Victim of a birth injury?

When a child is born, it’s supposed to be a time of joy. But when medical errors during pregnancy, labor, or delivery lead to a birth injury, that joy turns into a nightmare filled with questions, fear, and astronomical costs.

Consider this: the estimated lifetime cost to care for a child with cerebral palsy, a common birth injury often linked to medical negligence, can exceed $1.6 million, in addition to normal living expenses. That figure doesn’t even account for the emotional toll or lost opportunities.

If your family is grappling with the aftermath of a birth injury in Atlanta, know this: You aren’t alone, and what happened may not have been an unavoidable tragedy. Holding the responsible parties accountable isn’t just about money; it’s about securing the resources your child needs for the best possible future and ensuring this doesn’t happen to another family. Getting experienced legal help from an Atlanta birth injury lawyer is a decisive step in that direction.

Call Sweet James at (800) 900-0000 to talk about your situation.

Why Choose Sweet James?

You need a team that not only understands the medicine and the law but also gets what your family is going through. At Sweet James, we bring together significant legal experience with a straightforward, client-focused approach. We’ve handled numerous cases involving birth injuries, achieving substantial results for families facing unimaginable circumstances.

Our track record speaks for itself. We have a history of securing significant settlements and verdicts because we prepare every case as if it’s going to trial. This rigorous preparation often convinces the other side – the hospital, the doctor, their insurance companies – that settling fairly is their best option. We don’t back down from tough fights, and we have the resources to take on large medical institutions and insurers.

Our office is located at 1900 Century Pl NE Suite 200A, conveniently located right off the I-85. While we’re proud of our national recognition and awards, what matters most is our commitment to the families we serve right here in Georgia. We treat you like family because we know how much is riding on the outcome of your case.

Birth Injury Compensation: What Your Family Might Recover

Georgia law allows families to seek recovery for different types of damages:

• Economic Damages: These are the tangible, calculable costs. Think medical bills – past, present, and future. This includes hospital stays, surgeries, doctor visits, medications, therapies (physical, occupational, speech), assistive devices (wheelchairs, communication tools), home modifications (ramps, accessible bathrooms), and specialized educational needs. Critically, this also covers the potential loss of future earning capacity if the injury affects your child’s ability to work as an adult. There is no cap on economic damages in Georgia medical malpractice cases.
• Non-Economic Damages: These compensate for the intangible, yet deeply felt, harms. This includes the child’s physical pain and suffering, emotional distress, loss of enjoyment of life, disfigurement, and impairment. For the parents, it can also include emotional anguish and loss of companionship. Although the Georgia legislature tried to cap these damages previously, the Georgia Supreme Court struck down that cap as unconstitutional in Atlanta Oculoplastic Surgery, P.C. v. Nestlehutt (2010). Currently, there is no statutory cap on non-economic damages in Georgia medical malpractice cases.
• Punitive Damages: In rare cases where the medical provider’s conduct showed willful misconduct, malice, fraud, wantonness, oppression, or a conscious indifference to the consequences, punitive damages might be awarded. These aren’t meant to compensate for losses but to punish the defendant and deter similar conduct. Under Georgia Code § 51-12-5.1, punitive damages in medical malpractice cases are generally capped at $250,000, with an exception for cases involving intentional harm where the cap might be set aside. Also, 75% of any punitive damages award (excluding product liability cases) goes to the state treasury.

Our team works with medical professionals, life care planners, and financial analysts to build a comprehensive picture of the total damages. We fight to ensure the compensation reflects the true cost of the injury over your child’s lifetime.

Birth Injuries in the Atlanta Area

While every birth carries some inherent risk, certain factors unfortunately make Georgia a statistically more dangerous place to give birth compared to many other states. Recent reports highlight concerning trends:

• High Maternal Mortality: Georgia consistently ranks among the states with the highest maternal mortality rates. A study covering 2016-2019 found a pregnancy-related mortality ratio of 25.2 deaths per 100,000 live births, with Black women disproportionately affected. Cardiomyopathy, hemorrhage, and cardiovascular conditions were leading causes.
• Poor Rankings: A 2023 WalletHub report ranked Georgia near the bottom nationally for healthcare (46th), baby-friendliness (48th), and family-friendliness (42nd) related to childbirth. Overall, it was ranked the 6th worst state to give birth.
• Preterm Birth Rates: The March of Dimes gave Georgia an “F” grade for its preterm birth rate in 2023. In the Atlanta metro area, the rate was 11.9%, exceeding the national average of 10.4%. Preterm birth increases the risk of various complications, including birth injuries like cerebral palsy.
• Inadequate Prenatal Care: According to March of Dimes, 15.6% of pregnant women in Georgia receive inadequate prenatal care, which is a risk factor for complications.

These issues occur across the state, including in major Atlanta-area hospitals like Emory University Hospital, Northside Hospital Atlanta, Piedmont Atlanta Hospital, Wellstar Kennestone Regional Medical Center, and Grady Memorial Hospital. While these institutions provide vital care, negligence can happen anywhere. Errors leading to birth injuries can occur in delivery rooms, neonatal intensive care units (NICUs), or due to prenatal care failures.

Understanding Birth Injury Claims

A “birth injury” isn’t just any complication arising during birth. Legally, it refers to harm caused to a baby (or sometimes the mother) due to preventable medical errors or substandard care during pregnancy, labor, delivery, or immediately after birth. This differs from a “birth defect,” which typically results from genetic or environmental factors before birth, though sometimes negligent failure to diagnose a defect can form the basis of a claim.

Common Types of Preventable Birth Injuries:

• Cerebral Palsy (CP): Often linked to oxygen deprivation (hypoxia or asphyxia) during labor or delivery, or untreated infections. CP affects muscle control, movement, and coordination.
• Hypoxic-Ischemic Encephalopathy (HIE): Brain damage caused by lack of oxygen and blood flow to the baby’s brain around the time of birth. This can result from placental issues, umbilical cord problems, or delayed C-sections.
• Erb’s Palsy (Brachial Plexus Injury): Nerve damage affecting the arm and shoulder, often caused by excessive pulling or stretching during delivery, particularly in cases of shoulder dystocia (when the baby’s shoulder gets stuck).
• Facial Paralysis: Damage to facial nerves, sometimes caused by pressure from forceps during delivery.
• Fractures: Broken bones, most commonly the clavicle (collarbone), due to difficult deliveries or improper handling.
• Caput Succedaneum / Cephalohematoma: Swelling or bleeding under the scalp, sometimes related to vacuum extraction. While often minor, severe cases can indicate underlying trauma.
• Perinatal Asphyxia: Lack of oxygen before, during, or just after birth, leading to potential organ damage, including brain injury.

Key Georgia Legal Concepts:

• Medical Standard of Care: Healthcare providers must provide care consistent with what a reasonably prudent provider in the same field would offer under similar circumstances. A birth injury claim requires proving the provider breached this standard.
• Causation: You must show that the breach of the standard of care directly caused the child’s injury and resulting damages.
• Statute of Limitations (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-71, § 9-3-73): This is the time limit for filing a lawsuit. For medical malpractice in Georgia, it’s generally two years from the date the injury occurred or was discovered (or reasonably should have been discovered). However, there’s an overriding five-year statute of ultimate repose from the date of the negligent act, meaning you generally cannot sue more than five years after the negligence happened, regardless of when the injury was discovered.
  • Special Rules for Minors (O.C.G.A. § 9-3-73): Georgia law provides specific extensions for children injured by medical malpractice. If the injury occurs before the child turns five, the lawsuit must be filed before the child’s seventh birthday. If the injury occurs when the child is five or older, the standard two-year limit generally applies, but the absolute deadline (statute of repose) is the child’s tenth birthday if the negligence occurred before age five, or five years from the negligent act if the child was five or older when it happened. These deadlines are strict and missing them means losing the right to sue.
• Affidavit of Expert (O.C.G.A. § 9-11-9.1): When filing a medical malpractice lawsuit in Georgia, you must include an affidavit from a qualified medical professional. This expert must state at least one specific negligent act committed by the defendant(s).

Fighting the Hospital and Insurance Companies

You might assume that if a medical error clearly caused your child’s injury, the hospital or doctors involved (and their insurers) will readily accept responsibility. Unfortunately, that’s rarely the case. Hospitals and their insurance companies are businesses focused on minimizing payouts. They employ teams of adjusters and lawyers whose job is to protect their bottom line.

Here are some common tactics they use:

• Denial and Blame-Shifting: They may outright deny any negligence occurred, suggesting the injury was an unavoidable complication or even blaming the mother’s actions during pregnancy or labor.
• Delaying the Process: Insurers often drag out the claims process, demanding excessive paperwork, delaying responses, or making repeated requests for information they already have. This aims to frustrate families into accepting a low offer or giving up.
• Lowball Settlement Offers: They might offer a quick, but grossly inadequate, settlement soon after the injury, hoping you’ll accept before understanding the true lifetime costs associated with the injury.
• Downplaying Injury Severity: Adjusters or their medical reviewers may argue the injury isn’t as severe as claimed or that future complications are unlikely, trying to reduce the perceived value of the claim.
• Requesting Recorded Statements: They’ll ask for a recorded statement early on, hoping you’ll say something innocently that they can later twist to undermine your case (e.g., minimizing initial symptoms before a full diagnosis).
• Disputing Medical Necessity: They may challenge the necessity of certain treatments or therapies your child needs, refusing to cover costs they deem “unreasonable” or “experimental.”

How We Fight Back:

Our team anticipates these tactics. We meticulously gather all medical records, consult with independent medical professionals to establish the standard of care breach and causation, and engage life care planners to accurately project future costs. We handle all communication with the hospital and insurers, shielding you from their pressure tactics. We don’t provide recorded statements that can be misused. By building an undeniable, evidence-based case prepared for trial, we force them to negotiate seriously. We aren’t afraid to take your case to court if a fair settlement isn’t offered.

Protecting Your Claim: Steps You Can Take Now

While the negligent act may have happened in the past, actions you take now can significantly impact your ability to secure fair compensation for your child.

• Follow All Treatment Plans: Adhere strictly to the treatment regimens prescribed by your child’s current doctors and therapists. Attend all appointments. Failure to do so can be used by the defense to argue the injuries aren’t severe or that you failed to mitigate damages.
• Keep Meticulous Records: Save everything related to the injury and its consequences. This includes all medical bills, insurance explanation of benefits (EOBs), receipts for medications, therapy co-pays, assistive devices, home modifications, travel costs for appointments, and any other related expenses. Keep copies of all medical reports, test results, and physician notes.
• Maintain a Journal: Document your child’s journey. Note their daily challenges, pain levels, limitations, developmental milestones (missed or achieved), doctor visits, therapy sessions, medications administered, and any side effects. Also, record the emotional and financial impact on your family – time off work, caregiving demands, etc. This detailed log provides powerful evidence of non-economic damages.
• Obtain Official Reports: If relevant (though less common in birth injury than other accident types), obtain copies of any internal hospital incident reports if possible, though hospitals may resist releasing these without legal action.
• Avoid Discussing the Case: Do not speak with representatives from the hospital’s risk management department or their insurance company without your attorney present. Do not give recorded statements. Do not sign any documents or releases they provide without legal review. Anything you say or sign can be used against you.
• Stay Off Social Media: Be extremely cautious about what you and close family members post online. Insurance companies actively monitor social media. Photos or posts seemingly showing improvement or normal activities (even if isolated moments) can be taken out of context and used to argue the injury’s impact is exaggerated. It’s often best to refrain from posting about the child’s condition or the legal case altogether.

Secure Your Family’s Future with Sweet James

Don’t let the statute of limitations run out or allow insurance companies to dictate the value of your child’s future. Take action now.

Call Sweet James at (800) 900-0000 for a free, no-obligation consultation with an experienced Atlanta personal injury lawyer.