues, or severe, permanent disabilities that swiftly alter the lives of both the child and their family. Securing a financial settlement helps families manage those injuries and losses. Dyer, Garofalo, Mann & Schultz can help you with your financial relief.
Of course, the average birth injury settlement amount won’t necessarily apply in your case. The best way to get specific information about the possible value of your claim is to speak with an experienced Ohio medical malpractice attorney who is knowledgeable about birth injury cases.
One of the most critical issues about birth injury settlements is how long it would take for the settlement amount to be checked in the bank. The majority of birth injury lawsuits in Ohio take a year or longer to settle. However, this depends on the speed at which the lawsuit process proceeds.
The birth injury lawsuit journey begins with meeting a birth injury attorney for a case review. At this stage, they will evaluate your claim to determine if you have a case. This evaluation seeks to identify potential claims and assess whether there is sufficient evidence to move forward.
This stage usually lasts from a few weeks to a few months unless your case requires medical experts to review the facts.
Before filing a lawsuit, you will have to conduct an in-depth investigation. This includes constituting a medical review panel that will confirm if the standard of care was indeed breached and that this breach caused the injury. This review panel in Ohio is usually valid for one year, though it can be renewed for more discovery.
If your birth injury attorney in Ohio is convinced that your case has merit, they will file a formal complaint against the responsible parties. They will draft legal documents that outline the allegations of negligence and the resulting harm. The filing process itself is relatively quick.
This is the stage at which the exchange of information between both parties takes place. It includes depositions, interrogatories, and document production to build the case. The discovery phase is one of the lengthiest parts of the process because its thoroughness essentially lays the groundwork for either settlement negotiations or trial.
Around 96.9% of medical malpractice cases are resolved out of court. Both parties negotiate and reach a fair settlement before going to court. Settlement negotiations can occur at any point but often happen after the discovery phase when both sides have a clearer understanding of the case’s strengths and weaknesses. Sometimes, negotiations can take long as parties try to bridge their settlement expectations.
If the case has to proceed to trial, opening statements, witness testimonies, cross-examinations, and closing arguments may last from a few days to several weeks. This, however, depends on the court’s schedules and the complexity of the case.
After a verdict, one of the parties may file motions or appeals to alter the judgment or request a new trial. This phase can take several months to years, depending on the appellate court’s schedule and the legal issues involved.
Birth injuries can result from various types of medical negligence. The most common birth injury lawsuits in Ohio include the following:
Cerebral palsy is mostly due to oxygen deprivation (hypoxia) during labor and delivery. This condition can result from delayed C-sections, improper use of delivery tools, or failure to monitor fetal distress. Cerebral palsy affects muscle coordination and movement and often requires lifelong care, including physical therapy, special education, and medical treatment.
This involves damage to the nerves that control the arm and hand, often due to excessive pulling or improper handling during delivery. Conditions like Erb’s palsy fall under this category. Brachial plexus injuries can result in partial or complete paralysis of the affected arm, demanding surgeries and extensive rehabilitation.
HIE is a brain injury caused by severe oxygen deprivation and limited blood flow during birth, leading to potential lifelong disabilities. Being the most common birth injury claim, this condition can result in cognitive impairments, developmental delays, and motor skill deficits. Treatment may involve medical interventions, therapies, and special education services.
Broken bones, particularly the clavicle or collarbone, can occur from improper delivery techniques or excessive force used during birth. Fractures may heal over time, but they can cause significant pain and require medical intervention.
Kernicterus denotes brain damage that occurs in newborns with severe jaundice. It can result from failure to diagnose and treat jaundice promptly. This condition can lead to hearing loss, cerebral palsy, and intellectual disabilities that need extensive medical treatment and support services.
Facial nerve injuries are caused by forceps or vacuum extraction during delivery. These may lead to temporary or permanent facial paralysis. Such injuries can affect a child’s ability to eat, speak, and express emotions. The victim will require physical therapy and, in some cases, surgical interventions.
Although rare, spinal cord injuries can result from excessive force or improper handling during difficult deliveries. These injuries are known to cause permanent paralysis and require lifelong medical care.
Filing a birth injury claim may seem intimidating especially when you think of taking a medical professional to court. However, the benefits outweigh the fears, particularly in the face of piling medical bills and emotional toll.
Birth injuries often require extensive medical treatment. One of the most obvious reasons to file a birth injury claim is to secure financial compensation. Costs for initial hospital stays and surgeries to long-term therapies and ongoing care can quickly become overwhelming. A winning claim provides the financial resources necessary to cover these costs.
Also, severe birth injuries may require lifelong care. Conditions such as cerebral palsy or significant brain damage often mean that your child will need special education, physical therapy, adaptive equipment, and possibly in-home nursing care. Securing a settlement or verdict ensures that there are adequate funds available to support these future care needs.
Lastly, the trauma of a birth injury can leave lasting emotional scars on a family. Pursuing a legal claim can sometimes provide a sense of justice and closure. While no amount of money can undo the birth injury, achieving a satisfactory legal settlement offers a sense of finality and peace.
Medical malpractice settlements and verdicts in Ohio topped $88,000,000 in 2019. That put Ohio at #11 in terms of most dollars paid out in connection with medical negligence claims. Obstetrics cases account for about 10% of that total.
According to the first study cited above, the average medical malpractice payout in Ohio was $391,346. But, that includes all types of medical malpractice claims. The average for birth injury claims is slightly higher, at over $400,000.
Several factors influence the settlement amounts in birth injury lawsuits. It is better to have an understanding of these factors to help set realistic expectations for the outcome of a claim.
The range can be significant. For example, for medical malpractice claims overall, the average payout for claims involving quadriplegia, brain damage, or requiring lifetime care is more than $1 million. But, the average payout for “insignificant injury” is $35,000. The continuum between those two extremes includes an average of more than $700,000 for major permanent injury, more than $500,000 for significant permanent injury, and more than $200,000 for minor permanent injury.
Temporary injuries tend to result in lower payoffs, in large part because the injured person isn’t expected to be burdened with the cost of long-term medical care and adaptations, and because any interruption in the earning capacity of the injured person (or, in the case of a temporary birth injury, of the caretaker parent) would be limited.
Even within a category of injury, the value of the claim can vary significantly. For example, brachial plexus injury is one of the most common types of birth injury. A brachial plexus injury involves damage to the nerves that pass through the shoulder. They often occur as a result of pulling or compression during birth. But, some brachial plexus injuries are temporary, and full use of and feeling in the arm is restored with physical therapy. Others require surgical intervention. And, still others may result in permanent weakness of the arm, paralysis, or other long-term limitations.
So, the average value of a brachial plexus injury claim doesn’t tell a parent very much about the potential value of their own claim.
The settlement value of a birth injury case will also be impacted by other factors, such as:
The value of your claim may even be impacted by factors such as the county where your case is filed, the judge assigned to your case, the insurance carrier responsible for payment, and the attorneys on both sides of the case. Some of these variables impact the likelihood of success at trial and the likelihood of a jury award. Others impact the willingness of the insurer to enter into a reasonable settlement.
For example, an insurance company may be more willing to offer a reasonable settlement if its attorney knows that the plaintiff’s lawyer is willing and able to take the case to trial if they don’t make a fair offer.
If your child was injured at birth and you are unsure of whether you may have a valid birth injury claim, or what your claim might be worth, the next step is to consult an Ohio birth injury attorney.
Though no lawyer can promise you a specific settlement amount or jury verdict, an attorney who is experienced in handling birth injury and other medical malpractice cases in your area will be able to explain how the factors above and others may impact the value of your claim, and what local juries have done in similar cases in the past.
To schedule a free consultation with one of our veteran medical malpractice attorneys, call us at 937-222-2222 or fill out the contact form at the bottom of this page.
Before establishing Dyer, Garofalo, Mann & Schultz L.P.A., Doug Mann, a top Ohio Injury Attorney served as a bodily injury claims adjuster at a major insurance firm. With over 40+ years of experience, Doug’s background has proven invaluable in securing maximum cash settlements for his clients swiftly. Since leaving the insurance industry, Doug has devoted his entire legal career to assisting injured clients during their times of greatest need.
This page has been written, edited, and reviewed by a team of legal writers following our comprehensive editorial guidelines. This page was approved by Founding Partner, Doug Mann who has more than 20 years of legal experience as a practicing personal injury attorney.
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